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may apply. Hello

2:25

and welcome to Seeing Red a True

2:27

Crime podcast. I'm Bethan and it's just

2:29

me this week. It is just me

2:31

this week. I don't feel like we've

2:33

had this joke for a while because

2:35

actually he's been quite sensible recently but

2:38

Mark's on holiday. He is on holiday

2:40

this week and we haven't really done

2:42

that joke for a while. We haven't

2:44

taken the make out of him for

2:46

being on too many holidays. So he

2:48

hasn't really been on one for a

2:51

while. So I feel like I should

2:53

be nice to him. going to tease

2:55

him a little bit about missing this

2:57

and maybe we can just continue on

3:00

with the mark has a lot of

3:02

holidays. So welcome to the show. What

3:04

transforms a mother traditionally the nurturer and

3:06

the protector into a perpetrator of heinous

3:09

acts against her own child? When 15

3:11

year old Timothy Ferguson died of malnourishment

3:13

and hypothermia in the basement of his

3:16

home Police uncovered the torture that he

3:18

had endured at the hands of his

3:20

own sadistic mother and her accomplice, his

3:23

brother. This week's case has been written

3:25

for us by one of our listeners,

3:27

Haley Fisher. She explained that she was

3:29

so heartbroken when she heard about this

3:32

case and she followed the trial keenly.

3:34

Working in social care made it all

3:36

the more shocking and sad for her.

3:39

And Haley wanted to ensure that Timothy

3:41

is never forgotten and so she wrote

3:43

this entire episode for us to share

3:45

with you. As I said

3:48

this week, it's just me. There's

3:50

no mutt. And weirdly, I do

3:52

think that that will actually make

3:54

it easier for me to present

3:57

this case to you. Any time

3:59

we talk about children within cases,

4:01

it's really hard. And so not

4:03

having the discussion... points between myself

4:06

and Mark. I think it will

4:08

make it a little bit easier

4:10

for me and actually if I

4:12

have to stop and pause for

4:14

a little bit, that's easier to

4:17

edit out and that sort of

4:19

thing. It is a really really

4:21

difficult one. It's a really tricky

4:23

crime to talk about. It's horrible.

4:26

So of course having said all

4:28

of this, the warning will be

4:30

of no surprise. This episode will

4:32

contain details of abuse against a

4:35

child and it will not be

4:37

one that everyone can listen to.

4:39

Before I begin I'd love to

4:41

thank some of our recent patron

4:43

supporters. A huge thank you to

4:46

Kimberly Alley, Victoria Jean, Amy Lynn

4:48

Ferguson, Sandra Reed, Emma Barrens, Naomi

4:50

Amore, Nara 91 and Lou. Thank

4:52

you so much to each and

4:55

every one of you and to

4:57

all of our existing patron supporters

4:59

as well. So to begin with,

5:01

Haley has provided us with some

5:04

background to the perpetrator. Shander Vander

5:06

Ark seemed to be a successful

5:08

and ambitious woman who overcame many

5:10

challenges in her life. However, behind

5:12

the scenes, she was hiding a

5:15

dark and cruel secret. Shander was

5:17

born on September 25th in 1979.

5:19

So as of 2024, she's 45

5:21

years old. And she was born

5:24

in Muskegon in Michigan. She attended

5:26

Huntsville High School and she graduated

5:28

in 1997. Shander married Eric Ferguson,

5:30

a truck driver from Oklahoma in

5:33

2002, and the couple had four

5:35

children together. Paul, Nolan, Millie and

5:37

Timothy. Timothy was the youngest and

5:39

he was born in 2006. According

5:41

to court documents, Shander and Eric

5:44

divorced in January 2012 after a

5:46

bitter custody battle. Shander apparently voluntarily

5:48

waived all of her parental rights

5:50

and signed the children over to

5:53

Eric and he was granted full

5:55

custody of all the four children.

