MUSKEGON, Mich. — The woman convicted of killing her teenage son after torturing him in 2022 learned her sentence on Tuesday.
Shanda Vander Ark was found guilty of open murder and first-degree child abuse in December in the death of her 15-year-old son Timothy Ferguson.
Back in July 2022, police responded to the family home in Norton Shores and found Timothy dead. Officers said Timothy was emaciated and weighed only 69 pounds. His body also showed signs of hypothermia.
Muskegon County Prosecutor DJ Hilson called the situation "the most disturbing case he has seen in his career."
On Tuesday, she was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole, plus 50-100 years.
Two of Vander Ark's children spoke at the sentencing. They both expressed they want Vander Ark to be behind bars for the rest of her life.
Judge Matthew R. Kacel then spoke directly to Vander Ark before he read her sentence.
"This wasn't negligence or you not understanding what was going on. You knew exactly what you were doing," he said. "You testified yourself how incredibly intelligent you were. In fact, that's the only thing you testified that I believe was true. You were incredibly proud of that, boasting about it."
Kacel spoke on his decision to not show photos of Timothy's dead body in the courtroom. He said he wanted to afford him dignity that Vander Ark never did.
He then placed a photo of him on the bench. Vander Ark looked away.
"People know what you are. People know what you did. Timothy won," said Judge Kacel. "You don't win. Because justice in this case prevailed."
During a week-long trial, witnesses testified that Timothy slept in a small closet in the basement without furniture or blankets, and was often submerged in ice baths for more than nine hours at a time. Handcuffs and zip ties were used to restrict Timothy's movement.
Police said security cameras were found throughout the house. Locks were placed on the refrigerator and pantry so that Timothy couldn't sneak food even though he was severely malnourished.
Vander Ark and her other son, 20-year-old Paul Ferguson, would force Timothy to stand facing a wall for hours at a time or do wall sits. Timothy was punished by being fed Carolina Reaper hot sauce, either on pieces of bread or poured directly into his mouth.
Vander Ark claimed that she didn't remember a lot of the details of the days, weeks and months leading up to Timothy's death.
Paul Ferguson reportedly took orders from Vander Ark to punish Timothy. He claimed low self-esteem made him want to make his mom proud. He pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse for his role in Timothy's torture in December.
Paul had originally been scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 29, but that hearing was pushed back to Feb. 26.
13 ON YOUR SIDE livestreamed the sentencing. You can watch it here:
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