Georgia Father Sentenced To 50 Years For Poisoning Infant
A Georgia father was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Thursday for using antifreeze mixed in breastmilk to poison his 18-day-old daughter four years ago.
The father, identified as Curtis Jack, was arrested on Oct. 16, 2020, after his daughter, Madison, became sick and tested positive for ethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze.
Investigators discovered that Jack had collected bottles of breastmilk from the child’s mother two weeks earlier while she was in hospital after giving birth to their child.
In a statement released on social media, police gave an account of the incident.
“After delivering the breast milk to the child’s grandmother, who was also caring for the woman’s other daughter, the child became critically ill within 24 hours, suspected of being poisoned,” police said. “Jack admitted to adding antifreeze to the breastmilk to South Fulton Police Department detectives.”
Police said Jack admitted he added antifreeze to his newborn daughter’s milk to avoid paying child support.
“It hit home because it was an 18-day-old baby,” South Fulton Police Sergeant Pserda Dickerson said. “It’s beyond getting a confession. We still have to prove someone committed the crime. You still have to prove that the person is guilty.”
According to police reports, the baby was born in September 2020. The parents had been in an intimate relationship since January of that year.
The mother of the newborn told police how Curtis had tried to get her to terminate the pregnancy for the entirety of the gestation.
“During the trial, the State presented testimonies from the child’s mother, grandmother, law enforcement officers, and medical experts, including a demonstration of how easy it was to poison the breast milk,” police said.
The jury found Jack guilty on all counts, including attempted murder, and he was sentenced to 50 years, with 40 years to serve in custody.
The child’s mother declined to make a statement following Jack’s sentencing. According to a local news outlet, the child recovered and is now three years old.
