'Feces mom' pleads not guilty to charge

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Emily McDonald -- often referred to as "feces mom" -- pleaded not guilty in her arraignment on Friday in Travis County 390th Criminal District Court.

Her trial for the charge of injury to a child was set for Jan. 10. The charge carries with it the possibility of a life sentence.

McDonald, 24, is charged with injury to a child after a hospital-surveillance video caught her putting feces into her 3-year-old child's central ventricular line cap during a hospital stay .

The child was admitted to Dell Children's Hospital on April 15, 2009, with a high fever and long history of chronic diarrhea. The girl was being treated for serious infections caused by unusual organisms which can be found in feces.

Hospital staff was unsure how she was getting these infections, and during her hospital stay they became suspicious of McDonald.

Staff then placed a surveillance camera inside the child's room and McDonald's action were seen.

She was taken to jail in July after a judge ruled that she violated the provisions of her bond by spending time around children.

In a home visit on July 20, Child Protective Services worker Christi Waeltz reported that she saw McDonald patting the head of a 3-year-old niece who apparently was spending time in the home. She also saw McDonald's mother, Stephanie Reynolds, holding an infant. The children are Reynold's grandchildren -- McDonald's nieces and nephews -- and she was not supposed to be in contact with them.