Shanda Vander Ark: Michigan woman throws up on witness stand after seeing photos of her son's malnourished body

NORTON SHORES, MICHIGAN: A Michigan woman, who tortured her son to death, reportedly chundered on the witness stand upon seeing the distressing images of her teen's malnourished body. 

The trial against Shanda Vander Ark, who is charged with first-degree felony murder and first-degree child abuse, continued on Thursday, December 14, with her taking the stand to testify.

Shanda Ark's son Timothy Ferguson weighed only 69 pounds at the time of his death

Timothy Ferguson, 15, was found dead on July 6, 2022, at the family's home in Norton Shores, Michigan. The teen, who was autistic with speech and motor impairments, weighed only 69 pounds at the time of his death. Vander Ark's older son, Paul Ferguson, 21, is also charged in the case.

Timothy Ferguson's father left home after a stroke

Vander Ark revealed that her husband, Adam, had to move out of the family home after suffering a stroke in January 2022 which she said was the catalyst for Timothy to become a nuisance. 

"There was a couple situations when Tim actually intentionally kept everyone in the house awake," she said, adding "He would intentionally set off the motion detectors, he would make noise."

"How could you not know that he was bad," asked Vander Ark's defense attorney. "Honestly, I was just barely functioning, I missed a lot. I hate it because I feel like a complete failure," said the mother.

Alleged text messages between Shanda Vander Ark and her eldest son

Muskegon County Chief Trial Prosecutor Matt Roberts questioned Vander Ark for nearly four hours during cross-examination, referring to text messages between the mother and her eldest son. The messages detailed alleged punishments the two would inflict on Timonth, including being forced to eat bread soaked in hot sauce and taking ice baths.

The day before Timothy died, he was subjected to a nine-hour ice bath, according to court documents. Vander Ark responded to most of Roberts' questions with "I don't recall," or "I don't know."

Shanda Vander Ark ordered specific hot sauces for Timothy Ferguson

The prosecution revealed through cross-examination that Vander Ark ordered specific hot sauces that were more extreme than what was initially fed to Timothy who enjoyed spicy foods. Vander Ark said she never tried any of the hot sauces because she has a "very weak stomach, so I didn't want to throw up."

Robert showed pictures of Timothy's body hours before he died at some point which caused Vander Ark to vomit while on the witness stand. As the prosecution laid the photo before Vander Ark, she immediately put her hand over her mouth and coughed several times before throwing up. 

Vander Ark appeared to grab a trash can next to her and could be heard spitting and coughing out of view of the camera in the courtroom. "I'm sorry," the mother said.

Paul Ferguson's relationship with his mother was close to Stockholm Syndrome

Paul also took the stand, saying that he was "surprised, shocked, horrified," when Timothy died. He is accused of carrying out punishments on his younger brother as they were dictated by his mother. "I haven't had it diagnosed and I don't know how to explain it, but I'd say it's something close to Stockholm Syndrome," Ferguson said, describing his relationship with his mother, as per Fox 17.

"I desire to find a role model...due to my own low self-esteem, I would do anything to make them proud of me. That's not an excuse, I know, but I feel like I'm glad I was at least able to realize it so I can correct it," he said.