'Not an excuse': Mom gets prison for death of diabetic 4-year-old fed mostly soda

A Clermont County mother was sentenced Friday to at least nine years in prison for the killing of her 4-year-old daughter, who prosecutors say died from diabetes-related complications after being fed mostly Mountain Dew through a baby bottle.

The sentence came after 41-year-old Tamara Banks pleaded guilty in March to involuntary manslaughter. Under a state law that says the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction can extend someone's sentence based on conduct while in prison, Banks could serve as much as 13½ years.

"This is one of the most tragic cases I have ever encountered," Clermont County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Clay Tharp said.

Hamilton County Coroner's Office records show Karmity Hoeb died at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center on Jan. 25, 2022.

Karmity suffered neglect and abuse for the majority of her life and her parents denied her proper nutrition and medical care, prosecutors said, adding the girl's death was a result of diabetic ketoacidosis − a life-threatening complication of diabetes most often associated with Type 1.

Just four days before she died, Karmity started showing signs of a "serious medical issue" while at home with her parents, prosecutors said in a court filing.

Those symptoms worsened as the days progressed, prosecutors said, with Banks failing to call 911 until the child turned blue and stopped breathing.

First responders were able to revive the child for a short time before taking her to the hospital, where doctors performed scans that showed she was brain dead. An autopsy revealed that Karmity died from a diabetes-related brain injury.

Prosecutors said Karmity lived with undiagnosed diabetes and her death could've been prevented with proper treatment and care.

"This child did not have to die," Tharp said.

Karmity also suffered from a condition that caused her teeth to dissolve due to her being fed sugary soda through a baby bottle.

Prosecutors said Banks would often mix baby formula with Mountain Dew, long after Karmity should've been weaned off a bottle, and that investigators were unable to find evidence of the child ever visiting the dentist.

Despite Karmity's lack of medical treatment, Tharp said, Banks regularly refilled her own prescriptions and even had doctors visit her apartment to ensure that her medical needs were met.

Prosecutors also pointed out Banks has several other grown children who were treated poorly in her custody, including a son who fell into a coma at 4 years old from previously undiagnosed diabetes.

While the boy recovered, prosecutors said Banks continued to neglect his medical needs, failed to have him seen by a doctor and never attended his follow-up visits.

Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Victor Haddad said Banks should've had at least some idea of the dangers of diabetes due to her older child's condition.

"It's hard to be a good parent but you expect at least mediocre parents, everybody should expect that," Haddad said during Friday's hearing. "Not knowing what to do is not an excuse."

However, Banks said she believed she was caring for Karmity to the best of her ability.

"I thought I was taking care of her," she told the judge.

Banks and the child's father, 53-year-old Christopher Hoeb, were indicted last summer on counts including murder, involuntary manslaughter and endangering children.

Hoeb also pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and in exchange for the pair's guilty pleas, prosecutors recommended the remaining charges be dropped. Hoeb is scheduled to appear for sentencing on June 11.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Clermont County mom sentenced in child diabetes-related death