Mother accused of forcing unneeded medical treatments on son, warrant says
By Matthew Ablon, Amelia Mugavero
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Texas (KTVT) — A Glen Rose woman is accused of abusing her young son by forcing him to use a feeding tube and a wheelchair he did not need, and by giving him unnecessary medication, according to an arrest warrant reviewed by CBS News Texas.
The warrant says Kaitlyn Rose Laura, 30, was taken into custody by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office in late March. She is charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. If she posts bond, she is prohibited from contacting her son, any child under 17, or her child’s immediate family.
What the warrant reveals The 18‑page warrant says a Glen Rose police officer contacted Tarrant County detectives in mid‑February 2026, alleging Laura lied about her son’s medical history to obtain an unnecessary feeding tube in June 2025. The child underwent surgery at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, which would normally place the case under Fort Worth police jurisdiction. However, Fort Worth police referred the case to Glen Rose police because Laura lives within the city limits.
According to the warrant, Glen Rose police then referred the case to the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office, but no law enforcement action was taken. The warrant notes the department has only two officers and lacks the resources to investigate a case of this complexity.
The warrant says a Child Protective Services investigator contacted Tarrant County deputies in February 2026, reporting that Laura and her son attempted to leave Children’s Medical Center Dallas against medical advice after she was flagged to child abuse pediatricians for suspected medical child abuse. The investigator said Laura claimed her son could not eat by mouth and kept him in a posey bed, a tent‑like enclosure that can only be opened from the outside.
After Laura was separated from her son, the investigator said the boy was eating pancakes and sausages and was mobile. The investigator also provided affidavits from child abuse pediatricians at Cook Children’s and from a gastroenterologist at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. According to the warrant, the affidavit from Children’s stated that Laura forced the boy to use a wheelchair.
A Tarrant County detective reviewed several of Laura’s social media and fundraising accounts, where she reportedly documented her son’s supposed medical history. The detective requested that Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok preserve her accounts.
Medical history researched The warrant says affidavits from Cook Children’s child abuse pediatricians detailed discrepancies between Laura’s claims and her son’s actual medical history.
One pediatrician met with Laura in June 2025, when she reportedly claimed her son had a complicated birth at Granbury Medical Center. She said he was a breech birth and that doctors “maxed out the medication” to keep her heart pumping, and that he “flipped” before a scheduled C‑section. But the affidavit says medical records showed he was born via a normal, pre‑scheduled C‑section with no complications. He was sent home after his birth in August 2022, though Laura reportedly told a nurse she could not get him to eat; the nurse was able to feed him without issue.
According to the warrant’s summary of the pediatrician’s affidavit, Laura also said her son had “stopped eating solid food” at age two and kept food journals that led to the initial feeding tube placement. She claimed he stopped tolerating G‑tube feeds, but a Cook Children’s doctor was able to feed him without difficulty. The affidavit also noted the child ate normally when the initial child abuse report was shared with CPS. Laura claimed he could only eat after being given gabapentin, an appetite stimulant.
The warrant says Laura believed her son suffered two seizures despite a normal EEG at Cook Children’s. She also claimed in late May 2025 that he had cerebral palsy, a mitochondrial disorder, autism, and developmental delays. She requested a posey bed, saying his “leg kicking” had broken three cribs at home, but Cook Children’s staff reported he did not need the enclosure once separated from her.
Laura also requested respite care for nighttime tube feeds, but the warrant says a doctor told her those would be discontinued because her son was taking medication by mouth without issue. She claimed that while he could eat and take medication in the hospital, she had to hold him down at home to get him to take medication.
A timeline develops The warrant outlines a detailed timeline provided by a Cook Children’s child abuse pediatrician, who said Laura gave conflicting accounts of her son’s birth to multiple medical professionals.
In October 2024, Laura reportedly told Early Childhood Development that her son had a traumatic birth that took two hours and that her oxygen levels kept dropping, requiring medication. None of that was reflected in his birth records. During an initial evaluation at Cook Children’s in April 2025, she reportedly claimed her son “needed oxygen at delivery,” which was also not supported by records.
The pediatrician’s review found that in February 2025, Laura took her son to Dell Children’s in Woodway, near Waco. A doctor there recommended further testing, feeding therapy, and possibly medication. The next day, Laura called a Cook Children’s neurology provider and reportedly said the Dell Children’s doctor was “disregarding” and had attributed all of her son’s feeding issues to neurological problems and autism. The pediatrician’s review found that claim to be untrue.
