Idaho mom pleads guilty to nearly starving infant, only giving her Kool-Aid & diluted milk
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CALDWELL — A Caldwell woman whose infant daughter nearly died from extreme malnutrition has admitted to neglecting the child.
Tiffany Knapp, 21, pleaded guilty to an injury to a child charge in Canyon County court Monday, according to KBOI. She could face up to 10 years in prison.
Child Protective Services and Caldwell police officers were called to Knapp’s home in March on a tip that her 8-month-old baby was “severely malnourished and underweight,” according to court documents.
KTVB reports medical personnel who examined the baby say she weighed only 11 pounds and would likely have died from starvation and malnutrition within days if she had not received medical attention.
The baby had reportedly been fed only Kool-Aid and diluted milk, even though she had been prescribed a special formula to help put on weight.
When asked why Knapp failed to fill the prescription, she told authorities she had “just spaced it.”
Police say the baby was taken into the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and placed in foster care, where she put on more than four pounds over the next 20 days.
Knapp is scheduled to be sentenced April 3 in Canyon County.