Michigan — A 39-year-old mother in Michigan could face life in prison for her role in the death of her 4-year-old son, who authorities say was starved last year and weighed only 10 pounds at the time of his death.
Jessica Marie Burke was arrested last week and is currently charged with one count of felony first-degree child abuse in the death of Noah Burke, according to records reviewed by Law&Crime. The maximum penalty for first-degree child abuse in Michigan is life in prison.
Officers from the Bay City Police Department responded to a residence in the 900 block of McKinley Avenue around 4:10 a.m. on Oct. 18, 2024, in response to a 911 call from a woman — later identified as Burke — who told the dispatcher that she woke up to find her 4-year-old son unresponsive and not breathing, according to an MLive report.
Emergency medical personnel responded to the scene, and the boy was pronounced dead later that day.
A subsequent autopsy reportedly determined that Noah died as a result of homicide, with the cause of death being “severe extreme calorie malnutrition and complications thereof leading to extreme emaciation and failure to thrive.”
According to a copy of the criminal complaint obtained by Flint Michigan ABC affiliate WJRT, Burke “did knowingly or intentionally cause serious physical harm” to Noah through “starvation and malnourishment” that resulted in his death.
According to Bay County Prosecutor Michael P. Kanuszewski, the victim had special needs and weighed only 10 pounds when he died, which is roughly one-quarter of what a healthy child his age should weigh.
Other court documents obtained by WJRT stated that Noah was born with Esophageal Dysphasia, a “severely underdeveloped swallow” that left him with “no ability to suck, root gag, or move his mouth.”
Kanuszewski told the station that the situation was essentially a lose-lose for everyone involved.
“She had her hands full,” the prosecutor said about Burke. “He was a difficult child to care for, but how could anyone allow this to happen? This is why it’s so tragic. Nobody wins in a case like this, regardless of the outcome.”
Burke appeared in court for her arraignment last week, and the judge set a $250,000 cash-surety bond. She is scheduled to appear in court again on May 29.
