MoCo Mom Lit Son On Fire Over Cereal Mess, Sentenced To Prison: Report

GERMANTOWN, MD — A Germantown woman who set her 8-year-old son on fire because he made a mess while eating cereal has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, according to multiple reports citing the Montgomery County State’s Attorney's Office.

Kimberly Tyler, 31, was also ordered to serve five years of supervised probation after release, Montgomery Community Media reported. According to court records, Tyler was convicted in December on multiple charges including first-degree child abuse and conspiracy to commit neglect of a minor.

According to court documents obtained by WTOP, Tyler and her son were in the kitchen of their Germantown apartment in May 2020 when Tyler got upset with the boy for eating cereal and making a mess.

Tyler then poured rubbing alcohol on the boy's hand and lit it on fire, court documents said. The flames spread, according to WTOP, engulfing the top half of his body.

According to a WUSA9 report, the boy suffered third-degree burns on both arms, his chest and neck.

Instead of calling 911 or taking the boy to the hospital, reports said Tyler called her parents, who took the child and attempted to treat him on their own.

According to a statement of charges obtained by MCM, the child was not taken to a hospital until 20 days after he was burned. He underwent more than 20 surgeries and spent months in the hospital, reports said.

“This was among the worst we have seen when it comes to child abuse cases. The level of harm caused by someone in the ultimate position of trust, the child’s mother, is unfathomable," Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a statement. "Our hearts are with the young victim and those now entrusted with his care."

Tyler’s wife and parents were co-defendants in the case, MCM reported. said.

Kimball Tyler, the boy's grandfather, testified against his daughter and pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment. Chareese Snorgrass-Tyler, Tyler's wife and boy's stepmother, pleaded guilty to neglect of a minor. She was sentenced to six months in prison plus five years of supervised probation, according to MCM.