NORTON SHORES, Mich. — The woman accused of torturing and ultimately killing her 15-year-old son, Timothy Ferguson, appeared for a preliminary hearing in a Muskegon County courtroom Wednesday.
Shanda Vander Ark is facing a first-degree felony charge of murder and child abuse in the first degree for alleged crimes that stem back to July of 2022.
The specifics of the torture Timothy allegedly had to endure from both his mother Shanda and older brother, 20-year-old Paul Ferguson, were spoken in the courtroom for the first time.
Paul is also charged with one count of 1st Degree Child Abuse in the 60th District Court.
The afternoon began with detectives reading 80 pages of text conversations between Shanda and Paul. Paul himself also took the stand to testify against his mother for a plea deal with the judge.
According to Paul, Timothy was forced to live in a small closet in their basement. A detective showed pictures of the closet to the court, indicating that the only objects in it were a blue tarp and an Amazon box. Police say the room had an overwhelming odor of urine and feces.
Paul testified that handcuffs and zip ties were used to restrict Timothy's movement, while cameras and motion sensors were used to monitor him, both in the closet and the bathroom. Shanda and Paul often discussed ways to keep him uncomfortable, like forcing him to stand facing a wall for hours at a time or doing wall sits.
Timothy was punished by being fed Carolina reaper hot sauce, either on pieces of bread or poured directly into his mouth, which Paul admitted to doing to his younger brother.
Prosecutor: "Did you notice that he was getting really thin?"
Ferguson: "Yes."
Prosecutor: "Did you say anything to your mom about that?"
Ferguson: "I did. Yes."
Prosecutor: "What did you tell her? What did you try to do?"
Ferguson: "I took pictures of it and sent them to her and told her that--I wouldn't say that I said to stop, but I was trying to hint at it."
Prosecutor: "Had to stop what?"
Ferguson: "To stop feeding him so horribly. Give him something nutritional. Give him what he needed. He didn't deserve this."
Paul said he occasionally placed Timothy in a bath tub of cold water, including the day before he died for more than nine hours. Texts reveal Timothy was also forced at times to run up and down stairs while Paul chased him.
All of this, Paul says, was per Shanda's orders, claiming low self esteem made him want to make his mom proud.
The day before his death, Paul says Timothy was unresponsive in the morning and Shanda asked him to use a painful method to wake him up.
Prosecutor: "Was your mother giving you instructions on what to do with him while he was in that tub that at that point in time?
Paul: "Yes, sir."
Prosecutor: "What was she telling you to do?"
Paul: "Make him uncomfortable. And at one point, she had me heat up a pizza roll to see if he would be responsive to enticement... I held it close. And when he responded, as per instruction, I was to pull it away from him.
Prosecutor: "You recall, while Timothy was on the tub, an exchange where your mother inquired about pouring hot sauce on his private parts?"
Paul: "I do. Yes."
Prosecutor: "Did you do that?"
Paul: "No. That was beyond... as everything else was."
Pictures of the scene were admitted into evidence that showed Timothy deceased on the floor in the basement of the house. The photos also showed locks were kept on the refrigerator and freezer, and alarms on the closet door.
Paul frequently expressed frustration with Timothy and said in one text message, "I'm ready to kill Timothy."
The text messages between mother and son accused Timothy of faking his behavior. Those familiar with the family say Timothy is believed to have had special needs. Vander Ark often asked her son Paul via text to throw ice-cold water on Timothy and feed him bread with hot sauce.
"I ended up dragging him back into his small room because I wasn't gonna risk having him access to the tub or things overnight," read one of the texts. "He's still trying to be stupid, but I will tell you more tomorrow while I take you to work, describing how many different ways I can prove that he is faking. He's still doing it though. It's beyond ridiculous."
Timothy was allegedly still alive just before midnight on July 5. Police were called to the house the following day.
The doctor who performed an autopsy on Timothy testified that he weighed 69 pounds at the time of his death and his body showed signs of malnutrition and hypothermia. His death was ruled a homicide.
"This is not somebody who doesn't have the intellectual capability to properly care for their child," prosecutors concluded. "She has that ability and she chose chose to essentially torture this child to death."
Paul says the morning Timothy was found dead, he attempted to resuscitate him for 18 minutes before they called 911. He says Shanda told him to lie to police, saying Timothy had been on a hunger strike.
Paul initially went with the lie, before saying he later confessed the full truth to investigators.
After hours of testimony, the trial adjourned around 4:30 p.m. 13 ON YOUR SIDE will keep you up-to-date on the trial on our website.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.