Death By Soda? Chasing Child Abuse and Child Neglect in Tennessee
Death by soda? Chasing child abuse and child neglect in Tennessee
Death by grape soda. That is what the official autopsy uncovered following the demise of one five-year-old Tennessee child. The little girl may have been yet another victim of child abuse. Her father and step-mother have both been charged with child abuse, neglect, and homicide.
When Does Child Punishment Become Child Abuse?
When Randall Vaughn (age 41) and Mary Vaughn (age 58) arrived at the hospital emergency room on New Year’s Day 2012 with Randall’s daughter Alexa Linboom, the child was already in very serious condition. Unresponsive, the girl was blue and in “an abnormal body posture” indicating severe brain damage.
The Cause of Her Condition?
The Vaughns allegedly compelled Alexa to drink approximately 2.4 liters of grape soda and water as punishment – that’s more than 81 ounces of liquid consumed between one to two hours. Why was she punished? Apparently, Alexa took a drink from her stepmother’s beverage, whatever that was. It was several hours after Alexa began showing clear signs of distress (vomiting, pain, paralysis, unconsciousness) that her parents finally sought emergency medical treatment for her.
Randall Vaughn (photo: Hawkins County Sheriff TN)
The immense fluid intake caused swelling and rupturing of the girl’s brain. She died two days later. The autopsy report was released in July 2013. Although she had bruises on her body and cuts to her face, Alexa died from acute fluid intoxication (hyponatremic encephalopathy).
The Vaughs were arrested February 5, 2014. Both adults were arraigned the following Friday on these charges: first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated child neglect. The defendants did not plead guilty to the criminal charges, so bail was set at $500,000 each. Their Hawkins County trial is scheduled for October of this year.
Child Relocated to TN Three Months Prior to Death
In a tragic twist of fate, Alexa moved to her father’s home in Tennessee only three months prior to her death. She was relocated following allegations of neglect by her out-of-state primary caregiver. The child relocation to her father’s TN residence was meant to improve Alexa’s circumstances, to get her out of a neglectful situation (assuming there was truth to the alleged neglect). But the decision to move her away from her previous home turned deadly in only a few short months. (To learn more about child relocation, read TN Parent Relocation Statute Law | Modifying the Parenting Plan).
Mary Vaughn (photo: Hawkins County Sheriff TN)
Vaughns’ Five Other Children Now in Foster Care
Alexa shared the Vaughns’ household with five other children, her brothers and sisters in a blended family. All of these children have been removed from the Vaughns’ care and are now in the custody of the Tenn. Dept. of Children’s Services (DCS). Not only did these children lose their sister, their young lives have been torn apart.
There is hope and help available to many Tennessee families, though. In addition to services provided by the DCS, The Exchange Club Family Center is a non-profit organization here in Memphis dedicated to helping children escape abuse, neglect, and domestic violence in the home. According to The Exchange Club, in 2012 there were 11 child deaths from abuse and domestic violence in Shelby County alone. Alexa’s story is a tragic one, but it is not the only one.
Memphis TN Family Attorney
Memphis family attorney Miles Mason, Sr., practices family law exclusively and is founder of the Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC. Check out The Tennessee Divorce Client’s Handbook: What Every Divorcing Spouse Needs to Know, available on Amazon and Kindle. To schedule your confidential consultation, call us today at (901) 683-1850.
