An Indiana woman has been convicted of nine counts of neglect in the starvation-related death of a nine-year-old blind boy with cerebral palsy who weighed just 15lbs.
A Vigo County jury deliberated for three hours Thursday before returning a guilty verdict for 54-year-old Robin Kraemer, of Fontanet.
She faces a potential prison term of 20 to 40 years on the most serious charge, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, when she is sentenced on October 19.
Guilty on all charges: Robin Kraemer, 54, pictured left outside the Vigo County Courthouse in Terre Haute, Indiana, Thursday, was fond guilty of nine charges in the starvation death of disabled Cameron Hoopingarner, 9 (right)
Bleak future: The caregiver faces a potential prison term of 20 to 40 years on the most serious charge, neglect of a dependent resulting in death
Cameron Hoopingarner, the special-needs boy who was in Kraemer’s care, passed away on February 21 as a result of severe malnutrition, according to the results of his autopsy.
Kraemer was the boy’s guardian through an agreement with his birth mother from the time Cameron was three days old, reported Tribune-Star.
She testified Wednesday that she felt ‘over her head’ caring for the severely disabled, non-verbal child and admitted smoking methamphetamine days before he died.
The autopsy report showed that Cameron had trace amounts of meth in his system, likely from second-hand smoke, when he went into cardiac arrest and died.
Kraemer said she gave Cameron daily massages, baths and multiple feedings at her home near Terre Haute, but lost help when her mother died and her husband was hospitalized last year.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Sabrina Haney urged the jury: ‘don’t let your sympathy for her and the tragedies she has experienced rule your judgment.’
Robin Kraemer (left), 54, and her husband Hubert Kraemer (right), 56, were arrested on February 22, a day after Cameron’s death
Housemates: Two other occupants of the Indiana home where Cameron lived, Sarah Beth Travioli (left), 30, and Chad Kraemer (right), 33, are facing counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in death, neglect of a dependent and failure to report child neglect
A pathologist testified during Kraemer’s trial that Cameron was malnourished but wasn’t dehydrated, didn’t have bedsores and his teeth had been regularly cleaned.
Paramedics responded just before 4am on February 21 to a 911 call about a child in cardiac arrest at 11321 East Lewsader Avenue near Fontanet, 60 miles west of Indianapolis.
Cameron was then rushed to Union Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Sheriff Greg Ewing said at the time that the nine-year-old boy was blind and weighed less than 15lbs, which is the average weight of a three-month-old baby boy. Ewing described the neglect case as ‘beyond terrible’ and compared photos of the emaciated child to images of Holocaust victims at the Auschwitz death camp.
Chad Kraemer and Travioli’s two children (pictured above) have tested positive for meth
On February 22, a day after Cameron’s death, police arrested Robin Kraemer, along with her husband, 56-year-old Hubert Kraemer, their son, Chad Kraemer, 33, and his girlfriend, Sarah Travioli, 30.
Chad Kraemer and Travioli’s two children, a five-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy, who were found inside the home were taken into protective custody, reported WTHI-TV.
In photos shared on the couple’s Facebook pages, both children appeared healthy and well-fed, both both siblings later tested positive for methamphetamine.
Trials for Hubert Kraemer, his son and Ms Travioli are scheduled to get under way in January and February.