5:57

Court documents state that She was

5:59

told that she would have her

6:01

parental rights terminated if she didn't

6:04

relent them, and she was only

6:06

allowed supervised visitation, which consisted of

6:08

spending three hours per month with

6:10

them, which would crucify a loving

6:13

parent. And Haley's written that bit,

6:15

and it would crucify a loving

6:17

parent, and I completely agree, three

6:19

hours a month. It's just not

6:22

enough, but that was the allowed

6:24

visitation. However, something changed in May

6:26

2021. when Shander moved to Michigan

6:28

with Timothy, and she left behind

6:30

her ex-husband and her other three

6:33

children in Oklahoma. She claimed that

6:35

Eric had asked her to take

6:37

Timothy because he was having a

6:39

hard time handling him, but this

6:42

has never been confirmed either way

6:44

by Eric or the authorities. She

6:46

then remarried a man called Adam

6:48

Vander Ark, and they had a

6:51

child together called Gabriel. Shander

6:54

Vanda Ark now worked as a

6:56

waitress and a cashier while pursuing

6:58

her education. She earned a bachelor's

7:01

degree in criminal justice from Liberty

7:03

University in 2018 and a law

7:06

degree from Cooley Law School. Shander

7:08

was in the top two of

7:10

the highest accomplished students, which demonstrates

7:13

she has a high intelligence and

7:15

a knowledge of criminal law. So

7:17

next, Haley's given us some background

7:20

of the victim. Timothy

7:22

Ferguson was born on the 6th

7:24

of August 2006 and he was

7:27

diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and

7:29

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD. He

7:31

was reported by other family members

7:33

as a sweet and a loving

7:35

boy who enjoyed playing video games

7:38

and enjoyed watching cartoons. However, he

7:40

suffered unimaginable pain and suffering at

7:42

the hands of his mother who

7:44

treated him like a prisoner and

7:46

a slave. Haley says here. I'm

7:49

not a mother and due to

7:51

medical reasons I am not able

7:53

to have children. Yet me and

7:55

I imagine the majority of the

7:57

human population would know that all

8:00

children... deserve unconditional love and care,

8:02

especially if they have a disability

8:04

as they put are potentially even more

8:06

vulnerable and require additional support

8:09

and might need the help

8:11

of additional agencies for support

8:13

such as social services. We have a

8:15

number of listeners who have shared

8:17

their experiences as parents and

8:19

more specifically in the context

8:21

of this episode, parents who have

8:23

children who have autism or ADHD

8:26

or who have disabilities. As Haley

8:28

said, as these children may require

8:30

additional support and indeed so may

8:32

their parents. But yes, she's

8:35

right, all children deserve unconditional

8:37

love from the people who should be

8:39

there for them no matter

8:41

what. In 2012, Shandavanderak was

8:43

the subject of previous

8:46

substantiated child abuse investigations

8:48

in Oklahoma, but she

8:50

evaded having her parental rights

8:52

terminated by agreeing to vacate the

8:55

family home. So that gives a

8:57

little bit more background to why she

8:59

agreed to give up her

9:01

parental responsibilities and handed over

9:03

the four children to Eric. She then

9:05

had 18 different addresses spanning

9:08

multiple states before she moved

9:10

to Norton Shor's. Timothy and

9:12

his father apparently moved to

9:14

Norton Shor's in May 2021,

9:16

but for some reason Eric

9:18

left Timothy in Vanderak's care.

9:20

Perhaps he didn't care what could

9:22

happen to his son? Perhaps he was

9:24

unaware of what he was leaving his

9:27

son with, which seems unlikely

9:29

if there's this previous substantiated

9:31

claims. But either way, whether he knew or

9:34

didn't know or didn't care and he

9:36

kind of, maybe he buried his head

9:38

in the sand, either way, it

9:40

wasn't long, before Vanderak began to

9:42

abuse Timothy. And disgracefully,

9:44

she even ordered her older son

9:47

Paul to participate in the abuse.

9:50

Punishments were handed out to the

9:52

teenager for his apparent bad behaviour and this

9:54

is something I really really struggle with. I'm

9:56

going off on a tangent here but

9:59

behaviour is communicating. in anyone, but

10:01

especially in children. A child

10:03

who's acting out is struggling

10:05

somewhere and they need something from

10:07

their caregiver. Especially a child with

10:10

autism and ADHD, there's a reason

10:12

that they are in inverted commas

10:14

acting out, in inverted commas they

10:17

have bad behaviour. There's a reason

10:19

for that and actually they need

10:21

something. It's not just that they're

10:23

doing that to upset the parent

10:26

for whatever reason. They're not trying

10:28

to be bad. And the sorts of

10:30

punishments that these abusers hand out

10:32

are absolutely disgusting, and they tend

10:35

to be in the extreme as

10:37

well. In this case, Fander Ark would hold

10:39

back food, would force their son to take ice

10:41

baths, he would be hit, he would be burned,

10:44

he would be restrained, he was

10:46

also subjected to prolonged standing,

10:48

among many other things which we're going to

10:50

go on to hear about shortly. And

10:52

Timothy was homeschooled. which Fander arc

10:55

states is because of his disabilities.

