WASHINGTON — A Fort Belvoir, Virginia, woman is facing child abuse and larceny charges after she allegedly stole medical supplies and then injected a child with an unknown substance while he was being treated in a hospital.
Elizabeth Malone, 28, is being held without bond. Staffers at Inova Children’s Hospital in Falls Church had called officers on Wednesday after seeing Malone act suspiciously in a young patient’s room, Fairfax County police said.
According to court documents obtained by NBC Washington, the boy was Malone’s 5-year-old son, and the injected substance had actually caused a medical emergency.
The boy had been hospitalized at Inova for a few days before the incident, according to the obtained documents. The mother had told doctors her son had been bleeding spontaneously from the mouth and throat.
Reportedly, the boy had been brought to the hospital seven times since February. Footage from a hidden camera reportedly showed Malone pick up a syringe, empty its contents, refill the syringe with the unknown substance, then insert the substance into the boy’s mouth and nose, according to the documents.
Doctors reportedly told police the child could have died as a result.
Other charges might be filed, NBC Washington reports.
WTOP’s Will Vitka contributed to this report.
