Pennsylvania mom Elizabeth Scarlett Hawk was charged on Tuesday with child endangerment, after the father of her infant son, Jerry Hawk, brought him to a Fayette County Children & Youth Services location, from which he was rushed to the hospital. He claimed his estranged wife was “obsessed” with following a restrictive diet that had left the baby dangerously undernourished.
KDKA, CBS’s Pittsburgh affiliate, reports that the 11-month-old was covered in a rash that had been neglected, and was exhibiting developmental delays due to his imposed diet of small amounts of fruit and nuts. Jerry’s sister Brandy Hawk told reporters that Elizabeth told her the baby had allergies, but there were other signs. She says, “It was his motor skills; he couldn’t use his hands at all.”
The baby went home with his father, along with the couple’s other two children. Since being returned to a normal, healthy diet, he has apparently turned around and is doing much better. Elizabeth Hawk has been released on her own recognizance, and no date has been set yet for her preliminary hearing. Her sister-in-law said of her extreme nutritional regimen, “She was going to live on water and sunlight.”