Police say a Fayetteville mother's medical neglect led to her 4-year-old daughter's death
A Fayetteville mother was charged Thursday with the death of her diabetic daughter after allegedly depriving her of insulin, court records show.
Shanika Adams, 44, is charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse in the death of four-year-old Nia Ferguson on Sept. 5.
According to the arrest warrant, Cumberland County Emergency Medical Services were dispatched to Adams' home in the 5500 block of Livingston Drive after reports of a diabetic emergency. Nia, who was a Type 1 diabetic, was in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived on the scene. She was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, where she was resuscitated and placed on life support, the warrant said.
The following day, according to the warrant, doctors assigned to care for Nia filed a report of child abuse with the Fayetteville Police Department.
On Sept. 5, Nia went into cardiac arrest, again, and was pronounced dead at the hospital, court records show. The warrant states the cause of death was "Diabetic Ketoacidosis resulting from medical neglect."
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Why was Nia's blood sugar was so high?
According to the warrant, doctors diagnosed Nia with Type 1 diabetes in December 2022, requiring her to receive daily insulin injections. Nia's blood glucose level was over 1,300 when she was admitted to the hospital, well above the normal blood glucose level of below 200, the warrant states. Doctors believed that it had been at least two days since Nia's last insulin injection based on her blood glucose level when she was admitted.
Adams told police in an interview that she was required to check her daughter's blood glucose level four to five times a day and the insulin must be refrigerated, the warrant states. During the execution of a search warrant on Adams' home, insulin was found unrefrigerated in Adams' bedroom, which can affect the potency of the insulin, according to the warrant.
Center Pharmacy in Fayetteville confirmed Adams only picked up four months' worth of insulin in the eight months since her daughter had been diagnosed with diabetes, the warrant states.
According to the warrant, all blood glucose tests performed are saved in the glucose meters' memories. If Adams tested her daughter's blood glucose level four times a day, the meters' memories show that at least 852 tests had been performed since Nia's December diagnosis. During the search of Adams' home, it was determined that only 353 blood glucose tests had been administered since Nia's diagnosis. The warrant states the dates and times for these tests were sporadic, and there were no tests administered for 22 consecutive days before Nia's admission to the hospital.
According to court records, the 353 blood glucose tests administered consistently measured Nia's levels over 400.
Nia had also not seen a pediatrician or endocrinologist in six months, even though the 4-year-old was supposed to see the endocrinologist every three months, court records show.
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Police interview and arrest
Police interviewed Nia's 13-year-old brother, who said he noticed his sister's face was pale and sunken the day before she was hospitalized, the warrant states. He allegedly said on the day Nia was hospitalized, her breathing was heavy, she was unresponsive, and her eyes were crossed. According to the warrant, the brother asked Adams to take Nia to the hospital several times, and Adams allegedly waited six hours to finally call 911.
Adams was arrested Thursday in the 1100 block of Dunbury Road, according to the arrest report. She remained in Cumberland County jail Friday without bail.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Shanika Adams is charged with the murder of her 4-year-old daughter
