Child dies, siblings hospitalized after 'alkaline diet,' parents charged

[Jilly_in_VA]

An Arizona couple faces possible prison time after parenting practices shaped by online misinformation about medical care and nutrition left a 5-month-old child dead and three others suffering from chronic malnutrition, according to police and court records.

Police found Tremaure Stanley, 25, and Janiece Brooks, 26, living in a central Phoenix home where their youngest child was discovered dead in July 2023 after Brooks called 911 because their baby was unresponsive.

Three surviving siblings, ages 2, 4 and 5 at the time, were subsequently hospitalized with rickets, osteopenia, vitamin D deficiency and significant developmental delays, court records show.

The couple was charged with first-degree murder and four counts of child abuse. They met with prosecutors Dec. 1 to discuss a possible plea deal.

Prosecutors said the pattern of harm traces back to an extreme version of the "alkaline diet" the couple imposed on their children, combined with a growing distrust of medical care. For these children, that meant eating mostly vegetables, fruit and plant-based milks, with almost no protein, fats or fortified foods. It was a diet so low in calories and nutrients that doctors who examined the children said it led to severe malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/12/08/arizona-parents-charged-child-death-alkaline-diet/87669909007/?tbref=hp

People who rely on the internet for their own diet advice are crazy at best; if they impose it on their children, they are CRIMINAL

[mercuryblues]

1. Those "parents"

Deserve a long prison sentence.

[Johnny2X2X]

2. So sad to watch this happening in our country

These people are not alone, there are millions of people who have gone down these internet rabbit holes and are now making misinformed health decisions.

[tulipsandroses]

32. I agree and to add to that, its a rich bed of recruits for white supremacy. Its no surprise that so many got

sucked into weird conspiracy theories that landed them in QAnon or MAGA. The guy that assaulted Paul Pelosi got started in the conspiracy world with nutty health conspiracies.

[Torchlight]

3. Lot of idiots with degrees in Health Science from YouTube University

I've got some distended (I'll let the malaprop stand, as it feels accurate) family members who will most likely have "I did my own research" on their tombstone. My generally negative perceptions of moms and dads who pretend to be scientists and educators remains as is...

[littlemissmartypants]

15. Unfortunately, there are some...

With actual degrees from universities who follow the crowd with some of these erroneous conclusions.

Poor judgment isn't limited to the uneducated.

[Torchlight]

16. They are however, the easiest mark.

'Poor judgment isn't limited to the uneducated.'

[littlemissmartypants]

17. There are bunches of so called educated people who are very naive.

Some of them are in congress.

[CountAllVotes]

4. relying on the internet for info

Not a great idea in some cases.

Was just reading about some people that adopted a kitten after watching youtube videos about kittens.

The world is far different than what youtube or other aspects of the internet reveal.

In this case, death and severe harm to children!

What idiots!

[JI7]

5. This is an example of the stupid taking over the country and world

not people doing basic customer service.

[dalton99a]

6. .

Court records show the couple interpreted the children’s rapid weight loss as evidence the diet was working and removing toxins, rather than as a warning sign of a medical crisis.

Two months after beginning the diet, their infant child was dead.

[yardwork]

7. People can find anything they want online.

People no longer have to give away all their possessions and move across the country to join a cult. Now they can join a cult in the comfort of their own home.

No matter how they dress it up, starving your children and watching them die is still starving your children. It's torture. It's child abuse.

[Jilly_in_VA]

8. Even if you're doing "plant-based"

an infant 5 months old should have been either totally breastfed or fed soy-vased formula. No excuses for that.

[intheflow]

22. Commercial infant formula started in the 1870s.

I have no idea where you get your information, but you really need to fact check before you go posting online.

[AllyCat]

21. Yes!! This is exactly what I was thinking!

Should have been on breastmilk or formula. Then again, I’ve seen a couple of their stupid videos about formula and those are pretty terrible.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

9. "the couple interpreted the children's rapid weight loss as evidence the diet was working and removing toxins,"

what toxins?

Idiot parents

[GopherGal]

24. Sounds like the "toxins" needing removal were the ones called Tremaure and Janiece.

At least the other 3 kids now have a chance to get away from their nut job parents. Hopefully the "orthorexia by proxy" that these "parents" inflicted upon their kids didn't do permanent damage to their development.

[3catwoman3]

30. Generally speaking, children in this age group do not need to lose weight.

The infant should have been gaining weight.

[popsdenver]

10. We are already seeing

a growing epidemic of childhood diseases due to the parents not wanting vaccinations. Especially the potentially deadly diseases, that were considered CONQUERED here in the U.S. due to vaccinations.......

A parent's decision to ignore science, and not vaccinate their children, could well cause an epidemic in all the other children whose parents that have decided NOT to vaccinate their children..........

The lack of educated parents, and the MAGAots, are fueling this distrust in Vacinations.......

In so many different ways, we have gone BACKWARDS nearly a century......tearing apart government regulations, working towards another GILDED AGE, a new entire set of ROBBER BARRONS, poverty and hunger, blatant racism, etc etc etc

WASF

[NBachers]

11. The RFK Junior Diet

[Jilly_in_VA]

12. Put HIM on it

Maybe he'll go away.....

[LudwigPastorius]

13. That poor baby's tombstone should read:

My parents 'did their own research'.

[Ilsa]

34. Doctor's advice vs anonymous posters' advice

on social media? I can always dig into journals, CDC site, AAP site, etc. But too many people gravitate towards conspiracy sites instead of science-based professional sites.

[Dr. T]

14. " ... growing distrust of medical care."

That's uniquely American. Our for-profit healthcare system is an abject failure and should not be granted blind faith. But, I agree that these knuckleheads took it to a sadistically extreme level either by sheer stupidity or sheer cruelty.

[AZ8theist]

18. I'd vote for the former. Hands down.

Social media will destroy humanity.

[Dr. T]

19. I treat social media like the cancer that it is.

[bucolic_frolic]

26. Clearly there's good diet advice but there's also bad diet advice

What made them follow such extremes?

[Melon]

29. Are you actually looking online...

https://dcs.az.gov/sites/default/files/CF-NF-PreliminaryReport%20/Fatality-PreliminaryReport-TS.pdf

]https://dcs.az.gov/sites/default/files/CF-NF-SummaryReport%20/NearFatality-SummaryReport-1_1.pdf

]https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/12/08/arizona-parents-charged-child-death-alkaline-diet/87669909007/

]https://www.newsbreak.com/the-mirror-us-1900780/4387692958028-parents-starved-5-month-old-to-death-with-horrifying-alkaline-diet

[Jeebo]

27. The internet is a giant rumor mill for the gullible.

The gullible believe nonsense far too easily. I suppose that is a good definition of the word "gullible". The internet has its points, but you have to make sure your bullshit detector is healthy and functioning.

 — Ron

[3catwoman3]

31. During my nearly half-century in pediatrics, starting quite early in my...

...career, I often found myself thinking parenthood should require a license. Things like this are among the many reasons I still feel that way.

The mere ability to juxtapose genitalia is not a sufficient qualification/skill set for being a parent.