10:57

However, it is most likely the

10:59

disguise for her to continue this

11:01

ritual abuse without being caught. And

11:03

I wanted to pause the story here

11:06

and just note there's a lot of talk

11:08

about this in the media currently in the

11:10

UK. Cases such as Sarah Sharif

11:12

and Kyran Dernon have highlighted the

11:15

risks involved with schools and authorities

11:17

having no contact with children. Of

11:20

course, this is not to say that

11:22

homeschooling is wrong or dangerous in

11:24

every case. I personally have friends

11:26

who homeschooled their children. It was

11:28

something me and my hubby discussed before

11:30

we chose to send Bella to mainstream

11:33

school. And actually, in the

11:35

majority of cases, homeschooling is done

11:37

for the right reasons. The fact that local

11:39

authorities might be able to step in

11:41

with more powers to hopefully support children

11:44

that they believe could be at risk

11:46

when the parents choose to home school. If

11:48

the authorities believe this is just

11:50

a cover, it will be a very

11:52

useful tool and it could help to

11:54

save lives. So I'm watching kind of

11:56

the news reports about this

11:58

very keenly because it... really could

12:00

help to stop the parents who

12:03

were just using homeschool as an

12:05

excuse to keep that child hidden

12:07

from the outside world. So let's

12:09

get back to the case now

12:11

and find out more about what

12:13

happened to Timothy. On the 6th

12:16

of July 2022, shortly after 6.37am,

12:18

officers from the Norton Shores Police

12:20

Department responded to a distress call

12:22

from Timothy's brother Paul. And at

12:24

the scene authorities located the deceased

12:26

teen victim in the property's basement

12:29

and it was 15 year old

12:31

Timothy Ferson. He looked very frail

12:33

and he was wearing an adult

12:35

nappy. Vander Art can be seen

12:37

on police body cameras putting on

12:40

a terrible amateur dramatic performance of

12:42

how Timothy fell off the top

12:44

of his bunk bed and she

12:46

knew Timothy was underweight but she

12:48

tried so hard to help him

12:50

and to support him to eat

12:53

more. She went on to say

12:55

that she thought Timothy was doing

12:57

better and she'd asked him if

12:59

he was okay and he said

13:01

he was. She made excuses such

13:04

as how Timothy wears baggy clothes

13:06

and he doesn't let her touch

13:08

him. So she, you know, didn't

13:10

know the full extent of the

13:12

condition. And Haley says, please watch

13:14

the body cam footage. Shander Vander

13:17

Ark is sat on her porch

13:19

wailing, but no tearsful. The

13:23

medical examiner determined that Timothy

13:25

had died from a combination

13:27

of malnourishment and hypothermia. And

13:29

the autopsy determined that Timothy

13:31

was weighing just 69 pounds.

13:33

And I had to do

13:35

the conversion of that. That

13:37

is just under five stone.

13:39

He was 15 years old.

13:41

So 69 pounds or five

13:43

stone, like that is just

13:45

absolutely horrendous. Timothy's body was

13:47

covered with bruises, with scars

13:49

and with burns. The autopsy

13:51

also revealed that he had

13:53

multiple organ failure, pneumonia and

13:55

a blood infection. His death

13:57

was ruled a homicide by

13:59

starvation. and neglect. Upon further

14:01

investigation authorities reportedly learned that

14:03

Timothy's mother Shander Vander Aarck

14:05

subjected Timothy to ice baths

14:07

as a form of punishment

14:09

for his apparent bad behaviour

14:11

and he was even given

14:13

an ice bath the day

14:15

before his death. Vander Ark

14:17

was arrested on the 7th

14:19

of July 2022 and charged

14:21

with homicide. She remained held

14:23

in Muskegon County Jail without

14:25

bond until her trial started

14:27

in November 22. Prosecutor

14:31

Matt Roberts reportedly told the judge

14:33

the investigation subsequently revealed that Shander

14:35

van der Ark had a number

14:37

of punishments that frankly were just

14:39

beyond the pale in terms of

14:41

what should be administered to a

14:43

child. The prosecutor Roberts added most

14:45

notably the denial of food to

14:47

the child, feeding the child nothing

14:50

but bread and bread soaked in

14:52

hot sauce. Hot sauce was poured

14:54

down the child's throat and also

14:56

placing the child in an ice

14:58

bath. News reports

15:00

stated, according to Michigan Live, the victim's

15:02

father lives in Florida and did not

15:05

know about the alleged abuse. A seven-year-old

15:07

child, along with a 20-year-old, reportedly lived

15:09

in Shander's home as well, but they

15:12

did not appear to suffer abuse. And

15:14

those reports just give a snapshot into

15:16

what the home was like at that

15:19

point. Further investigation of Ander

15:21

Ark's Frankly Dirty and Cluttered Home

15:23

revealed that Timothy was forced to

15:25

sleep on a blue plastic tarp

15:27

in a closet under the stairs

15:29

which was locked with an alarm

15:31

at night so Timothy had no

15:33

access to a bathroom and then

15:35

he'd be punished if he had

15:37

an accident and when Timothy was

15:39

allowed to use the bathroom he

15:42

was timed and only allowed five

15:44

minutes. Could you imagine timing all

15:46

your bowel movements? And I bet

15:48

any of us would go over

15:50

the five-minute mark if we were

15:52

only given that time and we'd

15:54

been... subjected to this kind of

15:56

torture where we were not allowed

15:58

to use the bathroom apart from

16:00

these allocated times. Fander Ark monitored

16:02

her sons with five surveillance campers.

