Diabetic Girl Dies After Mom Feeds Her Sweets

Last May a nine-year-old diabetic girl died laying next to a bag of candy and other sweets bought for her by her mother.

Georgia Lee Jones, 27, was arrested Monday after a long investigation. The Dallas-area mother of five faces a felony charge of injury to a child and could face up to life in prison if convicted in the May 2008 death of daughter Chastity Butler.

According to police, Chastity's Type 1 diabetes was not properly monitored, causing the nine-year-old to be constantly sick and in bed, isolated from her peers.

Jones was released from Dallas County Jail late Tuesday on bond, and despite the incident, her husband defended her in an interview. "All in all, I believe my wife is a good mother," 30-year-old Marqus Butler said. "And she's a good woman, also."

The death was ruled natural due to diabetic complications by the Dallas County medical examiner, but according to police and state Child Protective Services reports, Jones had neglected to take care of her daughter.

Police say Chastity often had to take her own readings of her blood glucose levels and give herself insulin injections or get help from her younger sister. Even more shocking, Jones didn't follow Chastity's strict dietary rules, feeding her daughter foods high in glucose like noodles and sweets.The day before Chastity died, she was experiencing stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting. She also did not eat that night or the next morning. Police say her mother checked her glucose level and found it dangerously high -- but still fed her noodles and let her eat cupcakes and candy.

Police say from the day of Chastity's diagnosis in July 2005, Jones didn't seem too concerned about her daughter; in fact she ditched a Diabetes 101 class. And in the years following, CPS constantly received reports that Jones wasn't properly monitoring her daughter's care. However, they didn't find evidence of neglect.

But police documents say that a clinic told CPS that Jones wasn't sending in blood glucose level readings for Chastity; the readings were to be taken several times a day with a device at home. The clinic claims that Jones often went two to three months without sending in any readings for her daughter. What's more, when the readings were sent in, Chastity's glucose levels were dangerously high. She had to be hospitalized at least five times during 2006 and 2007.

Butler's mother was granted full custody of Jones's four other children, who range in age from two to eight.

What struck me most about this story is the fact that CPS received numerous reports that Jones wasn't properly caring for her daughter's serious medical condition and nobody did anything. OK fine, they couldn't find evidence of "neglect" but seriously, the fact that they received more than one report should have sounded some sort of alarm bell.

My 32-year-old sister has diabetes and my mom still watches her like a hawk. So it's even more shocking when a mother can't extend that same type of love to her nine-year-old daughter. Marqus Jones's defense of his wife is also shocking -- a "good" mother? I also wonder where he was while Chastity was being abused.

The entire story is just tragic, considering how many resources this family had to educate themselves about how to care for their sick girl. I'm just glad Chastity's sisters are safe and out of that home.