Kimberly Tyler, 31. Photo courtesy: MCSAO.
A Germantown mother was sentenced to prison Friday after she lit her 8-year-old son on fire in 2020, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office (MCSAO).
Kimberly Tyler, 31, was sentenced to serve 25 years plus five years of supervised probation after release, according to MCSAO. She was convicted by a jury in December on multiple charges including first-degree child abuse and conspiracy to commit neglect of a minor.
In a written statement, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said, “This was among the worst we have seen when it comes to child abuse cases. The level of harm caused by someone in the ultimate position of trust, the child’s mother, is unfathomable. Our hearts are with the young victim and those now entrusted with his care. We thank the judge for fashioning an appropriate sentence and Assistant State’s Attorneys Sheila Bagheri and John Grochowski for their work on this highly emotional and upsetting case.”
According to a factual summary provided by MCSAO, in May 2020 at their apartment at the 12000 block of Falling Water Circle, Tyler burned her 8-year-old son, “causing him to be engulfed in flames and suffering serious and permanent physical injury.” Tyler was upset with her son for eating and making a mess, so she poured rubbing alcohol on his hand and lit it on fire. According to MCSAO, the fire spread out of control, causing the child to be engulfed from his torso to his head. 25% of his total body surface was burned. Tyler and her wife threw the boy in the shower, according to MCSAO.
According to a statement of charges, the child was not taken to a hospital until 20 days after he was burned.
Tyler’s wife and parents are co-defendants. Kimball Tyler, the victim’s grandfather, testified against his daughter during trial, according to MCSAO. He pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and got a probation before judgement sentence. Chareese Snorgrass-Tyler, the defendant’s wife and victim’s stepmother, pleaded guilty to neglect of a minor. According to MCSAO, she was sentenced to serve six months in prison plus five years of supervised probation after release.
