South Carolina woman charged with death of diabetic teen after giving her milkshake, authorities say

A South Carolina woman is accused of allowing a 17-year-old diabetic girl in her care to drink a milkshake, which led to her death, authorities said. 

Shirl Lee Sweeny, 50, is charged with unlawful conduct towards a child, who died in August 2022, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said. 

The teen was diagnosed with diabetes in June 2021. However, she failed to show up for follow-up appointments despite medical staff telling Sweeny that the girl needed her insulin, an affidavit states. 

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Authorities said Sweeny was in charge of the teen’s welfare and failed to take her to her medical appointments for more than a year and didn’t administer her insulin. 

In September 2021, the teen was admitted into the hospital with high blood pressure. Sweeny, the girl’s guardian, was told that the teen taking her insulin was “not optional.”

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On Aug. 12, 2022, the teen began vomiting but was not taken to the hospital, despite medical staff previously advising her that vomiting is a symptom of diabetic ketoacidosis. The next day, Sweeny called 911, saying the girl was found on the bathroom floor. 

She was heard on the phone by a dispatcher saying: “I knew she shouldn’t have had that milkshake,” authorities said. 

The teen was taken to a hospital with excessive weight loss and high blood glucose levels. She later died. Her cause of death was listed as hyperosmolar ketoacidosis due to diabetes and was listed as a homicide.

Sweeny was charged with the teen’s death because she placed her at an “unreasonable risk of harm, that affected her life, physical health and safety,” investigators said.