A 7-year-old girl from Texas was suffering from unexplained ulcers in her gastrointestinal tract and damage to her colon and lower intestine. The medical mystery was eventually solved when family members suggested a shocking theory: the girl’s primary caregiver, her grandmother, was poisoning her.
Following an investigation, authorities concluded that the girl’s 56-year-old grandmother, Lisa Campbell-Goins, had been administering an alkaline-like substance, possibly a degreaser, through the girl’s feeding tube. This information was revealed in a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by a local Dallas Fox affiliate.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office identified the case as medical child abuse, specifically Munchausen by proxy syndrome. This disorder, as defined by the National Institutes of Health, is characterized by the fabrication or induction of signs or symptoms of a disease.
Investigators believe that Campbell-Goins was unnecessarily using a gastric feeding tube on her granddaughter, causing her medical issues. They also suspect that she was attempting to garner sympathy for the girl in order to set up a GoFundMe account for financial gain.
Campbell-Goins was arrested last week on charges of exploitation of a child, injury to a child, and unlawful restraint. She is currently held at the Tarrant County Corrections Center on a $150,000 bond.
According to the affidavit, Campbell-Goins had been caring for the girl since she was a baby. She had reportedly taken her granddaughter to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth in August 2023 for severe dehydration, vomiting, and diarrhea. Doctors were initially puzzled by the girl’s symptoms as they did not align with any known medical diagnosis.
As the girl’s condition improved with the use of a gastric tube for medication, Campbell-Goins allegedly insisted on feeding her through the tube as well. However, the girl’s condition deteriorated again. In January 2024, family members contacted the police, suspecting that Campbell-Goins was poisoning the girl through the feeding tube.
Once Campbell-Goins was removed from the hospital, the girl’s condition improved dramatically. The investigation revealed that Campbell-Goins had been administering Mean Green Degreaser through the girl’s feeding tube. Detectives also suspect that she used sedatives to control the girl.
This is not the first time Campbell-Goins has been accused of medical child abuse. In 1999, she was reportedly ordered to take parenting classes after allegedly overmedicating her son. In the current case, detectives are seeking information from anyone who may have donated to Campbell-Goins’ alleged GoFundMe scam.