An ‘evil’ older brother who pleaded guilty to tormenting and starving his autistic younger brother retched as he was sentenced to up to 100 years in prison.
About Paul Ferguson
Paul Ferguson, 21, was described as being ‘one step away from becoming a psychopath’ by Judge Matthew Kacel Monday, who sentenced him to a minimum of 30 years and maximum of 100 years behind bars.
Kacel defied sentencing guidelines suggesting Ferguson receive nine to 15 years behind bars, with the child abuser filmed retching with shock as he was warned he could be jailed until the year 2124. His mom vomited in court during her own trial.
Ferguson was also seen shriveling into the collar of his prison shirt, then poking his head back out during the fiery sentencing remarks.
His Crime
He was convicted on first-degree child abuse related to the grisly death of his younger brother Timothy, 15, who died in July 2022 after suffering a barrage of sadistic abuse from Paul and his mother.
The autistic child weighed just 69 pounds when he died in their Michigan home, and had been subjected to merciless punishments including force feeding him hot sauce, depriving him of sleep and locking away food.
Mother is Spending Life in Prison Too
The mother of the brothers, Shanda Vander Ark, 44, was sentenced in January to life in prison without a chance of parole after a jury convicted her of murder and child abuse in her son’s death.
She vomited in court as she was shown horrifying images of her son’s emaciation as he starved to death.
She began retching and vomited in full view of the jury, showing signs of a mental breakdown as a prosecutor questioned her: ‘Did he look like that when you put him the bathtub?’
Abuse Timothy Suffered Before His Death
Timothy was speech and motor impaired as well as autistic, with Paul and his mother tormenting him with callous punishments that also included subjecting him to lengthy ice baths.
At Shanda’s trial, it was revealed that she also forced her son to only eat bread covered in hot sauce, and would lock the fridge to prevent him being able to eat.
Vander Ark is also said to have covered the house and the tiny closet Timothy was sleeping in with motion sensors, alarms, and live feed cameras.
Court Heard
Vander Ark, who was a law clerk at Newaygo County Circuit Court, previously testified she had purchased spicy hot sauce online after Paul thought it would be a good idea to punish Timothy.
A text message exchange between the pair also showed her questioning whether they should drop the hot sauce on the young boy’s genitals.
‘I wonder how it would feel to have that hot sauce on your private parts. I’m not saying touch him there, not at all, but dripping a little bit there, is that horrible,’ she asked.
Hours before Timothy died, Paul allegedly put him in an ice bath for nearly nine hours.
Paul Testified Against Mother
However, he testified against his own mother at her trial, claiming he was also a victim and was suffering ‘something close to Stockholm Syndrome.’
‘I desire to find a role model that, due to my own low self-esteem, I would do anything to make them proud of me,’ he said.
‘That’s not an excuse, I know, but I feel like I’m glad I was at least able to realize it, so I could correct it.’
The testimony and guilty plea came in exchange for prosecutors agreeing not to seek elevated charges, such as murder, for the 21-year-old, according to Chief Trial Attorney for Muskegon County Matt Roberts.
At his own trial this week, Paul appeared downcast as he insisted he regrets his actions, pleading for ‘mercy and fairness’ from the judge.
In his statement at trial, Paul said: ‘What reasons could justify my actions? I could make up a thousand and never believe one.’
‘What words could voice my regrets? I could think of millions, yet never feel its enough.’
His words fell on deaf ears as the judge said he didn’t believe Paul was truly repentant.
Like His Mother
‘The court believes Mr. Ferguson is one step away from becoming a psychopath like his mother,’ Muskegon County Circuit Judge Matthew Kacel said Monday, reports the Grand Rapids Press.
Muskegon County Chief Trial Prosecutor Matt Roberts added that Paul represents a threat to the public if he doesn’t get mental health treatment while incarcerated.
