Photograph by Andy Melton
A five-year-old girl has died after her parents allegedly forced her to drink two litres of grape soda as a punishment for taking the bottle without asking in east Tennessee, US.
Alexa Linboom was taken to hospital on new year’s day 2012 by her father, Randall Vaughn, 41, and his wife Mary, 58, after she became paralysed and started to turn blue after consuming the drink.
The rapid ingestion of such a large amount of liquids caused the girl’s brain to swell, causing brain damage, and ultimately leading to her death.
After a two-year investigation, Randall and Mary Vaughn have been charged with murder and are being held in jail, pending a bail hearing.
The five children that remained in the household have been taken into foster care.
