A mother has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after she was caught on camera making her toddler son ill by injecting him with insulin. Alexandra Marie Frost, 27, was brought to justice after a video camera was activated by concerned hospital staff.
The case dates back to 2023 when the two-year-old was taken by his mother to a children’s hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. An obtained criminal complaint said the boy had “low blood sugar levels that required medical intervention including the administration of glucose, and lab tests results indicated his insulin levels were very high”. Despite his admission, his health continued to decline, sparking concern among medical staff, a search warrant said.
It was noted that there “appeared to be anomalies” in the boy’s condition as his glucose levels would fall and then stabilise, according to the document obtained by PEOPLE.
This led healthcare professionals to suspect it was a case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy — where a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury to a person, it also noted.
As a result, they set up a camera within the room to try to understand what was happening.
The next day, footage appeared to show Frost holding a syringe and injecting her son in his foot, the warrant said.
It said: “After injecting [her son’s] foot, Frost walks to where the ‘SHARPS’ container is located and appeared to place the syringe into the container.
“Prior to the injections [victim] appeared to be calm and when Frost injected his foot, [victim] becomes agitated and screams consistent with being in pain.”
Medical staff informed investigators that being injected with insulin “will lower a person’s glucose levels, which can cause serious health problems, including death”, the US news outlet reported, citing the warrant.
The Gazette reports an endocrinologist told police the only reason for the child’s abnormal glucose levels would be because of an “external” — not hospital staff — insulin injection.
The medic also said the toddler did not have a medical issue that would require treatment with insulin.
The warrant stated that after the boy was removed from Frost’s care by authorities, he had no more issues with glucose levels.
Frost, from Cedar Rapids, was reportedly the only individual who was regularly with her son during his five-day stay at the hospital.
In June, she pleaded guilty to child endangerment resulting in bodily injury and administering harmful substances.
Last week, she reportedly asked the Johnson County District Court for a suspended sentence and probation.
However, she was handed down the maximum sentence of five years for each of her charges, which will be served consecutively.
Court documents showed Frost asked to withdraw her guilty plea days before sentencing last Friday but that this was denied by the judge, according to The Gazette.