• Font Size    

Most Popular Videos Featured On KDKA.com

Local Highway To Be Renamed I-376
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Mom Accused Of Poisoning Son Sent To Mental Hosp.

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +   
Jul 24, 2008 4:10 pm US/Eastern

Mom Accused Of Poisoning Son Sent To Mental Hosp.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) ― A mother accused of deliberately injecting her 4-month-old son with salt water will be sent to a state mental hospital because she suffers from severe depression and psychiatrists are testing her for Munchausen by Proxy syndrome.

Amber Brewington, 21, of Duck River, Tenn., appeared in court via videoconference for a competency hearing.

Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning ordered that Brewington be sent to Mayview State Hospital for no more than 90 days.

Psychiatrist Christine Martone testified that Brewington needs to be tested for Munchausen, a syndrome in which a caregiver fakes or induces illness in others to generate sympathy.

Martone says Brewington also has a borderline personality disorder and admits to having suicidal thoughts.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Featured Slideshows On KDKA.com

© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.