A 31-year-old woman has been arrested in Tarrant County, accused of medical child abuse that resulted in serious bodily injury to a child, according to the sheriff’s office. Kaitlyn Rose Laura was taken into custody and booked into the Tarrant County Jail on a charge of injury to a child causi ng serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony under Texas law. She is accused of medical abuse, including allegedly providing false information that led to unnecessary medical procedures. The affidavit suggests concerns developed over time rather than a single incident. Investigators outlined a timeline beginning in April 2025, when hospital staff first documented discrepancies between reported symptoms and her son’s condition, and continuing until February 2026, when the child was removed by CPS. According to the warrant affidavit, investigators believe Laura intentionally gave false medical history, resulting in the placement of an unnecessary gastric feeding tube in the child. Authorities say the procedure caused serious bodily injury, forming the basis of a felony charge of injury to a child. She also faces an additional charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, authorities said. Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Wayborn called the alleged crime “horrific” and noted that cases involving medical abuse can be complex and difficult to investigate, sometimes leading them to be overlooked in the criminal justice system. Allegations of false diagnoses The affidavit outlines what investigators describe as a pattern of misleading claims about the child’s health. Medical providers later found that several conditions reported by the suspect, including cerebral palsy, seizures, and severe feeding issues, were unsupported by testing or evaluations. Doctors also identified inconsistencies in the child’s birth history. While the suspect described complications, medical records showed the child was born via a planned C-section without complications and appeared healthy at birth. Medical staff documented multiple instances where the child’s condition did not match what was reported. In one case, the child was brought to the emergency room for dehydration and inability to eat, but was observed eating snacks without issue and showed no signs of dehydration. Hospital staff also reported observations where the suspect claimed the child could not eat but was seen consuming meals normally during hospitalization. Doctors told investigators the suspect appeared focused on obtaining invasive treatments. A pediatric gastroenterologist said the suspect was “very pushy” about getting a feeding tube and resisted alternative treatment options. In the affidavit, the doctor stated the tube would not likely have been placed if accurate information had been provided. Mobility claims questioned Investigators also raised concerns about how the child’s mobility was represented. According to the affidavit, the child was at times portrayed as needing a wheelchair, despite later observations that the child was able to move independently without assistance. After the child was removed from the suspect’s care, caregivers reported the child was active and mobile, further contradicting earlier claims about limited mobility. Escalating treatment and use of restraints Investigators say the suspect not only sought invasive medical procedures, but also requested the use of physical restraints during the child’s hospital stays. According to the affidavit, the suspect asked for the child to be placed in a “posey bed,” a tent-like enclosure placed over a hospital bed that can restrict a child’s movement. However, after the child was removed from the suspect’s care, medical staff and caregivers reported the child did not require a posey bed or similar restraints. Hospital staff also documented instances where the child appeared calm, while the suspect requested additional medications for agitation, pain, or sleep. Another physician concluded the case was suspected medical child abuse. Requests for palliative and end-of-life care Investigators say the suspect also sought increasingly intensive levels of care, including palliative and end-of-life treatment. According to the affidavit, the suspect requested hospice services and total parenteral nutrition (TPN), a form of intravenous feeding typically used in serious medical cases. Medical providers told investigators those measures were not medically necessary and that the child was not terminally ill. The affidavit describes those requests as part of a broader pattern in which the child was portrayed as far more medically fragile than evaluations indicated. School and caregiver observations In addition to medical providers, investigators also gathered information from school staff and caregivers. According to the affidavit, school personnel and other caregivers reported observations that did not align with the severity of conditions described by the suspect. Father’s account and timeline Investigators also interviewed the child’s father, who described inconsistencies in the suspect’s claim. He told investigators he relied on the suspect to communicate with doctors about the child’s care. The father also told investigators that Laura used to work in home health and has experience with feeding tubes and medical terminology. Improved condition after removal The affidavit states the child was removed from the suspect’s care by Child Protective Services in February 2026. After being removed from the suspect’s care, the child was described as active and mobile, with no apparent need for a wheelchair or other mobility assistance, according to investigators. A foster caregiver told investigators the child had not needed the feeding tube at all and was consuming all calories by mouth. Concerns raised multiple times before arrest The affidavit indicates concerns about the child’s condition were raised multiple times to authorities before the arrest, dating back to June of 2025. According to documents, doctors at Cook Children’s in Fort Worth reported suspected medical abuse to Fort Worth Police. FWPD tells NBC 5 that detectives “made the scene the evening of the call and spoke to the mother” but that since the family lived in Glen Rose, detectives “believed the best course of action was to send it to the originating jurisdiction.” According to documents, Glen Rose PD said they were a small jurisdiction with only two officers, not having the “resources to investigate this type of case.” Glen Rose sent the case to the Johnson County DA’s Office to investigate. According to the warrant, “no law enforcement action was taken on this report in 2025.” The warrant goes on to say, “These concerns were forwarded to the FWPD who did not investigate the concerns despite the feeding tube being placed in their jurisdiction, and instead referred the case to Glen Rose Police Department, who referred the case to the Johnson County DA’s office. CPS also did not remove the victim from the suspect’s custody before closing their case. The suspect then left Cook Children Medical Center’s Care and began seeking unneeded treatments at Children Medical Center Dallas.” NBC 5 reached out to Johnson County as well as CPS and have not received any response, yet. The child remained in the suspect’s care until the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office got ahold of the case. In February 2026, CPS removed the child to medical foster care, according to the affidavit. According to documents, Glen Rose Police then contacted a detective at the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 17, 2026. Search warrant evidence Investigators executed a search warrant at the suspect’s home and seized multiple electronic devices, including a phone, laptop, and tablets. A forensic review of the phone found photos of the child in medical settings, including images of feeding tube sites and hospital care. In addition to the criminal charges outlined in the arrest warrant, investigators are also examining potential financial fraud connected to the case. The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office said there is an ongoing investigation into possible Medicaid fraud related to what authorities described as unnecessary medical treatments. They also flagged solicitations for donations through at least 3 separate GoFundMe accounts. The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who has made donations or had conversations with Laura about the health of her children to contact the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 817-884-1305. NBC 5 has reached out to GoFundMe for a statement. A spokesperson said the platform doesn’t tolerate misuse and has refunded donors.  “GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform and we cooperate with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing. All donors have been refunded. Additionally, the organizer account has been banned from future fundraising on GoFundMe and any associated fundraisers have been removed from our platform. The GoFundMe Giving Guarantee protects donors by guaranteeing a full refund in the rare case something isn’t right,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to NBC 5. ...read more read less