Mum kills toddler with Down's syndrome by giving him hand sanitiser

A mother, Erika Wigstrom, has pleaded guilty to killing her Down’s syndrome child, 17 month old, Lucas Ruiz by injecting hand sanitiser into his feeding tube. She was sentenced to 40 years in jail yesterday. The tragic 17-month-old was born with Down's syndrome and another condition that left him with holes in his heart.

His condition meant he needed surgery and a feeding tube, but Wigstrom used this to poison him on January 23. She confessed to her crime, after a post mortem later showed the toddler's blood-alcohol content was 0.28 per cent and the police called her in for questioning after receiving the report.

The 22-year-old mother claims she did it as an act of mercy, however, the prosecutors refuted her claims and alleged that she made a similar attempt to take her child's life few months after he was born.
While little Lucas was in hospital, it is alleged Wigstrom gave her son an alcohol-based perfume, injected through his feeding tube.
According to the Times-Picayune newspaper, Wigstrom had originally been charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

These were dropped after the mother pleaded guilty to manslaughter.