Mom Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Willfully Poisoning 1-Year-Old Son with Medication Not Prescribed to Him By Kimberlee Speakman

A Nevada mother has been sentenced to prison after being convicted of giving her infant son prescription medication not prescribed to him.

Alesha Marie Martin, 25, was sentenced to a maximum term of 10 years in a state prison in the Second Judicial District Court on Jan. 13, according to a Jan. 15 press release from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO). 

This comes after Martin pled guilty to willfully poisoning or adulterating food, water or medicine, which is a felony offense in Nevada. She will be eligible for parole after serving four years in prison.

Her case follows an investigation from the WCSO that began in May. During that time, officers received information about a 14-month-old child having suffered “multiple unexplained medical emergencies.” 

“The child was hospitalized on multiple occasions in both Nevada and Utah, raising concerns of possible intentional poisoning,” WCSO said.

Specialized toxicology testing showed that the child had ingested prescription medication that had not been prescribed to him and through “investigative interviews” and an “evidence review,” detectives determined that the mediation was coming “from within the family home,” per the release.

Detectives discovered that Martin “intentionally administered the prescription medication” to her child on “multiple occasions” throughout May, including while the child had been in the hospital.

“Martin ultimately confessed to administering the medication, acknowledging that her actions caused repeated medical crises that placed the child’s life in danger,” said the WSCO.

Martin had reportedly admitted to detectives that she had been giving her son medications that were not prescribed to him, including two clonidine pills that she had crushed and put in his drinks and yogurt, according to local outlet KSL, which cited charging documents.

Clonidine pills are primarily used to treat high blood pressure and manage ADHD symptoms, per Mayo Clinic.

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Martin claimed, per the charging documents, that “she had been dosing [her son] every six to seven days, and Martin stated she had spaced out the dosing ‘so she did not hurt [him],’ ” according to KSL.

The child was hospitalized on May 14 and treated for “episodes of bradycardia, hypotonia, and hypothermia” and at one point during his hospitalization, doctors in Utah determined that the 1-year-old needed to be intubated and that his condition “constituted a near-fatality,” KSL reported.

Martin was then arrested and charged with felony child abuse and neglect and multiple counts of willfully poisoning or adulterating food, water or medicine, WCSO said.

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PEOPLE reached out to the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office for comment on Saturday, Jan. 17, but did not receive immediate responses.

In the release, WCSO Sheriff Darin Balaam said, “The work required to bring cases like this forward for prosecution demands patience, precision, and a deep commitment to protecting the most vulnerable members of our community.”

“The detectives’ efforts in this case were critical to bringing the investigation to a successful conclusion, and I want to thank the medical professionals, child welfare partners, and prosecutors whose coordinated efforts helped ensure the child’s safety and accountability in this case,” he added.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.