A Washington girl died from complications of diabetes after her mother allegedly failed to treat her in time, a lawsuit suggests.
Lloydina McAllister, 42, was arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter earlier this month in connection with the death of her 10-year-old daughter. She has pled not guilty.
According to a news release from the Kirkland Police Department in Washington state, investigators believe the unnamed girl slipped into a coma and died from prolonged diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life-threatening complication of diabetes in which the body doesn’t produce enough insulin and has to break down fat for energy instead of sugar.
This causes extremely low blood sugar and potassium, which trigger cardiac arrest, brain swelling and death.
The criminal complaint claims the girl was initially diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, affecting nearly 2million Americans, in 2018 and had been hospitalized multiple times with complications.
She was last hospitalized in May, during which McAllister allegedly received additional training on her daughter’s condition over previous concerns of how she had handled it. A teacher had reported the girl frequently came to school with high blood sugar, according to court documents.
Two months later, on July 17, McAllister and her daughter left for a road trip with McAllister’s boyfriend, her 12-year-old daughter and her one-year-old son.
Her diabetic daughter allegedly showed signs of DKA during the trip, which include extreme thirst, vomiting, stomach pain and fruit-scented breath. However, the group had traveled over 700 miles to Sacramento by the time they turned around and went back to Washington, according to court documents. It’s unclear why they went back.
An unidentified 10-year-old girl died from what investigators believe was prolonged diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a complication of her type 1 diabetes (stock image)
Prosecutors alleged McAllister allegedly drove past 31 hospitals while her daughter was dying in the back seat.
According to the complaint, McAllister told police she could tell her daughter had high ketones, acids that build up in the body during DKA, but she did not seek help because she was not allowed to take the girl out of the state due to a parenting plan with the girl’s father.
The mother was allegedly worried about facing the consequences of violating the plan, according to the complaint.
A court document alleges that around 10am on July 18, McAllister texted her mother, who worked at a hospital in Tacoma, Washington, to tell her they were bringing her daughter.
However, the girl died before they arrived at the hospital, according to a court document. Prosecutors said in the complaint that the girl had likely been dead in the back seat for hours, seated next to her brother and sister.
Pictured above is the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office in Tacoma, Washington, which helped investigate the girl’s death
DKA is a medical emergency and is usually caused by missed insulin treatments or broken insulin equipment. Pneumonia and urinary tract infections also raise levels of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which work against the effects of insulin and raise DKA risk.
DKA lands about 220,000 Americans in the hospital every year and kills several thousand, though exact numbers are unclear.
A press release from the Kirkland Police Department issued last week reads: ‘Detectives concluded that the lack of medical intervention contributed to the child’s death and resulted in the mother’s arrest.’
Medical providers had allegedly reported concerns on how McAllister handled her daughter’s condition to Child Protective Services, according to court documents. These concerns included missed and canceled diabetes appointments.
Cellphone records showed McAllister had searched on July 18 for ways to bring down blood sugar and ketones. Later that month, she allegedly searched for whether she needed a lawyer and how to delete messages from an iPhone.
After being arrested, she told police that she thought she had more time to get her daughter to the hospital, according to court documents.
Minutes from McAllister’s arraignment state she is being represented by a public defender. The Daily Mail has reached out the lawyer for comment.
Police Chief Mike St Jean said in the department’s press release: ‘This was a complex and emotionally challenging investigation.
‘The collaboration between our detectives, medical professionals, and prosecutors was essential in bringing clarity to what happened. We remain committed to protecting our community’s most vulnerable residents, especially children who cannot advocate for themselves.’
McAllister is being held at King County Correctional Facility on $1million bail, according to Kirkland Police Department. She has pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter, and her trial is scheduled to begin next month.