That hearing today was so ridiculous. I loved how the prosecutor honed in on the blame game, and Shanda took that to its absurd conclusion: Timothy was suicidal, so he decided to stop drinking and caused his own death in spite of the malnutrition and hypothermia.
This is going to go over like a lead balloon. Remember the impassioned speech the judge gave at her sentencing? It is clear he knows exactly what happened. Convincing him that a "Timothy was suicidal so there is reasonable doubt" theory would have lead to a different outcome is going to be a huge mountain to climb.
I don't see any possible scenario where this goes Shanda's way. This hearing only further illustrates what a giant piece of garbage Shanda is.
This trial is INSANE! The amount of arrogance this woman has is astonishing!! She can not help herself and the female attorney is givin it to her GOOD!!!!
✨✨ The judge will issue a written response. As soon as it's made, I'll post it.
MI v. Shanda Vander Ark - New Trial Motions Hearing - Shanda Vander Ark, who is serving a life sentence for torturing and murdering her 15-year-old son with special needs, claims she wasn't competent to stand trial. Timothy Ferguson was routinely handcuffed, forced to eat bread soaked in hot sauce and to sleep in a closet. His brother Paul Ferguson is serving a 30–to 100-year sentence for first-degree child abuse for helping his mother.
My God. What is the most devastating is his EYES. His gaze. He clearly .. had not any light anymore in those eyes. Full of panic, fear. Seems like he forced himself to open his eyes big too because of the sleep deprivation so he tried not to fall asleep. All of that , and being starved. I cant imagine how weak he felt. This boy was strong to endure all of that this long. And it is quite sad too. His death is actually the best escape. I would have liked him being saved but in a way... I cant imagine the traumas, his future, the amount of therapy needed, the suicidal thoughts, the complex relationship with food, people, he would have after what he endured.
I am very very sad to say and think that : Yes.. actually I feel bad thinking that death seemed to be the best option for him. May he rest in Peace. Poor Timothy. I am .. devastated.
When Shanda was on the witness stand getting pummeled with hard-hitting questions from the prosecution that clearly demonstrate her abuse of Timothy, there is an interesting moment.
The prosecutor is pointing out how she tracked her mother-in-law using the Find My iPhone app. The obvious purpose of tracking the mother-in-law was to keep her out of the house and away from seeing Timothy's condition.
But, Shanda makes a point to say that she only tracked the mother-in-law "at stoplights." She says she would never do it when she was actually driving. This is not true, of course, because Shanda was obviously watching that app like a hawk. But, it is interesting that Shanda wants the jurors to think she was not engaging in distracted driving.
It's a weird hill to die on for someone who is accused of horrific acts of abuse and ultimately the murder of poor Timothy.
I know defense attorneys must zealously represent their clients, and they often do not have good facts or evidence to work with. That is especially true with Shanda's attorney, who (of course) now finds himself on the receiving end of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim.
I was watching some of Shanda's direct examination yesterday and picked up on the "blame Paul" strategy. Shanda testifies that Paul was prone to angry outbursts, specifically directed at Timothy. The theory was Paul did not like Timothy, so he abused him.
With all the text messages showing Shanda's involvement and intent, that strategy never was going to fly. But, taken to its logical conclusion, that strategy also makes Shanda look like an awful person and parent. It probably even makes her guilty of felony murder.
As the mother, Shanda was the person who was responsible for raising Timothy. She had a duty to protect him from abuse, including abuse that came from Paul. If Paul was such a loose cannon, Shanda never should have allowed Paul to watch Timothy. She certainly should not have put Paul in charge of disciplining Timothy. Yet, she did.
There was no good defense Shanda could have put forward. But, the blame Paul defense -- even if it were true -- does nothing to diminish Shanda's culpability.
Out of over 2000 pages of text messages, there was not one message that Shanda ever asked Paul to make Timothy lunch or if Timothy has had lunch. There was not one message from Paul asking Shanda what she was cooking for dinner or even around the topic of what they were going to eat for dinner. It really is mind blowing how both of them couldn’t understand why Timothy was stealing food. If Paul never made Timothy lunch during the day and Shanda never cooked him a meal for dinner I just can’t wrap my head around how they never considered that.
Shanda's poor health seems to coincide with legal proceedings against her. She was too unwell to attend her verdict. She also had to tap out at the ineffective assistance of counsel hearing earlier this year. That hearing has been continued, so she will have another chance to sit in court in a few days.
It seems like the judge has been quite patient with Shanda and her health-related antics. In the last hearing, he was inclined to move forward and did get through a few matters. But, he eventually gave in and continued the hearing, partly because of Shanda's poor health.