At a March 2025 appointment with Cook Children’s gastrointestinal team, Laura reportedly said her son “always had difficulty gaining weight” and claimed his sheets “smell like acid,” leading her to believe he was vomiting overnight. The review also found that beginning in April 2025, she sent messages to the GI team requesting a G‑tube placement, including one message claiming her son’s physical medicine and rehab provider told her to ask about it. The pediatrician found no documentation supporting that recommendation, and the rehab provider expressed concern that Laura had twisted their words.
According to the warrant, Laura continued messaging the GI team, saying her son’s “condition is deteriorating” and expressing concern about his weight. She brought him to Cook Children’s in April 2025, reporting dehydration and a sudden food aversion. The child’s father told doctors the boy had eaten half a bag of popcorn and a full bag of chips without issue. The child was not dehydrated and was discharged.
Two days later, a GI study indicated gastroesophageal reflux disease and possibly eosinophilic esophagitis. Medication was recommended. In early May 2025, Laura called to report that after a few good days, her son was “screaming in pain” and “refusing all solids,” though he continued drinking well, including formula.
The warrant says Laura remained in frequent contact with the GI team, pushing for a feeding tube. One provider recommended a different formula, but Laura responded that her son was burning calories by kicking in his bed, crawling and wheeling around in his wheelchair. She also reportedly asked why she was not being listened to. A GI team member told investigators Laura had been “very pushy” for a G‑tube and resistant to other therapies.
In May 2025, Laura was told one medication had been denied by insurance, but an alternative was recommended while approval was pursued. She became upset and reportedly said she was watching her son “deteriorate.”
A feeding tube was placed later that month. Days afterward, Laura told a bedside nurse her son had a bowel movement containing bits of dog food. The nurse observed this, and Laura said he may have eaten dog food while unattended at a babysitter’s home.
Toward the end of May 2025, Laura brought her son back to Cook Children’s for reported tube issues and feeding intolerance. Staff did not observe those issues; instead, the child ate multiple meals by mouth. Concerned about possible medical abuse, staff moved him to a covertly video‑recorded room. In early June 2025, Laura reportedly told a night nurse she had tried giving him lots of food, but video footage did not show that. A physical therapist also reported that the boy was crawling on the floor and attempting to stand.
Once concerns for medical abuse were established, staff stopped tube feeds, though the tube was not removed before discharge. The boy ate by mouth for three consecutive days, gained weight, and consumed foods including French toast, pancakes, chicken, quesadillas, rice, fries, and pasta.
The pediatrician also noted that during both hospitalizations, Laura pushed for her son to be placed in a posey bed and for additional medications, despite no clinical need. At one point, she reportedly asked a nurse to give him medication through an IV while he was calm, saying she did not “want him to start misbehaving.”
Moving to another hospital The warrant says concerns raised at Cook Children’s were forwarded to Fort Worth police, but the Tarrant County warrant notes the department did not investigate and instead referred the case to Glen Rose police, who then sent it to the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office. CPS also did not remove Laura’s son from her custody before closing the case. According to the warrant, Laura and her son left Cook Children’s and began seeking additional unnecessary treatments at Children’s Medical Center Dallas.
Laura was reportedly able to obtain a different feeding tube at Children’s in December 2025, where doctors observed further falsifications of her son’s medical history. After the surgery, she was described as excited to have his clonidine dosage increased through a psychiatric consultation. Clonidine is typically used to treat high blood pressure and ADHD.
The warrant says the boy was discharged in January 2026 but returned a month later for a tube replacement after Laura reported leaking. After that hospitalization, he was removed from the custody of Laura and her husband and placed in medical foster care.
During the February 2026 stay, Laura again requested a posey bed and asked for a psychiatric consult. She briefly met with a doctor who offered to continue medication management, but she asked for a different provider. She also reportedly refused to change her son’s wet diaper overnight.
Laura later told a physical therapist her son was in “excruciating pain” and had “not slept in a week.” Staff suggested placing a medical team member in the room to monitor him, but Laura refused continuous observation.
