Alton woman sentenced for not treating 14-year-old daughter who died from diabetes
A Madison County judge has sentenced an Alton woman to seven years in prison for contributing to her 14-year-old daughter’s death by failing to provide proper medical treatment for diabetes.
Amber Hampshire, 41, had pleaded guilty in October 2020 to involuntary manslaughter involving a family member, in this case her daughter, Emily Hampshire, who died in 2018.
Judge Kyle Napp handed down the sentence Tuesday afternoon after an emotional sentencing hearing that lasted nearly five hours and seemed more like a trial at times, with expert witnesses and cross-examination by attorneys, in addition to tearful impact statements.
The Madison County state’s attorney’s office had pushed for the maximum 14 years of prison. Defense attorneys asked the judge to show mercy and give Hampshire probation so she could stay home and care for her other child.
Earlier, Napp heard testimony from three prosecution witnesses, including Detective Sgt. Michael O’Neill of the Alton Police Department; Lindsey Reichert, a child protection investigator with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services; and Dr. Andrea Granados, a pediatric endocrinologist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and faculty member at Washington University School of Medicine.
All supported prosecution arguments that Amber Hampshire knew about Emily’s Type 1 diabetes and how to treat the disease but failed to provide that treatment, keeping the diagnosis a secret from teachers, friends and family members, including her husband, Zachary.
After a short break in the hearing, statements were read by one of Emily’s friends at Evangelical United Church of Christ School in Godfrey and her fifth-grade teacher, Michelle Decker, who fought back tears.
Then Dr. C. Robert Cloninger took the stand for the defense. The psychologist and professor emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis testified that he had spent 10 hours interviewing Amber Hampshire and trying to determine why she would withhold medical treatment from her daughter.
Cloninger said Hampshire suffers from “avoidant personality disorder” and that she had a “blindspot” when it came to Emily’s diabetes due to the traumatic death of her grandmother around the same time that Hampshire was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at age 18.
Cloninger said a “fragmented and dysfunctional” health-care system also played a role in the case. He described Hampshire as a devoted and loving mother to both Emily and her younger brother, Ethan.
The judge ordered a lunch break before questioning of Cloninger by the prosecution, consisting of Assistant State’s Attorneys Kathleen Nolan and Alison Foley. Finally, Hampshire read a statement, crying and visibly shaking. She expressed grief and remorse for her actions.
The audience of about 30 people in the courtroom included family, friends, witnesses, representatives of Evangelical United and Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine.
Throughout the hearing, Hampshire sat in a wheelchair between her two attorneys, John Stobbs and Steve Williams, at the defense table. It was revealed by Cloninger that she recently was hospitalized with diabetes-related problems and had three of her toes amputated.
Former State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons charged Hampshire on Dec. 27, 2018, with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of endangering the life or health of a child. The second count was later dropped as part of a plea agreement.
Emily died on Nov. 3, 2018, of diabetic ketoacidosis, a problem of not being able to produce enough insulin.
Amber and Zachary Hampshire told Alton police that she had been sick for a couple of days before they found her unresponsive on Nov. 1 and called 911, according to a search warrant.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published May 11, 2021 at 3:08 PM.