Cari Ann Wright a Lansing, Michigan mother pleads guilty to starving her disabled daughter to death. A preventable death.
Cari Ann Wright a Lansing, Michigan mother has pled guilty to depriving her 16 year old disabled daughter of food before starving to death.
At the time of her November 2015 death, Hannah Wright weighed a scant 43 pounds. A weight equivalent of what a normal healthy six year old child would weigh.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Wright was the child’s guardian and caregiver, with Hannah being born with physical and mental disabilities.
Hannah had a condition called ‘chromosome translocation’ which is commonly associated with disorders like downs syndrome.
At the time of Hannah’s death, the teen was emaciated, while having open sores across her lower back and buttocks, with the mother saying she hadn’t fed the girl in a couple of weeks.
Investigators told of Hannah’s clothes and sheets being soiled along with the disabled teen not having seen a doctor for 18 months.
During initial investigations, the court was told how a tube had been placed in Hannah’s trachea when she was less than a year old, with a feeding tube placed in her stomach throughout her life.
Medics testified that the trachea tube had been non-surgically removed, and the feeding tube had not been changed recently and may not have been functioning when Hannah died.
According to the caretaker, Hannah had been refusing to eat for some time.
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WLNS reported the teen dying November 15, 2015, while acknowledging it’s likely Hannah died the day before.
By admitting to starving her daughter, Wright entered a plea agreement that will likely see her sentenced to prison for 20 to 40 years if Ingham County Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuck agrees to it.
The 44-year-old pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while mentally ill, with Wright undergoing a criminal responsibility evaluation at the state’s Center for Forensic Psychiatry.
A psychiatrist found Wright was mentally ill when she committed the crime, but did not meet the standard for legal insanity.
By pleading guilty but mentally ill, Cari Ann Wright will be allowed psychiatric services while in prison.
Of note, the lansingstatejournal notes State Children Protective Services having been involved with previous complaints that Hannah was being denied proper treatment, but weren’t under supervision at the time of the teen’s death.
