Tortured Son Murder Trial: Twisted Tale that Led to Teen’s Death

Shanda Vander Ark is accused of severely abusing her teenage son with special needs, who was in an ice bath for 9 hours before he was declared dead.

Shanda Vander Ark, 43, is facing first-degree murder and child abuse charges for the death of her 15-year-old son, Timothy Ferguson, who police found dead and severely malnourished inside the family’s home. Timothy’s older brother Paul, 20, had also been charged days after his mom’s arrest. Together, Vander Ark and her son Paul are accused of a sinister pattern of abuse that may have lasted for years.

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>> Court TV viewers who watched the trial of Timothy fair or were outraged how could a father lock his own son in a box in the garage why would a dad leave his teenage son alone in a windowless room with a mattress on the floor next to a bucket. It seems cruel

And outrageous. The jury agree and Timothy for was convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison. But tonight. Take a look at a mother accused of behavior that makes burgers conduct seem. Mild shonda Vander Ark also had a teenage son with special needs. His name was 10. Prosecutors say Timothy

Was forced to sleep in a locked closet with an alarm. He was denied food forced to take ice baths and was found dead inside the home 2022. >> At the time 15 year old Timothy only 69 pounds. Prosecutors also say Sean enlisted the help of Timothy’s older brother Paul

To help torture him tonight we take a look at what happened inside this home in MS. The guy Michigan listen to the testimony of Paul as he testifies against his mother as we investigate the torture and death of Timothy Ferguson. >> How the politic take you for joining us tonight here on

Closing me tell you up front. This hour. It’s going to be dark. This is going to be a dark hour because of what we’re going to talk about but I think it’s important. >> I think it’s extremely important to expose. What is alleged in this case and what happened to this child.

Because there are other children who need our help. Because there’s a lot of bad mothers out there. Think about these 2 hated mothers. Lori daybell and that woman from central Florida. America learned to hate these 2 for what they did. The problem was no one could. No one could jump in there

There were there was no before they did what they did. Or were alleged to have done right there. No calls or Family services coming in intervening. Before these things were happening. It’s a little with our new alleged villain tonight. This woman, I mean she had a track record already before any

Of that dark dark things you’re going to hear about this program happened. And I think it’s something we have to have the discussion about why. Why was she permitted to be in this child’s life how did that have happen. But tonight we’re going to focus on what happened how it

Happened and what the details our to really try to. Get some grass for just how to preyed this woman allegedly is and the way she treated her son with special needs. This is interesting the beginning of the show. I’d like to kind of outline things in introduce you to the

People that will be talking about in these relationships, but we was not even a photo. Could you imagine having a child or not at all like a 1000 pictures everywhere. Generally located picture of this child other than after. And those pictures we cannot show on television. But not even a photo.

And to me that’s a great with that me that’s a great great litmus test right. I mean there been cases where people have alleged that there, you know child went missing a certain day, but no one has seen him for 3 months and I’m like well if if if they were

Here the whole time you have a bunch of pictures. Especially when they’re young and growing up you want to you know you Mark you Mark birthdays holidays, and sometimes you just mark a a moment. That wasn’t the case here. But it went way way beyond all of that at this I’m telling

This stuff is dark. Craved we’re talking about torture were talking about evil tonight. Inside the courtroom Timothy, the victim as an older brother named Paul who passed Lee is mother enlisted, but has taken some sort of a deal and he’s testifying against his mother and it is outlining some of

The things that were happening to this child it is it’s awful. I don’t know where this comes from and that’s one of the things we’re going to try to understand tonight. How this evil can exist where comes from how to spot it. And then hopefully our system could can do something to

Protect our children. Every night the end of this program I you know don’t forget to how the kids it’s the kids that means all the kids out there right and I I mean keep an eye out let’s let’s protect the children were the adults, we’re the adults in the world that’s our

Responsibility to take care of the children so if you see or know of a child that is in danger in need of help that’s our job. Whether it’s a phone call or whether it’s physical intervention, whatever it is. And that didn’t happen for this child and I it’s it’s it’s it’s

Hard to fathom a judge Ashley tonight has that the full story of shonda Vander Ark the woman accused of doing horrific horrible things. >> Norton shores Michigan police respond to an emergency call it 4788 Marshall road. >> There they find 15 year-old Timothy Ferguson dead inside the home.

