Background: Tina Beauprey (left) and her attorney during her court appearance on Jan. 28 (WLUK). Inset: Tina Beauprey (Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office).
A Wisconsin mother is facing serious charges after allegedly neglecting her 12-year-old son, who was disabled, leading to his tragic death. Authorities claim that Tina Marie Beauprey, 51, failed to provide adequate care for her son, who weighed just 56 pounds at the time of his passing.
According to court records, Beauprey has been charged with child neglect resulting in death. Her son, who has not been publicly named, suffered from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a condition that left him reliant on caregivers, primarily Beauprey, as reported by a criminal complaint reviewed by the local ABC affiliate WBAY.
Authorities allege that from November 2024 until his death on December 5, Beauprey neglected to provide her son with sufficient food and medical attention. An autopsy determined that the boy died from starvation, and his death was classified as a homicide. The medical examiner reportedly concluded that with proper nourishment, the boy would still be alive today.
Statements allegedly made by Beauprey reveal a troubling attitude towards her responsibilities. According to the complaint, she remarked, “It’s pretty sad that it takes your kid dying just to get them outta your hair.”
The investigation further uncovered that Beauprey had access to gift cards from the Department of Human Services, intended to purchase food for her son. However, it appears that in the weeks leading up to his death, he was given only sparse amounts of frozen chicken nuggets and pizza, as detailed in the complaint reported by WBAY.
Investigators also reportedly learned that Beauprey could have used gift cards supplied by the Department of Human Services to buy food for her son. But the boy only ate a few bites of frozen chicken nuggets and pizza in the weeks leading up to his death, the complaint stated, per WBAY.
Beauprey also reportedly ignored hospital staff who wanted to bring him in to check his weight and never opened his prescription medication. She told investigators that her son was sick the week of Thanksgiving and she “just knew he was going to be gone soon.”
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by local Fox affiliate WLUK, which was read in court last week by Judge Laura Lavey, the boy weighed 80 pounds in November 2024 and dropped to 56 pounds in the next year. The documents stated that 15% of his total weight loss occurred in the last five weeks of the boy’s life.
Fond du Lac County Assistant District Attorney Kristin Menzl told the court that “care [was] not being provided to the child, including a lack of food.” She said the boy’s health became significantly worse in the two days leading up to his death, but Beauprey “did not seek out any medical care for the victim, even though it was obvious he was declining.”
Beauprey’s defense attorney, Michael Queensland, said the family expected the boy to lose a large amount of weight because of his diagnosis. Queensland told the court, “The family had been informed that the child was terminally ill. He was going to lose weight. And soon, was going to need a feeding tube.”
