FORT WORTH -- A Cleburne woman whose 13-year-old son’s “terminal illness” prompted donations, media coverage and a visit from a wrestling superstar, was arrested Friday on accusations that she lied about her son’s medical condition, our content partners at the Star-Telegram report.
Danita Tutt, 40, is accused of causing serious bodily injury to her son, Colby, by lying about his medical history to the boy’s doctors, prompting the boy to undergo unnecessary surgeries and be placed on unneeded pain medications.
Those surgeries, police allege, included placement of a central line that later lead to a potentially life-threatening blood infection. She is also alleged to have withheld food and water from the boy, documents show.
Tutt was arrested Friday afternoon by fugitive officers at her Johnson County home, said Sgt. Wade Walls, supervisor of the crimes against children unit. Bond on the warrant is set at $25,000.
Child Protective Services took custody of Colby and his younger brother on May 6 after a report was made to the state agency that the Tutts had removed Colby from the Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth, where he had been receiving palliative care since April 21.
The report claimed that Tutt had been refusing to feed and provide water to Colby and that she had already made funeral arrangements and purchased a casket for the boy.
Colby and his younger brother have been placed with relatives, CPS told News 8 Saturday. The family has not been investigated before this incident.
News 8 is working to gather more information on this story. You can read much more on it here from our content partners at the Star-Telegram.