16:04

in the home while she was

16:06

at work and she would instruct

16:09

Paul to abuse Timothy over the

16:11

speakers and by sending him text

16:13

messages. So Vanderak and her old

16:15

son Paul actually set up their

16:17

work schedules to keep Timothy under

16:19

constant surveillance and Vanderak instructed Paul

16:21

to keep Timothy awake by making

16:23

sure he was uncomfortable and throwing

16:25

cold water on him, by leaving

16:27

the light on to prevent him

16:29

from falling asleep, and other punishments

16:31

that Paul carried out on Timothy

16:33

included cold showers. Forced vomiting, excessive

16:35

exercise and prolonged standing, Timothy was

16:38

regularly restrained with zipties and shackles.

16:40

Fander Ark instructed Paul on what

16:42

to feed Timothy. Timothy was deprived

16:44

of food and water between January

16:46

2022 and his death in July

16:48

2022. So in that time he

16:50

was fed only bread with hot

16:52

sauce or rice with hot sauce.

16:54

His own imaginable really isn't it?

16:56

And the refrigerator door was kept

16:58

locked to prevent Timothy from accessing

17:00

food on his own. Vander Ark

17:02

instructed Paul to force-feed Timothy hot

17:04

sauce with a severely painful burn.

17:07

As a punishment for stealing food

17:09

he didn't need. And it was

17:11

also revealed in text messages that

17:13

Vander Ark tried to instruct Paul

17:15

to torture Timothy by pouring hot

17:17

sauce on his genitals. Paul actually

17:19

refused and we'll talk about this

17:21

later on when we discussed the

17:23

trial. I mean, hot sauce is

17:25

difficult enough if you're not able

17:27

to eat hot stuff. This is

17:29

a 15-year-old as well, so he's

17:31

probably not got a sophisticated palate.

17:34

There's people I know who can

17:36

eat really, really hot stuff. People

17:38

like me, who's probably kind of

17:40

middle of the range, but it's

17:42

very different, isn't it, to have

17:44

hot sauce on your food when

17:46

you've chosen to? And the only

17:48

thing that you're being fed is

17:50

bread or rice with hot sauce

17:52

on it. No choice, I mean.

17:54

It's just, oh, it just breaks

17:56

my heart this whole thing. Shortly

17:58

before Timothy's death, Vanderak actually instructed

18:00

Paul to... Timothy with a pizza

18:03

roll to see if he was

18:05

still coherent. And then when Timothy

18:07

tried to take the pizza roll,

18:09

she instructed Paul to take it

18:11

away. Don't forget Timothy weighed just

18:13

69 pounds at the time of

18:15

his death and his ribs were

18:17

clearly visible through his skin. This

18:19

is just absolutely horrendous. Vander Ark

18:21

and Paul noticed that Timothy was

18:23

shaking and struggling to walk, but

18:25

they actually dismissed those symptoms as

18:27

fake. And the day before his

18:29

death, Timothy was in coherent and

18:32

unable to respond and unable to

18:34

respond. So at his mother's instruction

18:36

Paul subjected Timothy to an ice

18:38

bath for as long as nine

18:40

and a half hours. Van der

18:42

Ark told Paul that she was

18:44

determined to outlast Timothy. Haley says

18:46

what a fucking evil bitch this

18:48

woman is and Haley I agree

18:50

this is just cruel and unimaginable.

18:52

Most people couldn't last more than

18:54

a few minutes in an ice

18:56

bath. Over nine hours. Paul struck

18:58

Timothy several times on the head.

