A Georgia father, Curtis Jack, 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.
Jack was arrested on Oct. 16, 2020, after his daughter fell ill and tested positive for ethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze.
Investigators revealed that Jack had collected bottles of breastmilk from the child’s mother two weeks earlier while she was hospitalized after giving birth to their child.
“After delivering the breastmilk 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. Jack admitted to adding antifreeze to the breastmilk to South Fulton Police Department detectives,” police stated on social media.
Jack confessed to adding antifreeze to his newborn daughter’s milk to avoid paying child support.
During the trial, testimonies from the child’s mother, grandmother, law enforcement officers, and medical experts were presented, including a demonstration of how easily the breastmilk could be poisoned, as stated by South Fulton police.
Even small amounts of automotive antifreeze can be extremely toxic, with symptoms including drowsiness, vomiting, kidney damage, and death, according to poisonhelp.org.
The child’s mother chose not to comment following Jack’s sentencing but mentioned that the child is doing well.
