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Detrick mom gets 15 years in poisoning

FREDERICK, Md. — A city woman accused of poisoning her young daughter to evoke sympathy for herself was ordered Thursday to serve 15 years of a 25-year sentence.

Wendi Scott, 33, pleaded guilty in March to first-degree child abuse for sickening her 4-year-old daughter to draw attention to herself, poisoning her with magnesium and using syringes to remove blood.

Lt. Col. (Dr.) Arthur deLorimier of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where Cristina Scott was treated, testified in Frederick County Circuit Court on Thursday that the girl, now 5, faces increased risks of cancer from repeated radiological tests. She is developmentally delayed and in danger of emotional problems.

The abuse for which Wendi Scott was convicted occurred from May to June 2007, while the family was living at Fort Detrick.

“The impact on all involved is hard for me to face,” Scott told Judge G. Edward Dwyer Jr. “I have made a bad decision, one I will carry with me to my grave.”

Scott added that she was ready to pay for her mistakes.

“I am in continuing anguish for [my daughter],” she said. “My heart will never be the same, but I am determined to do all I can to become a better person.”

Cristina Scott lives with her younger brother and maternal grandparents in Georgia.

Assistant State’s Attorney Lindell K. Angel said Thursday that Scott wanted others to believe her daughter had leukemia. Prosecutors had alleged that Scott’s behavior was consistent with Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which a caregiver fakes or induces illness in another to generate sympathy.

During the six-hour sentencing hearing, defense attorney Mary Drawbaugh urged Dwyer to confine Scott to her home, which would allow her to continue to received counseling. Two doctors testified Scott needed intensive psychotherapy to deal with severe mental illnesses.

The judge said deLorimier’s testimony showed the need for a strong punishment.