Docs Can’t Figure Out Why Girl, 7, Is Sick – Then Grandma’s Fingernail Breaks Case Wide Open

Police arrested a grandmother in Central Texas after the woman’s family accused her of poisoning her 7-year-old granddaughter.

Authorities arrested 56-year-old Lisa Campbell-Goins on New Year’s Eve, charging her with the exploitation of a child, injury to a child, and unlawful restraint, according to KDFW-TV in Texas.

Campbell-Goins had cared for the 7-year-old since she was a baby because the girl’s mother was unable to.

Since January 2021, she had taken the girl to the hospital 17 different times, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.

In August 2023, she would take her granddaughter one last time to the Cook Children’s Medical Center in Forth Worth, Texas.

This time, the girl was reportedly vomiting, had severe dehydration, and was suffering from diarrhea.

Doctors also discovered ulcers in the girl’s GI tract and unusual damage to her lower intestine and colon.

The doctors were baffled.

Her symptoms would cyclically improve, then worsen, leaving doctors unable to diagnose the issue because her illness “did not match a known medical diagnosis,” according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Lisa Campbell-Goins, 56, of Voss, Texas, has been arrested on charges related to a case of Munchausen by proxy after allegedly medically abusing her 7-year-old granddaughter

Campbell-Goins is charged with exploitation of a child, injury to a child, and unlawful restraint.… pic.twitter.com/LjCMyS3ipg

— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) January 6, 2025

Doctors inserted a gastric tube to administer medication to the girl, which the grandmother allegedly pushed doctors to use for feeding, too.

The girl would remain hospitalized for months, according to the Daily Mail.

The mystery began unraveling in January 2024, when family members notified authorities that they suspected the grandmother was poisoning the girl through her gastric tube.

Investigators reportedly concluded the grandmother had indeed been using an alkaline substance as the poison, likely Mean Green Degreaser.

A family member noticed other red flags too, such as a bottle of nail polish remover in the child’s bedroom before she was hospitalized.

The family member said Campbell-Goins reportedly didn’t have painted nails, according to the Daily Mail.

Police later learned the grandmother was financially profiting from her daughter’s illness.

Investigators said they believe Campbell-Goins defrauded Medicaid of at least $600,000 in unneeded medical treatment, according to KDFW.

She also gained possibly thousands of dollars from a GoFundMe campaign, according to the Daily Mail.

When police learned Campbell-Goins wasn’t a legal guardian to the girl, they removed her from the hospital, according to news reports.

The girl’s behavior and health both immediately began improving shortly afterward.

Now living with her maternal grandmother, she no longer needs a feeding tube,  eats on her own and is even gaining weight.

She also started going to school for the first time, according KDFW.

The grandmother was booked into Tarrant County Jail. Her bond was set at $150,000.

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