>> If you do this job long you’re going to see a lot of things very are disgusting. >> According to police Timothy had special needs he was severely malnourished and there was evidence of abuse. It’s clear that this wasn’t the first. >> that our victim is 15 year-old had suffered at the

Hands of neglect and abuse. >> Timothy Ferguson’s mother shanda Vander Ark and his older brother Paul were arrested. Investigators described how they say 10 of these family members brutalized him. >> As Our 5th 2 year-old was subject to a nice pass I was subject to that being food other than.

>> Bread or bread soaked in hot sauce. >> A neighbor spoke off camera with local station W X him I about the family. >> We seem like she was just you know I mean she’s really to herself a lot. >> According to the neighbor Vander Ark and her family had

Lived in Norton shores for a couple of years. >> She doesn’t come out >> investigators say Vander Ark moved to Michigan from Oklahoma where she had been investigated by child welfare authorities. >> Instead of having her parental rights terminated she voluntarily left the House from what we can tell that’s where the

Case kinda. >> 2 weeks after her arrest shanda Vander Ark was in a Muskegon County courtroom facing homicide and child abuse charges. And in an unexpected twist and turns out she was no stranger to the courtroom. Vander Ark pleaded not guilty and is being held without bond at her hearing her attorney

Hinted at a possible defense. >> The tension a lot of memories case. >> The allegations Timothy’s brother Paul is also charged with child abuse and is expected to testify against their mother. >> And he did testify today, we’ll hear some of that some of the the inside look inside that House of horrors

For this child. There was a word that was used there. But among the detectives neglect or child neglect is one thing this this is beyond neglect. This is like like going out and doing things to torture child, not just like not pay attention to the child. We’ve seen those cases as well

Usually with small babies this is this this is next level stuff. So we bring in our guest tonight, joining me tonight in Rogers Arkansas a host of the hidden killers podcast Tony Bruschi is back with us. And the Jacksonville Alabama friends, a death investigator professor of forensics at Jacksonville State

University and host of the body bags podcast Joseph Scott Morgan well, thanks guys for being Tony. You cover a lot of these killers right and if you have you come up across the level of depravity torture and evil that we’re hearing about this case. >> Unfortunately the answer is

Yes do that. But this is one that certainly ranks up there. Wary, it’s just so hard to fathom and there are very few words. >> Ride the level of of dark at one but have. >> Within their soul to be able to. Bring is kind of. >> Rama up on her own child.

The word evil is thrown around quite a bit. I don’t know a better or but this is such malevolent be if you’re if by any sort of logic for those are healthy normal individuals of our children. >> Jessica Morgan we have covered so many cases through the years. And some terrible

Mothers, some terrible father’s we just we’re covering the fire case the boy in the box and all that, but this to me is like next level. You’re you are going out there and you’re creating in thinking of different ways to talk for sure this child who has special needs.

>> Yeah you are and you know we have to frame this just so that folks when when temps he was initially assess the post-mortem so spent worried about 60 pounds fan you 16 years old. Normally healthy male is going to range anywhere about a 111 pounds 290 pounds, you know,

There’s some big kids that are out there. You know depend upon their level of activity and you know body saws and all that uh 60 then and then to kind of top all of this all he suffering from severe malnutrition. That’s probably what killed him one of the things that they’re talking

About here is that his ribs were visible. And the folks at home will just imagine that the food, the energy stores that you have. You have long-term fat storage in your body. Your body begins to consume those and once those are gone those fat stores in the long term you

Begin to just muscle, okay, so he would have been severely weakened an atrophied and one more thing. That’s just really heartbreaking event. The next time any of you guys go to a and you order something said Mexican restaurant or Cajun restaurant understand that the peppers there that they use cayenne and Tabasco

There roughly about 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units in. She was at allegedly. Carolina reaper pepper sauce to this child then you know what the Scoville units are on this. One 0.4 million Scoville units all the way up to 2.2 million. And he was they’re they’re placing this on bread that’s only

Nutrition he was getting and then giving him a bit of water. Imagine the horror involved. >> there are. >> Hot sauce shops where you go in and there’s like that’s the challenge right if you can if you can withstand, you know 1, 2, tiny little drop of that and I’ve seen people do

Including my son. One tiny drop. >> Of their own free will write of their own free will like they’re preparing Ford and you’ve got like a big milkshake and ice cream ready for for you know 5 minutes after words like 5 minutes and I can’t imagine they’re feeding this to this

Child is looking for anything to eat anything because he’s literally starving and then to be fed that I want I want to give folks an idea more of what’s going on inside this house here’s officer, pie ski from the new Norton shores Police Department a test to find out what they found inside.

