BATAVIA, Ohio — A woman will spend nearly a decade in prison after her 4-year-old child died from severe malnutrition, her teeth rotted out.
A judge sentenced Tamara Banks to nine years in prison on Friday morning. Christopher Hoeb, also charged in the child's death, awaits sentencing on June 11.
Banks was convicted of one count of involuntary manslaughter after the Clermont County coroner determined the girl's cause of death was diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition that affects people with diabetes. Prosecutors said the girl had diabetes "that was left undiagnosed and untreated over a long period of time."
According to the prosecution, the girl was found unresponsive on Jan. 21, 2022. The couple called 911 and the girl was taken to a hospital. She was eventually declared to be brain dead and ultimately taken off life support.
Prosecutors said the girl died as a direct result of neglect and abuse from her parents, Hoeb and Banks.
“Diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, is an extreme complication of untreated diabetes,” said Dr. Chris Peltier, President of the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Peltier said the condition is not necessarily uncommon among children. He said the onset of diabetes can come quickly and children can get sick quickly. However, left untreated, the condition can cause a coma or even death, he said.
“Eventually, the body will just shut down,” he said.
Prosecutors also claim Banks and Hoeb fed their daughter mostly Mountain Dew through a baby bottle. When she died, the 4-year-old girl had almost no teeth left in her mouth, because they'd rotted out, prosecutors said.
