Influencer faces charges for poisoning baby to get more money and social media followers
An influencer from Australia has been charged for poisoning her baby daughter in order to get donations and more followers online.
BBC reported that the social media star has been accused of drugging her one-year-old child and then filming her in “immense distress and pain” for money and social media fame.
She was able to raise A$60,000 (PhP2 million) on GoFundMe. Police said the fundraising platform is trying to repay those who sent money to her account.
A months-long probe on the matter started in October, when doctors alerted authorities after the baby suffered a serious medical episode that needed her to get admitted to a hospital. It left her in “severe emotional and physical distress and harm,” according to police.
Investigators noted that the influencer also gave her baby some prescription and pharmacy medicines without approval for months.
Authorities alleged that she “went to great lengths to obtain the unauthorized medications and cover up her behavior, including using leftover medicine for a different person in their house,” the media outlet reported.
She has been slapped with charges for torture, administering poison, making child exploitation material, and fraud.
Police assured the public that the child is now "safe and doing well."