Later in February, Laura asked the Children’s team to stop all medications except those prescribed by psychiatry and to “start over” on his treatment plan. She also reportedly told a nurse her son likely needed hospice care and intravenous nutrition, despite him not being terminally ill. That statement prompted a consultation with the hospital’s child abuse pediatrician, who then filed a CPS report.
The child was removed from his parents’ custody on Valentine’s Day. Afterward, he was able to eat a variety of foods by mouth without issue and drink fluids. Staff also reported he was far less agitated and was being weaned off all psychiatric medications.
An online trail The warrant says that later in February 2026, a Tarrant County detective shared screenshots of an online fundraiser with the child abuse pediatrician at Children’s Medical Center. After reviewing Laura’s statements on the platform, the pediatrician told the detective the claims were untrue. Laura had written that her son received a different feeding tube because of ulcers and hematomas, that he had genetic markers for heart issues, and that he had cerebral palsy.
The warrant also cites a Facebook post linking to the fundraiser. The child abuse pediatrician said the claims in the post, which mirrored those on the fundraising page, were also untruthful.
Toward the end of February 2026, a Tarrant County detective interviewed the boy’s father at the Somervell County Sheriff’s Office. The father, who had separated from Laura for a period of time, said he picked her up outside a storage unit after she claimed she was pregnant and had nowhere to go. She also reportedly told him she did not know who her son’s father was.
The father told the detective that Laura previously worked for a home health company in Granbury that specialized in feeding‑tube care and that she was well‑versed in medical terminology. While Laura handled medical care for her son, he cared for two other children who were not removed from Laura’s custody by CPS.
He also said he was unaware Laura had requested palliative care for their son at Cook Children’s in May 2025 or a hospice referral at Children’s Medical Center. The detective noted the father was shocked when told this. He provided a thread of text messages from February 2026 about the boy’s health, though he said most conversations occurred over FaceTime. The texts included photos of the child in the hospital.
The warrant says Laura also texted a CPS investigator about her son’s health, sending photos and videos in what was described as an apparent attempt to convince the investigator he was ill. She also reportedly asked the investigator to return a laptop left in the hospital room after she was removed. The CPS investigator forwarded the messages to the Tarrant County detective.
The detective also reviewed additional Facebook posts from Laura that included inconsistencies about the child’s medical history. The warrant notes that no medical professional has told Laura her son would require a wheelchair for life, despite her claims online.
In March 2026, the detective contacted the boy’s medical foster caregivers, who reported he was able to run without a wheelchair and eat without difficulty.
Later that month, Tarrant County deputies searched Laura’s home and seized her cell phone, two tablets, two laptops, and medical supplies and medications prescribed to her son.
The warrant also details a medical child abuse report filed by a teacher in October 2025. The teacher reported discrepancies between Laura’s descriptions of her son’s condition and the behaviors observed at school. Laura reportedly claimed her son had a life‑limiting illness, though no documentation supported that. The teacher also said Laura frequently used medical jargon that did not always make sense.
The warrant says Laura withdrew her son from school shortly after that report.
Investigation ongoing Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn described the alleged abuse as deliberate.
“So this narcissistic person, for their own pleasure of getting the sympathy for having a fragile child, is what we see playing out in front of us. And in truth, the child is being tortured,” he said.
Waybourn said the case hit particularly close to home, noting that his adopted daughter was also a victim of Munchausen abuse.
“Very similar to this case, you know, the starvation, the multiple meds that were needed, the surgeries that weren’t needed,” he said.
Investigators say Laura not only misled doctors but also built an entire story online. Authorities found at least three GoFundMe pages soliciting money, an Amazon wish list, and a Facebook page chronicling her son’s alleged medical journey. One fundraiser claimed he would “be in a wheelchair for life,” which doctors say was not true.
Authorities are still determining how much money was raised and have opened a separate investigation into possible Medicaid fraud tied to unnecessary medical treatments.
“And to the people out there that gave money to it, I’m very, very sorry, but it wasn’t meant for good stuff,” Waybourn said.
Laura faces felony charges across Somervell, Dallas, and Tarrant counties, including injury to a child causing serious bodily injury and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
“There are scars on his body from those surgeries that weren’t necessary, and he’s going to have to be told, ‘Why are they here?’ So there could be trauma for many, many years to come,” Waybourn said.
Tarrant County deputies are asking anyone – including organizations – who donated to Laura or communicated with her about her son’s health to contact them at (817) 884‑1305.
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