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Mom blogger Lacey Spears faces prison in 5-year-old son's killing

By Juliegrace Brufke

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., March 3 (UPI) -- A mom who blogged about her 5-year-old son's health troubles could face up to 25 years in prison after being convicted of killing the boy by force-feeding him salt through a stomach tube.

After three days of deliberations, a Westchester County jury found Lacey Spears guilty of second-degree murder Monday in Garnett-Paul Spears' death. She could face 15 to 25 years in prison.

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Four days after Garnett-Paul Spears was taken to the hospital in January 2014, he died due to swelling of the brain caused by dangerous levels of sodium in his system.

For years, Spears, 27, chronicled her son's frequent trips to the hospital due to digestive problems, seizures, fevers and ear infections on social media and her personal blog. The boy's ailments puzzled doctors until the his final days, when they discovered "metabolically impossible" levels of salt.

On two separate occasions, video shows the boy suffering after Spears took him to the bathroom at the hospital.

Prosecutors said she killed him in fear that he would tell people she was responsible for causing his illnesses. Doctors speculate Spears has Munchausen by proxy, a disorder that involves caretakers fabricating or causing illness in their dependents, usually a child.

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"The motive is bizarre, the notion is scary, but it exists ... She apparently craved the attention of her family, her friends, her co-workers and most particularly the medical profession," said Assistant District Attorney Patricia Murphy during closing arguments Thursday.

Despite several doctors' testimonies, Spears' defense lawyer, Stephen Riebling, said there was no "direct evidence" the mother was responsible for the death and accused the hospital of being negligent of the boy's dehydration.

Spears' sentencing is set for April 8.

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