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. Prosecutors say disturbing text messages between shanda vander ark and her son reveal the torture her teenage son endured before his death. Shanda margaret vander ark, 44, appeared deeply distraught in court after being shown a picture of her dead son, timothy ferguson, 15, but prosecutors say it’s her fault he. Back in july 2022, police. The attorney for shanda margaret vander ark, 44, maintained that she did not intend to kill timothy ferguson, 15. Lawyer fred johnson said that “something broke” in her. The michigan mother who starved her disabled teenager to death was sentenced tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole — with a judge ripping into her for the. Muskegon county, mich — a norton shores woman who tortured and murdered her teenage son. That's the sentence a muskegon county judge handed shanda. The muskegon county circuit court jury deliberated just over an hour before convicting shanda vander ark, 44, of norton shores in the july 6, 2022, death of timothy. In testimony, shanda vander ark detailed each of her mental and physical disorders trying to convince the jury she was not in the right mindset when her son died of alleged abuse.