SEATTLE – A mother in Washington state has been accused of starving her seven-week old baby to such an extent that he barely weighed 8 pounds, Q13 Fox reports.
Katherine Mattern was arrested and charged with second-degree domestic violence after authorities discovered her seven-week old son was severely malnourished. Court documents obtained by Q13 Fox say the baby was so starved that without medical intervention “he would not have survived the deprivation of food for much longer.”
The child was also riddled with infectious skin diseases which had not been adequately treated.
Records show Mattern had a history of Child Protective Service investigations regarding her baby and his 2-year-old sister.
When Mattern was living in Oregon, she was subjected to a CPS investigation when they discovered she was living with her daughter and a registered sex offender who was not allowed to be around children.
In February, CPS investigated Mattern again when her older child was discovered with scratches on her face. CPS says they worked with the family to improve living conditions in the home, Q13 Fox reports.
After the baby was healthy in March, doctors noticed he began to decline rather than thrive. On April 4, he was found to weigh in 50th percentile, on April 19, in the 32nd percentile and on April 30 in the 15th percentile. His weight on April 4 was 8.1 pounds. On May 15, his weight was 7.9 pounds — in the third percentile.
The infant suffered from scabies and a rash in addition to being malnourished. His sister was staying with relatives and appeared to have been fed properly.
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