According to the Indiana Lawyer, the case of Mikel An Krueger and her young son is a peculiar and sad one. It starts with the birth of Krueger’s son, AG, back in 2011.
Around the age of two months old, AG began to have episodes where he would turn blue, lose consciousness, and his body would become stiff. After an examination with a doctor, his diagnosis came back as mild pulmonary hypertension.
Pulmonary hypertension is a serious health condition that occurs when the arteries that carry blood to the lungs are constricted.
This disrupts the blood flow and the heart has to work overtime to the get blood to the vital organs. Pulmonary hypertension usually starts with:
- shortness of breath while doing everyday activities
- fatigue
- dizziness
- swelling in the ankles, abdomen, or legs
- bluish lips and skin
- chest pain as strain on the heart increases
This diagnosis is a very scary one for any individual, but especially for a two-month-old. However, the real cause behind this child’s episodes is even more horrific.
Although Krueger’s son was given medicine to treat his mild pulmonary hypertension, his mother took him off it, claiming that it made him have acid reflux.
Her son continued to have episodes and eventually, doctors placed a pacemaker inside the boy in an attempt to improve his situation. However, things quickly changed when a Louisville doctor named Chris Johnsrude examined AG.
Dr. Johnsrude concluded that AG should not need a pacemaker and that AG’s situation was so mild that it should not be causing him such grim health issues.
It also became evident that many of AG’s episodes happened when he was in the solitary care of his mother.
AG’s grandmother eventually came forward to Dr. Johnsrude and admitted that she was convinced her daughter was smothering and suffocating her son to induce the attacks. She believed it was an effort to seek attention and financial benefits from the boy’s condition.
The Department of Child Services came in and took AG from his mother who was determined to have factitious disorder by proxy. This disorder is when someone deliberately produces or exaggerates symptoms of someone in their care.
Krueger was hit with several Class B felonies but only convicted of one: a Class B felony for neglect of a dependent. She has been sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison. The first eight years of her sentence will be served in the Department of Correction. She also has one year of work and also has to serve a year on probation.
Krueger has tried to appeal because she believes there was not sufficient evidence to prove that she smothered and suffocated her son. Krueger also pleaded that her son had the disease and episodes even when not in her care, but the court has upheld its sentence.
How much time will Krueger actually serve, and do you feel that her sentence was fair? Click here to read more.
