Mother accused of unhooking son's IV, injecting herself

Karen Remsing

A Vancouver, Wash., woman, visiting her terminally ill child at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, was arrested over the weekend on charges she stole drugs from her son's intravenous line and injected herself.

Karen Remsing, who turned 42 on Sunday, is charged with child endangerment, reckless endangerment, theft, criminal mischief, and committing prohibitive acts including possession of the prescription medication.

Pittsburgh police said Ms. Remsing temporarily disconnected a tube that had been providing a sedative to the boy, 15.

She used syringes, stolen from a hospital tray, to siphon the drug, which she allegedly injected into herself, police said.

The charges include the suspect's reconnection of the I.V., which left an air bubble in the tube that further threatened the boy's life, police said.

Ms. Remsing is being held in the Allegheny County Jail on $75,000 bail, pending a preliminary hearing set for 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in Municipal Court.



First published on November 1, 2010 at 11:47 am