An Australian influencer has been accused of poisoning her baby girl to garner donations and increase her online following.
The Queensland woman claimed she was chronicling her baby's battle with a terminal illness on social media, but investigators allege she was drugging the one-year-old and then filming her in “severe distress and pain”.
Doctors sounded the alarm in October, when the girl was admitted to hospital suffering from a serious medical attack.
After months of investigation, the 34-year-old was charged with torture, administering poison, manufacturing child exploitation materials and fraud.
“(There are) no words to describe how serious these disgusting crimes are,” Queensland Police Inspector Paul Dalton told reporters on Thursday.
Between August and October, investigators say the woman – from the Sunshine Coast area – gave the child numerous medical and pharmaceutical medications, without consent.
They alleged she went to great lengths to obtain unauthorized medications and cover up her behavior, including using someone else's leftover medications in their home.
Police began investigating on October 15, when the child was taken to hospital suffering from “severe mental and physical distress and injury.” Tests for the unapproved drugs returned a positive result later in January, they said.
Det Insp Dalton said the woman had raised A$60,000 (£30,500; US$37,300) through GoFundMe donations, which the site is trying to repay.
He added that police investigated other people regarding the alleged violations, but there was no evidence to charge anyone else.
The woman is scheduled to face the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday.