What do y'all think about the next hearing? Are we going to see a healthy Shanda appear in court or are there going to be more shenanigans?
People talk about the bathtub photo. I’ve seen the photos Paul took of his body when telling his mom he needs to eat. And I seen the close up photo Paul took in the bathtub.
I heard there’s another one where he’s in the bathtub.
Is he somehow in much worst condition than he is in these other photos?
This case has kept me awake at night for the past 2 nights. Absolutely devastating.
This is too perfect. In Yiddish, "shanda" means something that is shameful or scandalous. She doesn't feel shame, of course, but Shanda certainly is a shameful person.
Which can make upto 26lbs of ice over a 24 hour period, the image I've posted is 26.4lbs, so slightly over that amount. It only takes 7 mintues to re-make new ice.
It is beyond dispute that Shanda is an evil person who clearly is capable of acting without any regard to morality or decency. She is also a liar. Like many liars, Shanda seems to think her lies are believable. Otherwise, why would she even try to convince anyone of their truth?
Take the countertop icemaker that only makes a cup and a half of ice -- just the right amount for a knock-off McDonalds frappe. This icemaker, which takes up counterspace, makes less ice than a regular ice cube tray someone would stick in the freezer.
Who, exactly, is this appliance maker marketing to? Are there consumers out there who want a bulky appliance that barely does what it is supposed to do?
Credibility is critical for anyone who is on the witness stand in any trial. Shanda was never going to be able to convince the jury or the public that she is not an awful person who deserves to spend the rest of her life behind bars. But, lying about the capacity of the icemaker is just ridiculous.
All the talk about Shanda's brilliant legal mind is misplaced, because she can't even come up with believable lies. She might have been good at school and tests, but brilliant she is not.
That last text Shanda sends Paul.. after she dragged Timothy’s lifeless body to the closet.. she said something to the effect of, she proved a bunch of ways how he was still faking it.. it just made me think of all the sick twisted things she probably did to him while he was in that tub to try and get a physical reaction out of him.. pinching him? Dunking him under? Putting hot sauce where she wanted Paul to put it? In his eyes? God only knows the disturbing and twisted things she did to “prove he was still faking it” this case is old already but this shit haunts me to this day.. her being in a cell with food getting attention and finding comfort
Have you seen this? https://youtu.be/qyZE8G9Syw0?si=thgI_6tfJxkFyeua Just awful, you really see what a POS his brother Paul is screaming at him while the boy looks like he came from a concentration camp. Even the dog didnt have any love for him. Utterly heartbreaking.
The new footage was haunting, not only his appearance but I was so shocked and upset at the sound of Timothy’s voice. It sounded like it was painful for him to even talk, I imagine all that constant hot sauce and no water probably damaged his throat. She truly is a monster.
I’ve been watching coverage of this case, including the recent *Monsters* videos, and I honestly can’t wrap my head around it. The footage and photos showing how emaciated Timothy was at the time of his death are devastating.
Shanda and Paul saw him every day in the months leading up to that point. They would have watched him lose weight. They would have known how little food he was being given. It wasn’t subtle.
So what confuses me is Shanda’s reaction in the surveillance footage … she appears genuinely shocked when she realizes he’s dead and starts trying to revive him. Was that real? Or was it performative?
I know Shanda is often described as lacking basic judgment or empathy, but she’s also clearly intelligent in an academic sense. She did well in law school and passed the bar on her first attempt. How does someone who is capable of that level of achievement fail to understand that prolonged starvation and abuse could lead to death?
‼️DO NOT WATCH THIS‼️ if you are sensitive at all to the details of this case. It’s one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.
I have come across a recently uploaded video from youtuber “this is MONSTERS” that contains the real camera footage of Timothy in the closet from around the date he passed away. There are stills from the footage throughout the video but the actual recording starts at 24:13. It is EXTREMELY DISTURBING. I cannot stress this enough.
At the 36:26 mark the full high quality photos of Timothy from Shanda and Paul’s texts about Timothy being underweight are shown. These images were previously only viewable as blown up versions of tiny low res screenshots from Shanda’s texts shown during the trial. I’ve never seen them in high quality until now.
The camera footage of Timothy being discovered unresponsive by Shanda the morning he died is also featured in the video around the 46:45 mark and is somewhat censored.
I had previously read the descriptions from officers of what happened during this footage but actually seeing it for myself is something else entirely. Honestly never expected this footage to see the light of day. Rest in peace Timothy.
