A woman in the US was sentenced on Friday to at least nine years in prison for manslaughter after she fed her diabetic daughter a diet consisting mainly of Mountain Dew. According to the New York Post, her 4-year-old daughter Karmity Hoeb died in January 2022 from complications related to diabetes and severe dental decay.

Prosecutors said Tamara Banks caused her daughter’s death through malnutrition and lack of proper medical care. She often gave the girl bottles of baby formula mixed with the neon-green sugary soda. Many of the girl’s teeth had rotten away at the time of her death, the court heard.

Mountain Dew notably contains 77 grams of sugar, far more than the less than 24 grams recommended by experts, according to the report. The little girl’s father, Christopher Hoeb, 53, also pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and is set to be sentenced on June 11.

NEW: Cincinnati parents Christopher Hoeb and Tamara Banks plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter of their 4 year old daughter.

The child was almost exclusively fed Mountain Dew. They went as far as to mix it in with baby formula.

The parents were originally indicted with… pic.twitter.com/CbaamYxzI6

— Joshua Walker (@RedsRepair95) April 28, 2024

“This is one of the most tragic cases I have ever encountered. This child did not have to die,” Clermont County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Clay Tharp said.

The case came to light when the girl suffered a “serious medical issue” in January 2022. Her symptoms worsened as the days progressed and her mother only called 911 after she turned blue and stopped breathing, the Cincinnati Inquirer reported. 

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 showed that she died from a diabetes-related brain injury and being fed a sugary drink through a bottle that dissolved her teeth. She was never taken to the dentist, the paper reported.

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.

However, Banks regularly refilled her prescriptions and even had doctors visit her apartment to ensure that her medical needs were met.

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

Under Ohio state law, Banks could serve as much as 13 and a half years if the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction decides to extend her sentence based on behaviour while jailed.

For those who find their names lengthy and spelling them a challenge, consider the case of the Royal Baby of Spain, whose name is 157 letters long. This name is so long that the Spanish Duke has been told to significantly shorten his daughter’s name if he wants her legally registered by Spanish authorities.

The Spanish noble, with ancestral ties to King James II of England, is required to shorten the 25-word name he had intended for his newborn daughter.

According to The Telegraph, Duke Fernando Fitz-James Stuart wants to name his daughter ‘Sofia Fernanda Dolores Cayetana Teresa Angela de la Cruz Micaela del Santisimo Sacramento del Perpetuo Socorro de la Santisima Trinidad y de Todos Los Santos.’

“The girl will not be able to be registered in the civil registry with a string of names that surpasses all rules. In the registration, no more than one compound [hyphenated] name may be recorded, nor more than two simple ones,” officials said.

As per reports from local media, the 25-word name of the girl is said to serve as a tribute to the late Duchess of Alba, various family members, and religious devotions.

Spanish newspaper El Pais reported: “The first name, Sofia, for example, was chosen in honour of her mother and grandmother, Sofia Barroso, and the second, Fernanda, as a tribute to her father, Duke of Huescar, as well as her great-uncle, Fernando Martinez of Irujo, Marquis of San Vicente del Barco.”

The new-born baby’s baptism took place in the historic center of Seville earlier this month, but it’s possible that her legal name will differ from the one used during the baptism.

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