By Enyichukwu Enemanna
An Australian influencer will on Friday appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court after she was charged for allegedly poisoning her baby to attract donations and boost her online followership.
Detectives allege that the Queensland woman was drugging the one-year-old baby girl and then filming her in “immense distress and pain”, while claiming that she was chronicling the child’s battle with a “terminal illness” on social media.
In October when the baby was admitted to hospital as she suffered a serious medical episode, doctors had at that time raised concern.
After months of investigation, the 34-year-old woman was charged with torture, administering poison, making child exploitation material and fraud.
“There are no words for how repulsive offences of this nature are,” Queensland Police Deputy Inspector, Paul Dalton told reporters on Thursday in reference to the crime.
Detectives say the woman, who hails from the country’s Sunshine Coast region gave the child several prescription and pharmacy medicines, between the month of August and October without approval.
They alleged that she went to great lengths to obtain the unauthorised medications and cover up her behaviour, including using leftover medicine for a different person in their house.
Police began investigating on 15 October, when the baby was brought into hospital experiencing “severe emotional and physical distress and harm”.
Tests for unauthorised medicines returned a positive result later in January, detectives said.
The woman raised A$60,000 (£30,500; $37,300) through GoFundMe donations, Deputy Inspector Dalton said.
He stated that the police had investigated other people over the alleged involvement in connection with the abuse, but there was no evidence to charge anyone else.