19:01

and dropped him on his head

19:03

as well after removing him from

19:05

the ice bath. Timothy finally died

19:07

as a result of his prolonged

19:09

suffering and torture as the following

19:11

morning and he died of dehydration

19:13

malnourishment and hypothermia. As mentioned earlier

19:15

Shander Vanderak was arrested and charged

19:17

with one count each of open

19:19

murder and first-degree child abuse and

19:21

this was the day after Timothy

19:23

was discovered on the 7th of

19:25

July 2020. Her trial began in

19:28

November 2023 and lasted for three

19:30

weeks. The prosecution presented evidence and

19:32

testimony from police officers, forensic experts,

19:34

medical examiners, and also Timothy's siblings

19:36

who had witnessed and endured some

19:38

of the abuse. The defence argued

19:40

that Vanderak was mentally ill and

19:42

suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD,

19:44

from depression and from anxiety, and

19:46

that she did not intend to

19:48

kill her son. I think this

19:50

is absolutely bullshit of an excuse,

19:52

says Halie and I agree with

19:54

her, downright offensive to all the

19:57

millions of people who suffer with

19:59

mental health. conditions who would never

20:01

even think of doing something barbaric.

20:03

These acts that Shander Vanderak had

20:05

done to her child and at

20:07

Vanderak's trial the prosecutor shared chilling

20:09

text exchanges between the two of

20:11

the you know Shander and Paul

20:13

that offered a glimpse inside the

20:15

house of horrors in the days

20:17

leading up to Timothy's death. So

20:19

in one exchange that was read

20:21

out in court from the days

20:23

before It was where Paul was

20:26

taunting his younger brother with a

20:28

frozen pizza roll as he struggled

20:30

to stay coherent and Shander had

20:32

told Paul to take the pizza

20:34

roll away if Timothy tried to

20:36

eat it, but to reward him

20:38

with the treat if he could

20:40

sit up by himself and remain

20:42

sitting upright. The court was then

20:44

told about how Paul had subjected

20:46

his younger brother to a grueling

20:48

nine-hour ice bath and a coroner's

20:50

report was read out that later

20:53

found his cause of death was

20:55

hypothermia as well as malnourishment. The

20:57

court was also told about how

20:59

he was starved down to just

21:01

69 pounds, which Haley has put

21:03

here is around 4.9 stone, and

21:05

she's explained here, the average healthy

21:07

weight for a 15-year-old male is

21:09

145 pounds or 10.4 stone. So

21:11

he's less than half the average

21:13

weight for his age. As Timothy

21:15

shook and clung on for life,

21:17

the surveillance cameras at Vanderak had

21:19

placed around the house, reportedly captured

21:22

their callous reaction, Fanderak dragged him

21:24

back into his small closet bedroom

21:26

and screamed at him that he

21:28

was pathetic. He was covered with

21:30

just a tarp for a blanket

21:32

and his eyes were seen as

21:34

open but unmoving and prosecutors believe

21:36

that this was actually the last

21:38

time he was alive. Timothy's autism

21:40

which also included speech and movement

21:42

issues were blamed by the mother's

21:44

attorneys for her treatment of him,

21:46

such as locking him away in

21:48

a tiny closet bedroom if he

21:51

kept her up at night, and

21:53

then to punish him for keeping

21:55

her awake at night she would

21:57

force Timothy to remain awake for

21:59

days on end and one of

22:01

the text messages shown to the

22:03

court was her ordering pull to

22:05

dump some cold water on him

22:07

to stop Timothy from falling asleep.

22:09

During the trial Vander Ark took

22:11

to the stand and she testified in

22:13

her own defence. She claimed that she

22:15

loved her son and that she tried

22:18

to help him that he was a

22:20

difficult and defiant child who refused to

22:22

eat and refused to follow instructions. She

22:24

said that she was overwhelmed by the stress

22:26

of being a single mother. a student

22:28

and a worker and that she didn't

22:31

have any support from her family

22:33

or friends. She denied abusing

22:35

her son and said that

22:37

his injuries was caused by

22:39

accidents, self-harm or by his siblings. She

22:42

is just such a piece of work

22:44

isn't she? We all know working single

22:46

mothers who do amazing jobs. We

22:48

all know of single moms or

22:50

single dads who still provide for

22:53

their children and like we said

22:55

before. There's just no excuse. There

22:57

is absolutely no excuse. And then to

22:59

try and try and blame this on

23:01

someone else as well. She's just despicable.

