Woman Put Feces In Child's IV Feeding Tube

(CBS)- A mother arrested for repeatedly putting fecal matter down her daughter's feeding tube was released from jail for the second time on Wednesday. Investigators said they're shocked that 23-year-old Emily McDonald is free on the streets.

According to an arrest affidavit, McDonald’s daughter was being treated at Dell Children’s Medical Center for serious infections caused by unusual organisms.

Doctors ran a blood culture and found fecal matter in the girl’s bloodstream, authorities say.

In the last 24 hours, McDonald was taken into custody, released, then rearrested and released again. Two judges at the Travis County Justice Complex said a computer glitch made one revoke the other's decision.

Austin District Judge Charlie Baird released McDonald Tuesday on her own recognizance, despite a magistrate's initial bond set at $100,000. Baird said he believed his ruling was justified because he did not feel McDonald was a flight risk and she has no criminal record.

“Since she had no criminal history, had never been in trouble with the law before, the uniqueness of this situation and that CPS was involved, I didn't think there was any risk to anyone else being harmed,” Baird told CBS 42’s Katherine Stolp about his decision.

McDonald's case was then assigned to Judge Julie Kocurek who did not want to go on camera. She ordered McDonald to be rearrested Wednesday afternoon because of the seriousness of the offense.

Video surveillance was set up in the girl’s room and McDonald was allegedly caught on camera taking fecal matter from her daughter’s soiled diaper and placing it in the cap to an intravenous central line that ran into the girl’s bloodstream.

Police were shocked when KEYE's Rebecca Taylor broke news of her release.

"I don't know why he made the decision that he did. The outcome -- that she's out, we don't know where she is and we had to find out through you, is shocking," police Cmdr. Julie O'Brien told CBS 42. "This is shocking to us. That somebody charged with injury to a child -- a first degree felony and a heinous crime that would shock this community has already been released on a PR (personal recognizance) bond."

But after meeting with the District Attorney and Bob Phillips who's representing McDonald, Judge Kocurek decided to follow court policy and honor Baird's decision. So, McDonald was released again from jail. Judge Kocurek did say she would have never issued a personal bond for McDonald, if the decision was originally up to her.

“Whatever misunderstandings and clerical problems have now been cleared up and now we're back on track where this case should be,” said Attorney Phillips, who represents McDonald.

Sgt. Wayne Vincent with the Austin Police Association said investigators are outraged that a mother charged with a major crime is back out on the streets.

“There's something wrong with the system when we are jeopardizing an ability to make someone accountable for what they do and let them walk out,” he said.

McDonald’s personal bond does come with some conditions tied to it. First, she's under close supervision by the court. McDonald is also staying with her parents and must wear an electronic monitoring device. Also, APD issued a police protective order that prevents McDonald from seeing any of her three children for 30 -60 days.

Dell Children's Medical Center set up the surveillance cameras that reportedly caught McDonald smearing fecal matter from her daughter's diaper onto her feeding tube. Representatives released this statement: "The Seton family of hospitals has many security and safety procedures in place to protect our patients. If we suspect possible injury to one of our patients, we take legal and necessary steps to protect their health and safety."

McDonald's first appearance in court is July 9th.


Seton Healthcare Network, which runs Dell Children's Medical Center, offers the following statement:

“It is our duty to protect and honor a patient’s privacy. It is also federal law.

In addition to privacy is the issue of patient safety. The Seton Family of Hospitals has many security and safety procedures in place to protect our patients. If we suspect possible injury to one of our patients, we take legal and necessary steps to protect their health and safety.

Because of these security and privacy issues, we cannot comment on any of the details of this case.”