'Their own pleasure of getting the sympathy': Mom forced son into getting multiple unnecessary feeding tubes, police say

A Texas pistillate has been arrested aft astatine slightest a twelvemonth of aesculapian maltreatment successful which her toddler lad needlessly received a feeding conduit and different aesculapian treatment, Lone Star State constabulary say.

Kaitlyn Rose Laura, 31, stands accused of superior bodily injury to a child and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office.

The suspect was arrested connected March 25, aft an serviceman with the Glen Rose Police Department contacted detectives successful Tarrant County the period before, according to an apprehension obtained by CBS News.

But the allegations day backmost good before.

The serviceman said Laura lied astir her son's aesculapian past to get him an unnecessary feeding conduit astatine Cook Children's Medical Center successful Fort Worth, the region spot of Tarrant County, successful 2025. Police successful Fort Worth, however, referred the lawsuit to constabulary successful the tiny municipality of Glen Rose — which is located immoderate 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth — due to the fact that Laura and her household unrecorded there, the warrant says.

After section constabulary turned the lawsuit implicit to the Johnson County District Attorney's Office, nary instrumentality enforcement enactment was taken. The charging papers notes that the region lone has 2 officers and lacks the capable resources to woody with a analyzable lawsuit similar Laura's.

State officials did travel up, and Child Protective Services (CPS) contacted Tarrant County deputies successful February of this year.

The alleged maltreatment had continued, according to CPS.

Laura allegedly attempted to region her lad from the attraction of Children's Medical Center Dallas against the proposal of doctors determination aft being flagged for suspected aesculapian kid abuse.

This time, the CPS researcher said Laura claimed her lad could not devour by rima and kept him confined to a posey furniture — a tent-like enclosure designed to support high-risk patients, similar those prone to falling down oregon suffering from cognitive impairments, from leaving without assistance. Such a furniture tin lone beryllium opened from the outside.

This incidental prompted CPS to abstracted parent from son, constabulary noted successful the warrant. After the separation, the lad began eating pancakes and sausages and was mobile, according to instrumentality enforcement. Physicians astatine some hospitals alleged aesculapian maltreatment — including the assertion that Laura forced her lad to usage a wheelchair.

In an affidavit from the Fort Worth hospital, pediatricians outlined a bid of alleged discrepancies betwixt Laura's claims astir her lad and the boy's existent aesculapian history, constabulary said.

In June 2025, the suspect allegedly claimed her lad had a analyzable breech commencement successful the summertime of 2022. This required that helium beryllium "flipped" earlier a scheduled C-section, Laura allegedly said, adding that doctors "maxed retired the medication" to support her bosom pumping. But aesculapian records showed the lad was calved by mode of a normal, prescheduled C-section without immoderate complications.

And though Laura besides allegedly told a caregiver she could not get her lad to eat, the caregiver was capable to provender him with nary issues, constabulary said.

Laura allegedly gave a antithetic doc a antithetic communicative astir her son's birth, according to the warrant. In this mentation of events, the boy's traumatic commencement lasted immoderate 2 hours and his oxygen levels kept dropping to the constituent wherever medicine was required. The child's commencement records showed nary specified thing, constabulary said.

The warrant summary of a pediatrician's affidavit goes connected to allege Laura claimed her lad "stopped eating coagulated food" astatine the property of 2 and noted that the suspect kept nutrient journals starring up to the feeding conduit placement. Meanwhile, the Fort Worth doc was capable to provender the kid without difficulty. Laura besides allegedly claimed the lad could lone devour aft being fixed an appetite stimulant.

Laura besides allegedly said her lad had suffered 2 chiseled seizures contempt a mean EEG performed astatine the children's infirmary successful Fort Worth. She besides claimed her lad had cerebral palsy, a mitochondrial disorder, autism, and developmental delays, constabulary allege.

In requesting the posey bed, the suspect allegedly claimed her lad had breached 3 cribs astatine location with "leg kicking," though unit astatine the Fort Worth infirmary said the kid did not necessitate the specialized furniture erstwhile helium was separated from his mother, according to the warrant.

The communicative astir however her lad "needed oxygen astatine delivery" resurfaced successful an archetypal valuation astatine Cook Children's successful April 2025, constabulary said. Laura besides described a anterior sojourn to a doc successful Waco resulted successful further testing, feeding therapy and perchance medication. But Laura allegedly told the infirmary this doc was "disregarding" and had alternatively attributed each of her son's feeding issues to neurological problems and autism. The infirmary said this was conscionable not true.

During a March 2025 assignment astatine the Fort Worth hospital, the suspect allegedly said her lad "always had trouble gaining weight" and told gastrointestinal unit that the boy's sheets "smell similar acid," according to the warrant. Laura allegedly attributed the odor to her lad throwing up passim the night. The adjacent period the mother's requests for the feeding conduit began, instrumentality enforcement claims.

A pediatrician reviewed 1 specified conduit petition and recovered thing to enactment it successful the child's documentation, constabulary said. A rehabilitation supplier cited successful the aforesaid petition surmised the suspect was twisting their words astir the child's information and needs.

Also successful April 2025, the lad returned to the Fort Worth infirmary successful effect to a claimed bout of dehydration and abrupt nutrient aversion. The child's father, oppositely, told unit his lad had eaten fractional a container of popcorn and a afloat container of chips without issue. Staff determined the kid was not, successful fact, dehydrated and discharged him.

After continued efforts, a feeding conduit was placed successful May 2025. Later that month, the household returned to Cook Children's — but by this point, unit suspected aesculapian maltreatment and moved the lad to a country with a hidden camera. In June 2025, Laura told a caregiver she tried to provender him but this was contradicted by video. Eventually, the infirmary stopped conduit feeds, removed the tube, and discharged the child.

Around this time, concerns were archetypal raised with instrumentality enforcement.

While the lawsuit ping-ponged betwixt jurisdictions, the suspect allegedly obtained a antithetic feeding conduit astatine the Dallas infirmary successful December 2025. The lad was discharged this January but returned successful February for a conduit replacement aft his parent complained astir leaking, according to the warrant. After that last hospitalization, Laura and her hubby mislaid custody of the child.

Following her arrest, Laura was released connected enslaved with conditions that see nary interaction with the unfortunate oregon different children nether 17.

"So this narcissistic person, for their ain pleasance of getting the sympathy for having a fragile child, is what we spot playing retired successful beforehand of us," Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said successful comments reported by CBS News. "And successful truth, the kid is being tortured."

Authorities are besides said to beryllium investigating Laura for fraud implicit 3 antithetic alleged GoFundMe campaigns for the child.