23:03

Obviously, her testimony was

23:05

contradicted by the evidence and the witnesses,

23:08

who painted a picture of a cold

23:10

and cruel mother who tortured her son

23:12

for no reason. The prosecution also showed

23:14

text messages that Vanderak had sent

23:16

to her husband Adam, who was

23:19

in prison for drug charges, in

23:21

which she complained about Timothy. and

23:23

actually expressed her hatred and resentment

23:25

toward him. The court heard about how

23:27

Timothy wasn't allowed access to the fridge. The

23:29

court was told about how that was locked

23:32

up and as a result obviously Timothy was only

23:34

allowed to eat what he was given

23:36

which was bread in hot sauce. A

23:38

distressing text shared between the pair revealed

23:41

how Vanderak had considered putting hot sauce

23:43

on the vulnerable kids genitals as a

23:45

form of punishment like I just I

23:47

cannot get over this. It's horrible. The

23:49

message was read out in court and

23:52

it said, I wonder how it would feel

23:54

to have that hot source on your private

23:56

parts. I'm not saying touch him there, not

23:58

at all, but dripping a little... bit

24:00

there? Is that horrible? she had

24:02

asked. Haley called her a twisted

24:04

bitch here and I can't say

24:06

I disagree. Who even thinks about

24:08

something like that and thank goodness

24:11

Paul said no but I mean

24:13

it's the only thing he seems to

24:15

have said no about. And the

24:17

prosecutor Matt Roberts asked

24:19

Vanderag, he looks like that when

24:22

you put him in the bathtub? He

24:24

put several pictures of Timothy's bruised and

24:27

severely wasted body in front of

24:29

Shander Vanderak and the jury, and

24:31

she immediately raised her hand to

24:33

her mouth and gagged and looked at

24:35

the photographs. But then she gave in

24:37

and profusely vomited in a garbage camp

24:39

beneath the stand. It's funny how she

24:41

was sickened by a photo, but not actually

24:44

sickened by the sight of Timothy when

24:46

he was alive and she was torturing

24:48

him. She began to say, I'm

24:50

sorry, and then was overwhelmed

24:52

with another round of sickness,

24:54

and then it turned into

24:56

sobbing, and the judge had to

24:59

clear the courtroom. It's just, what

25:01

a show of a pathetic, horrible,

25:04

I don't know, I just don't know

25:06

the word, I don't have the words,

25:08

but what an absolute joke, she's

25:11

just horrible. Fanderak,

25:13

now remember, she was a law

25:15

clerk. She had studied law, she

25:17

knew and could easily understand

25:19

that what she was doing was wrong

25:21

and illegal. And she actually

25:23

claimed in her testimony that

25:25

she'd purchase this spicy hot sauce

25:27

online because Paul thought it would

25:29

be a good idea to punish

25:31

Timothy. The judge obviously could see

25:34

through everything that Vanderak was trying

25:36

to say. He denied that Timothy's

25:38

death was negligence or something of

25:40

the sort and Vanderak in fact

25:42

had a goal. He said to

25:44

her, Without him, you would have

25:46

no one to torture. Vander had

25:48

hidden Timothy from his grandparents and

25:51

even the other child at home, the

25:53

seven-year-old, and she made sure to close

25:55

the garage doors when she was making

25:57

Timothy clean without wearing any pants. When

26:00

it was discovered that Vanderak had

26:02

actually relented on a threatened punishment

26:04

to make Timothy drink salt water,

26:06

the judge said this wasn't because

26:08

it was wrong. This was because

26:10

actually she didn't want to give

26:12

him an excuse to sit on

26:14

the toilet from diarrhea. He said,

26:16

that was your justification, not that

26:18

it would hurt him. Vanderak also

26:20

attempted to claim that her son

26:22

Paul was complicit in planning the

26:24

torture. And this was obviously... combated

26:26

in his counter testimony and where

26:28

he spoke against his own mother

26:30

at her trial. Paul Ferguson was

26:32

21 at the time of the

26:34

trial and he testified against his

26:36

mother about her sadistic murder of

26:38

his brother Timothy but that cooperation

26:40

didn't carry enough weight with the

26:42

Michigan judge to save him from

26:44

a lengthy prison sentence too. It's

26:46

really difficult here because obviously she

26:48

is his mother she's telling him

26:50

what to do but at the

26:52

same time he has a 20

26:55

year old. he would have known

26:57

what he was doing was absolutely

26:59

wrong. To Paul's testimony and guilty

27:01

plea came in exchange for prosecutors

27:03

agreeing not to see elevated charges

27:05

such as murder for him. He

27:07

did claim he was a victim

27:09

and that he was suffering something

27:11

close to Stockholm syndrome and this

27:13

is where I do struggle because

27:15

I can see this a little.

27:17

I still cannot understand how he

27:19

did the things he did, but

27:21

he goes on to say... My

27:23

desire to find a role model

27:25

that, due to my own low

27:27

self-esteem, I would do anything to

27:29

make them proud of me. I

27:31

ask the judge for nothing more

27:33

than mercy and fairness, to offer

27:35

me compassion, so I might learn

27:37

from him. What reasons can justify

27:39

my actions? I can make up

27:41

a thousand, and never believe one.

27:43

What words can voice my regrets?

