A Fairfax County, Virginia, woman has been sentenced to three years in prison for injecting her son with her own blood, the Commonwealth’s Attorneys Office confirmed Friday.
Elizabeth Malone, 28, was arrested on a charge of child abuse in spring 2018. Staffers at Inova Children’s Hospital in Falls Church had called officers after seeing Malone act suspiciously in the 5-year-old’s room, Fairfax County police said.
Footage from a hidden camera showed Malone pick up a syringe, empty its contents, refill the syringe with an unknown substance, then insert the substance into the boy’s mouth and nose, according to documents. The footage later helped confirm that the substance was her own blood.
Reportedly, the boy had been brought to the hospital seven times in four months. NBC Washington reports the boy was severely disabled, and the injections led to serious infections.
Malone may suffer from Munchausen by proxy, Malone’s lawyer told NBC Washington. Munchausen by proxy is a mental health disorder in which a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury to someone in their care in order to get attention.
At the hearing Friday, NBC Washington reported Malone pleaded with the judge:
“I’m not a monster. I’m not an evil woman. I love my children,” she said.
Malone has already served one year in prison since her arrest. The sentence confirms she will spend another two years behind bars.
“We hope this sentence will help with the healing process for those whose lives have been forever altered by these evil actions taken against an innocent child,” said Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Casey Lingan.
“This was a truly tragic case.”
WTOP’s Jack Pointer contributed to this story.
