A Germantown, Maryland, woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for lighting her 8-year-old son on fire, leaving him with burns on a quarter of his body and scars he’ll likely have for life, according to court documents.
Kimberly Tyler, 31, was convicted in December on charges of first-degree child abuse and conspiracy to commit neglect of her son.
In May 2020, Tyler got upset with her son for eating cereal and making a mess in the kitchen of their Germantown apartment. According to court documents, to punish her son, Tyler poured rubbing alcohol on his hand and lit it on fire. The flames spread, engulfing the 8-year-old in flames from his torso to his head.
The child was left with third-degree “full thickness” burns on his arms, chest and neck, as well as second- and first-degree burns on his face and other parts of his upper body. In total, prosecutors said 25% of his body surface was burned.
Tyler and her wife, Chareese Snorgrass-Tyler, then threw the child in the shower, court documents say. Tyler’s younger sister, who was in the apartment when this happened, told her “you shouldn’t do that,” and Tyler responded by saying everyone is always worried about her son and “nobody gives a f*** about me.”
Instead of calling 911 or seeking any medical attention for her child, court documents say Tyler called her parents and told them to come over and help her deal with the situation. None of them sought medical attention for the 8-year-old boy, instead agreeing that the child would stay with his grandparents and, at Tyler’s request, they would attempt to treat the boy on their own instead of taking him to the hospital.
According to court documents, the boy stayed with his grandparents for about two weeks and during that time, they urged Tyler that her child needed medical attention. Tyler ignored their requests.
While her child was in debilitating pain and receiving inadequate care at his grandparents house, Tyler was having people over to her apartment and drinking and smoking, court documents say. During the two weeks her child was at his grandparents, prosecutors said Tyler went to visit him once.
Tyler’s parents eventually returned the boy to her, saying they could not give him the care he needed and that he needed medical attention. After a couple of days of Tyler calling them to take him back, the child’s grandfather picked him up and took him to Children’s National Medical Center.
By the time Tyler’s child got to the hospital, his wounds were infected with puss dripping off them. His wounds smelled so foul, that an infectious disease team was brought in to look at them. Some of the 8-year-old’s scars were so thick and shrunken up that they limited his joint mobility, court documents say.
The boy has undergone about 20 surgeries since he arrived at the hospital in May 2020 and was admitted to Children’s for several months.
“Had the victim not been so woefully neglected by this Defendant and her co-defendants, his injuries and his recovery would not have been so severe,” court documents said.
When police interviewed Tyler, she lied to officers, saying she was frying chicken and left it unattended when her son spilled the hot grease on himself, causing the burns.
The child’s grandfather, Kimball Tyler, testified against his daughter at trial and pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, receiving a probation before judgment sentence. Snorgrass-Tyler pleaded guilty to neglect of a minor and was sentenced to six months in prison and five years supervised probation upon release.
According to prosecutors, Tyler has had previous encounters with Child Welfare Services, during which she admitted to physically abusing her son.
Court documents say the boy had Hirschsprung’s disease, which caused him to have trouble controlling his bowel movements at times. On more than one occasion, court documents say, the victim would have an accident and Tyler and Snorgrass-Tyler would not allow him to shower and make him to go to school like that to humiliate him.
“This was among the worst we have seen when it comes to child abuse cases. The level of harm caused by someone in the ultimate position of trust, the child’s mother, is unfathomable. Our hearts are with the young victim and those now entrusted with his care,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy said. “We thank the judge for fashioning an appropriate sentence and Assistant State’s Attorneys Sheila Bagheri and John Grochowski for their work on this highly emotional and upsetting case.”
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