27:45

I can think of a million,

27:47

and yet never feel it's enough.

27:49

If I could do it all

27:51

again, and do it right, I

27:53

would. I feel I will pay

27:55

for my choices and yet never

27:57

feel better because he's gone. But

27:59

the judge described Paul as a

28:01

near psychopath. and said that he

28:03

believed the 21-year-old was just as

28:05

bad if not worse than his

28:07

mother and the judge actually said

28:09

Mr. Ferguson is trying to shift

28:11

blame from him to his mother

28:13

and say that somehow if it

28:15

wasn't for her I wouldn't have

28:17

done this or that she's the

28:19

one that did this. The prosecution

28:21

stuck to the terms of the

28:24

plea agreement and asked for the

28:26

judge to stay within the sentencing

28:28

guidelines but while acknowledging that pre-sentencing

28:30

report described Paul of having a

28:32

traumatic traumatic traumatic Prosecutors pointed to

28:34

analysis stating that Paul possibly had

28:36

antisocial personality disorder, and if this

28:38

wasn't addressed he would be a

28:40

danger to the public moving forward.

28:42

And the state called it frankly

28:44

scary, that Paul seemed predisposed to

28:46

abuse Timothy, and this was also

28:48

abuse that was independent of his

28:50

mum. This wasn't just when she

28:52

told him what to do. Paul's

28:54

defence had painted Shander Van derak

28:56

as the primary abuser, arguing that

28:58

as a law student... with top

29:00

academic performance, she had a greater

29:02

capacity than her son to understand

29:04

the right and wrong, and the

29:06

rightness and the wrongness of what

29:08

she was doing. Paul and his

29:10

other siblings were victims of their

29:12

mother, dating back years, living in

29:14

an environment of abuse and imposed

29:16

secrecy. Paul himself was isolated from

29:18

peers and had no meaningful contact

29:20

with people outside his home, the

29:22

defence said. And once the gravity

29:24

of the situation sank him, Paul

29:26

did show remorse and confusion as

29:28

to how he could have done

29:30

this. and recognition that it was

29:32

wrong, the defence also said. However,

29:34

the judge highlighted that texts between

29:36

Vanderak and Paul showed a collaborative

29:38

effort in abusing Timothy. An available

29:40

evidence showed Paul being described as

29:42

a bully who actually enjoyed tormenting

29:44

his brother. He said he didn't

29:46

believe that actually Paul was sorry

29:48

at all. Instead, the judge said,

29:50

the defendant is sorry about being

29:52

caught. As

29:56

the judge emphasised that Paul had a

29:59

job, he could have brought... home to

30:01

help Timothy. He could have just told

30:03

someone got help. He could have gotten

30:06

him out of the home. The judge

30:08

said to him, you chose not to.

30:10

Timothy's two other siblings spoke on Timothy's

30:13

behalf in the court before sentencing. So

30:15

his sibling Millie said there's no fixing

30:17

what's been done. She voiced regret that

30:19

she had not put aside her differences

30:22

with her mother and Paul Ferguson so

30:24

that she could actually go and check

30:26

in on Timothy. And the brother Nolan

30:29

said he was living with his wife

30:31

when he got a phone call that

30:33

his baby brother was dead. For both

30:36

siblings grief is an ongoing challenge. I

30:38

will always love Timothy, like I always

30:40

have Nolan said, and they both asked

30:43

that their mother spend her life in

30:45

prison. Millie said, I want the world

30:47

to know that Timothy was wanted, if

30:50

not by her, then by me. The

30:54

prosecutor told the judge he made

30:56

it a point to stand by

30:58

the sibling's side as they delivered

31:00

their victim impact statements. He said

31:02

that Vander Ark never looked up

31:05

at her children as they spoke,

31:07

and he argued that she'd stopped

31:09

thinking of them and stopped thinking

31:11

of her children as human. He

31:13

said, they're not people to her.

31:15

Vander Ark declined to speak when

31:17

she was asked. At the end

31:19

of the hearing, the judge showed

31:21

the court... a picture of a

31:23

smiling healthier Timothy and the judge

31:26

said that he was choosing not

31:28

to remember him dead looking like

31:30

a Holocaust victim that's literally the

31:32

quote the judge used and the

31:34

judge said instead I want to

31:36

remember him as a beautiful child

31:38

with a lot of life in

31:40

his eyes. So the jury deliberated

31:42

for just over an hour before

31:44

they convicted Shander van derak of

31:47

the death of her teenage son

31:49

Timothy Ferguson. Vanderak was still apparently

31:51

feeling sick and she wasn't in

31:53

the courtroom when the jury reached

31:55

its verdict. She's a coward. She

31:57

should have been forced to sit

31:59

through and listen to all the

32:01

evidence of those sadistic acts that

32:03

she inflicted on her child. And

32:05

her attorney argued his client didn't

32:08

grasp the harm that she caused

32:10

her son, didn't know he was

32:12

starving to death. But the prosecutor

32:14

obviously disputed that notion and said

32:16

she had tortured her son. She

32:18

killed him, she starved him to

32:20

death, he said. And don't you

32:22

just hate that you can't force

32:24

someone to sit through parts of

32:27

the trial? That really frustrates me.

