Lacey Spears faces 20 years to life in prison after her March conviction for murdering her 5-year-old son, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office announced today. She was charged and found guilty on one count of depraved murder in the second degree—a class A felony and the most serious conviction available to the White Plains jury that tried her—in the poisoning death of her son, Garnett Spears.
“Throughout his short life, Garnett Spears was forced to suffer through repeated hospitalizations, unneeded surgical procedures, and ultimately poisoning with salt, all at the hands of the one person who should have been his ultimate protector: his mother,” said District Attorney Janet DiFiore. “Using the child’s ‘illnesses’ to self aggrandize herself, Lacey Spears’ actions directly lead to her son’s tortured death. Although the sentence imposed today by the court is lengthy, we will continue to ensure that his mother is held accountable and that justice for Garnett Spears will be served in his memory.”
Criminal charges were originally brought against Spears, a former Rockland County resident, in April, 2014, after her son’s death was ruled a homicide. The boy had suffered from hypernatremia (excessive levels of sodium) for almost a week when he reached a level of 182 milliequivalents per liter of sodium in his body—a level that a doctor testified to be “incompatible with life,” causing severe brain damage that eventually killed him.
Spears was found guilty after a 14-day trial in White Plains.