>> That he was extremely know nursed a piece of the pier to pier that way a very skinny. You can phones for shooting from his body you see the ribs the skin. >> And to do that but serve the that the take an opportunity to observe it the rest of the best

Ideas so we’ve got to get it right out of step is used by local residents and to the first body work in lower level that residence to do the UK to observe the rest of that. >> And I think that some point during the day I did observe

The red well I don’t know exactly where that falls in line with but you did something to the lower Sir, yes specifically did you have occasion to observe the cameras in the present. Yes, there are several cameras throughout the lower level than but that you also have the

Upper level of the rest still has a question that some point yes I did. The cause of the kitchen area you can make some observations kitchen area, the and the kitchen area there were alongside some of the cabinets in the fridge or 8 or the freezer if you already have

And patients will serve what you just described in terms of kitchen area of the locks and the freezer and yes, I deserve those things prior to speaking with her and did you ask her about those I did ask about those and did you did she indicate to you what some of

These connection was to the locks in the freezer and refrigerator and the other access to food she indicated that those lots for to and from a sneaking food or snacking on food that he wasn’t supposed to have all the >> there was a patient was open that you have access to but he

When he did not have a key to those box. >> Tony Bruschi do we know anything about this woman’s background that would drive her to such such behavior. >> I think that’s a very good question and that’s that’s what I think we all wonder. The first thing

That would come to mind is that I’m in a gas that there probably was a history of abuse there I I don’t foreshore in order for someone to kind of have this for how they they decide to parent their child. One would have to assume that there’s there’s some the level of abuse

Some level of hating one self-destruction green that one would with this under their own But that’s the thing that there’s not a whole lot to really known about the background of this woman as far as I’m aware. But without a doubt I mean I would say 99 percent it’s probably

Someone who’d also been point in their life. And when you have that sort of a recipe for a person. It oftentimes is repeated because it’s all they know not an excuse for any sort of behavior. Well whatsoever. Unfortunately it you see the pattern over and over Lately. >> Jessica morning, we’re

Looking at the video from inside I mean there are that refrigerators, full of food that freezer was full of food. And just locking it up denying in putting cameras in place so just in case the sneaking around somewhere you can prevent him from getting food there. >> This is this is depravity

This is your child. >> You still you a word there been it is to praised behavior and and here’s why I’ve worked cases over the course marker ear involving drug addled individuals that had children in the home and the children are malnourished they don’t have food and covers okay nothing

At all here, you their Cup runneth over if you will and you know can you imagine just just gnawing hunger. Your body is screaming and there’s food there and if you’re able and I don’t even know if this child would be a military where he could walk maybe drag itself across the

Floor and he would sit at the base of the skull closed locked doors that this woman. Who is his caretaker the person that’s supposed to love him at locked up and he had no opera to nutty and can you imagine the that followed because she’s taking videography event. She’s making a record of

This perhaps and that you know will be into him and she sees him trying to approach one of these cabinets it will it reaches a different level of depravity let me ask you Joseph and. >> For this child starving to death. What what’s going through the mind of a child is they’re

Starving to death do do we know how much suffering is involved in all of that. >> Yeah, there’s a lack of said obviously won the first things you’re going to see with malnourishment is dehydration. You’re going to see at your feet. Conditions where the muscle is is degraded to the

Point where they can even they can’t even move, I’ve had cases where people literally literally did try to drag them cells across the floor, but also you have this component that kicks in as well where the individual will began to hallucinate and this deprives state. They’ll be talking out of their head talk

About them on and you know this this situation is all about control can you imagine how enraged she would be if he is in kind of this non loose its stay where he’s hallucinating and he won’t be quiet and it’s because his mind is going to work in all

You’re in survival mode, this point then it doesn’t matter