Former nurse who poisoned vulnerable child with laxatives has prison sentence cut

A former nurse who poisoned a vulnerable child with laxatives has had her slashed by appeal judges.

Earlier this year, Tracy Menhinick, 52, was for seven years after being found guilty of wilfully ill-treating the boy over three years, putting his life in danger. However, lawyers acting for the former auxiliary nurse challenged the sentence at the in Edinburgh, claiming it was "excessive".

In court, the appeal judges said that although the harm caused to the victim was high, in their opinion the seven year sentence was excessive, so they reduced it to five years. The judges said they took into account that until the offence was committed, Menhinick had led "a pro social life" despite having problems.

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They also noted that due to Menhinick's physical and mental health issues, confinement in prison would be more of a punishment for her. Defence counsel Frances Connor said they wouldn't oppose a custodial sentence due to the seriousness of the offence, but said a lesser sentence could allow the ex nurse to return to the community and "try to re-establish some life for herself."

She said: "It is a very rare offence, linked to compulsive behaviour that is little understood." Lord Doherty, sitting with Lord Matthews, said: "We allow the appeal, quash the sentence of seven years' imprisonment and substitute five years imprisonment."

Menhinick was convicted of wilfully ill-treating the child in a way likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or injury on various occasions over the course of three years from 2014 when the boy was aged between three and six at an address in Aberdeen, the city's children's hospital and elsewhere. The court heard that after he was removed from her care he made rapid progress with his health and development, although he was left with severe scarring.

The trial judge, Lady Drummond, told Menhinick: "You deliberately ill-treated him and made him unwell. He became so unwell he was repeatedly admitted to hospital. One of the doctors who gave evidence in this case described him as being emaciated on his last admission to hospital.

"You had been an auxiliary nurse and knew what you were doing. You caused him to be in that state. He had to undergo intrusive and risky operations which you knew were unnecessary and that the need for them had been caused by you."

Lady Drummond added: "Why anybody would want to inflict such severe harm and suffering, endangering the life of a young child on multiple occasions over a period of years is beyond understanding." In a psychiatrist's opinion, she suffered from mental disorders and has factitious disorder imposed on self and imposed on another. The conditions were previously known as Munchausen and Munchausen by proxy - in the latter case, a carer fabricates an illness in a person cared for.