Mom volunteered before fecal charge

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Emily McDonald, the Manor woman accused of putting fecal matter into her daughter's IV, was a March of Dimes neonatal intensive-care unit Family Support volunteer at Seton Medical Center Austin from July 2008 to April 2009.

According to a statement released from Greg Hartman, senior vice president of Seton Family of Hospitals, as a March of Dimes volunteer, McDonald offered parent-to-parent support to families with infants who were being treated in the NICU. McDonald did not have direct patient contact and was under the supervision of the NICU staff while volunteering.

Consistent with Seton Family of Hospitals’ policies for screening volunteers, Seton conducted a criminal background check on McDonald which showed no offenses. A criminal background check conducted by the March of Dimes also showed no offenses.

While a volunteer, Seton received no reports of complaints regarding McDonald. In April 2009, McDonald ended her service as a volunteer.

It was in April that McDonald's child got sick and was admitted to Dell Children's Hospital-- in the same family of hospitals where she volunteered. It was there that hospital staff grew suspicious of her actions and caught her, on camera, putting fecal matter into her daughter's IV.

McDonald confessed to doing this five times during her daughter's stay at the hospital and admitted that she knew this would keep her child ill.

"I have been the lead prosecutor for this child protection team for 15 years and in that capacity I have been involved in a number of very serious incidents involving children," said Dayna Blazey, assistant district attorney. "This is one of the most unusual cases that has been investigated."