Two young Bellevue parents are facing criminal charges for allegedly starving their infant daughter to keep the girl from getting fat.
Prosecutors have charged Brittainy Labberton, 21, and her husband, Sam Labberton, 24, with third-degree criminal mistreatment for the purported crime.
The newborn was hospitalized in October for failure to gain sufficient weight. Charging papers allege that the couple admitted to ignoring a pediatrician’s advice to feed the child more.
Brittainy described her daughter to an investigator as “the exorcist,” saying she was fussy and frequently threw up her food, according to prosecutors.
But doctors determined there were no medical factors for the infant’s emaciated condition after she ate readily and gained weight at the hospital.
Brittainy and Samuel both complained to investigators that their daughter was getting fat after the girl started gaining weight under foster care, according to charging papers.
Prosecutors suspect the couple may have filled the infant’s milk bottle with a laxative during a supervised visit. Lab tests revealed an abnormally high level of the laxative ingredient magnesium in the contents of a bottle the mother prepared that day.
Brittainy told police her husband has a weight problem, and she did not want her children to be fat. Samuel complained to investigators that the baby was so plump that she might not learn how to walk.
Brittainy suffered from post-partum depression and took medication for the condition, according to charging papers. The drugs caused a severe reaction and left the mother bedridden for several days, the documents state.
Samuel told police he was not responsible for picking up the slack because he had to work a graveyard shift and sleep during the day to support the family, according to charging papers.
Child protective services took the couple’s other daughter, age 2, after Brittainy talked about killing herself and the child, according to prosecutors.
The toddler’s foster parents said she was “ravenously hungry, eating so fast that she choked on her food.”