32:29

and we've had lots of discussions

32:31

on social media and on the

32:33

show about some of the difficulties

32:35

with forcing someone to be in

32:37

the courtroom you know how disruptive

32:39

they they may well be and

32:41

are you allowed to then physically

32:43

drag someone in but my thinking

32:45

is actually yeah they should have

32:48

to sit there listen to victim

32:50

impact statements and listen to their

32:52

sentencing but that's just me. The

32:55

judge sentenced Shander Vander Ark on

32:57

January the 23rd 2024 to 50

32:59

to 100 years in prison for

33:01

child abuse and life without parole

33:04

for her son's murder. As he

33:06

read the sentence the judge noted

33:08

that when he sentenced Vander Ark

33:10

above what the guidelines set out

33:12

he said the court finds that

33:15

the amount of torture that I

33:17

have indicated justifies a reasonable grounds

33:19

to depart from the guidelines. So

33:21

that's why it was such a

33:23

high. sentence. For Paul's sentencing, the

33:26

judge did clear of the sentencing

33:28

guidelines, suggesting a 9 to 15

33:30

year sentence. And instead of following

33:32

the pre-established protocol, he actually issued

33:34

Paul a sentence of a minimum

33:37

of 30 years, maximum of 100

33:39

years. So rather than the sentencing

33:41

guidelines which suggest 9 to 15,

33:43

it's 30 years is a minimum,

33:46

so again the judge is really

33:48

scathing here. and the judge further

33:50

recommended mental health treatment for him

33:52

while he served his time in

33:54

jail. because he could be a

33:57

risk to the public upon release.

33:59

The case of Shander van der

34:01

Rach and Timothy Ferguson has sparked

34:03

outrage and sadness among the public

34:05

who have expressed their sympathy for

34:08

the victim and they're absolutely discussed

34:10

for the perpetrator. Many people have

34:12

questioned how such a horrific crime

34:14

could have gone unnoticed and unreported

34:17

for so long and how the

34:19

system failed to protect a vulnerable

34:21

and innocent child. Some have also

34:23

called for more awareness and education

34:25

on child abuse and mental health

34:28

issues and for more support and

34:30

resources for families in need. Timothy's

34:32

case is one of the most

34:34

shocking and disturbing examples of child

34:36

abuse and murder in recent history.

34:39

It is a reminder of the

34:41

evil and cruelty that some people

34:43

are capable of and the suffering

34:45

and pain that some children endure.

34:48

It is also a call for

34:50

action and compassion, for more vigilance

34:52

and for intervention. and for more

34:54

love and kindness to prevent such

34:56

tragedies from happening again. Haley says

34:59

she hopes that Shandevanda Ark is

35:01

having a torturous time in prison

35:03

rotting her life away. Timothy's death

35:05

has inspired some people to honour

35:07

his memory and legacy and a

35:10

memorial service was held for him

35:12

on the 17th of July 2022

35:14

at the First Baptist Church of

35:16

Muscagon where he was remembered as

35:19

a beautiful soul who loved God

35:21

and his family. Timothy is buried

35:23

in Sunset Memory Gardens in Mint

35:25

Hill, North Carolina, and a go-fundme

35:27

page was set up by his

35:30

aunt Jennifer Vanderak to raise money

35:32

for his funeral expenses and for

35:34

his siblings' education and therapy. A

35:36

Facebook group called Justice for Timothy

35:38

Ferguson was created by his cousin

35:41

Amanda Vanderak to share updates on

35:43

the case, to advocate for change

35:45

and to advocate for justice, and

35:47

to keep Timothy's memory and beautiful

35:50

smile alive. Thank

35:53

you very much for joining me this week. Thank you

35:55

very much to Haley Fisher for this week's episode. I

35:57

think think you'll agree it's

35:59

an absolutely heartbreaking one heartbreaking one

36:01

guess the only thing to

36:03

do is thing remember Timothy just to

36:05

think of him Timothy to think of

36:07

will be back next week

36:09

with the both of us.

36:11

So of us so see you them. Bye bye.

36:54

You