Mother Charged After Placing Own Blood In Child’s Urine

An 18-year-old mother was ordered held on $100,000 bond after being charged with child endangering on Friday.

Kalene Bartlett presented her 2-year-old son to Nationwide Children’s Hospital saying that he was urinating blood, 10TV’s Kevin Landers reported.

The boy went through tests for five days to determine why there was blood in his urine. After all of the tests were completed, no blood was found in the child’s urine and investigators found that the blood was actually Bartlett’s, Landers reported.

During questioning at the hospital, police said Bartlett admitted that she made up the story. Bartlett told police that she had gone to counseling for her condition of Münchausen by Proxy.

In the Münchausen by Proxy syndrome, an adult caregiver makes a child sick by either fabricating symptoms or causing harm to the child.

The person convinces the child and sometimes others, like medical providers, that the child is sick, Landers reported.

The boy’s grandmother, Sylvia Morales, was not shocked by Bartlett’s actions. She said the mother had a history of making things up.

“As far as her mental state, she didn't have any major issues, but she did have a habit of stretching the truth about a lot of things,” said Morales.

Morales said she questioned the story while they were in the emergency room.

“The fact that the blood only showed up while she was by herself, that was really suspicious to me," Morales said.

Morales said Bartlett’s mood began to change when her daughter died in December. She said that professional help was what Bartlett needed before she can be a mother again.

“As of right now, I think she needs a lot of help before I would ever say, ‘give him back to her,’" Morales said.

According to authorities, the boy was placed in the custody of Franklin County Children Services.
Investigators said that the boy’s father is not in his life.

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