A 38-year-old Wisconsin woman, Kandise Sheahen, replaced her 80-year-old grandmother’s diabetes medication with supplements and prayers, leading to her death. She, however, will only spend months in prison, with the judge reportedly not deeming her a “danger to the public.”
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As reported by Law & Crime, citing Marathon County Assistant District Attorney Sidney Brubacher, Sheahen was sentenced to nine months and prison and six years’ probation on Thursday, August 28. The woman had been found guilty of negligently subjecting an individual at risk to abuse, causing death.
Brubacher had asked for a six-year sentence. However, her request was “ignored.”
“I laid out the seriousness of the defense, how she knew she was doing something wrong and tried to cover it up, how she was a nurse who was fired for not getting vaccinated and continued treating patients without having the authority to,” Brubacher told the outlet.
In addition to her sentence, Sheahen was ordered to undergo a mental health assessment, as per the Wausau Daily Herald.
Grandmother Found Dead
A criminal complaint obtained by the Wausau Daily Herald detailed that local police responded to Sheahen’s home on January 8, 2022. Upon arrival, they found her 80-year-old grandmother dead.
Authorities later learned that Kandise Sheahen had deliberately kept her grandmother from getting medical assistance or getting her to the hospital, despite her worsening condition and falls.
Eventually, police learned that Kandise Sheahen had swapped her grandmother’s diabetes medication with supplements she sold online. She claimed that they were helping the elderly woman with her disease.
Sheahen also expressed her disdain for medical practice, despite her being a licensed nurse at the time. According to DA Brubacher, Sheahen even said, “I don’t believe in Insulin,” calling others out for not following her “medical” advice.
‘The Hands And Feet Of Jesus’
On top of the supplements, Sheahen also advocated for faith-based treatment. She allegedly said, “My goal in doing this is truly to be the hands and feet of Jesus.”
This “faith” eventually led Sheahen to reduce and sell her grandmother’s medication. The elderly woman had been taking 18 different pills and had been treating her diabetes for 30 years.
“As time has went on and the more knowledge I’ve gained and the more strength I’ve gotten from God, I’ve realized that hold on, like let’s, we don’t need this much,” Sheahen wrote on social media, as per Brubacher. “This is ridiculous.”
According to prosecutors, the grandmother’s glucose levels were around 600 at the time of her death. An autopsy revealed she had died from diabetic ketoacidosis. Brubacher stated that Sheahan had tried to cremate her grandmother’s body “within 24 hours” after her death. Family members stopped her, feeling that “something was not right.”
During her sentencing, Sheahen’s family, according ot Brubacher, were divided. Some of them gave statements for Sheahen, supporting her. Others believed, however, that the 9-month sentence was “a travesty and joke.”
“I don’t think the family will ever come together,” Brubacher added.