Child ‘slowly starved to death’ in Minnesota, feds say. Now woman is going to prison

A Minnesota woman was sentenced in connection to the death of a child that authorities say was severely neglected until she died.

Sharon Rosebear, 64, was convicted of felony child neglect , according to court records. She was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

McClatchy News reached out to Rosebear’s attorney but did not immediately hear back.

In 2022, Rosebear was a caretaker for a female child, according to an Oct. 8 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.

During that time, the girl died of “starvation and infection” after Rosebear failed to seek medical attention or provide proper care for the girl, according to officials.

Rosebear did not have legal custody over the girl, but was able to provide “nutrition and healthcare,” which officials said she failed to do.

Officials said the girl “died at the same weight she had been nearly three years earlier,” and “while Rosebear was aware of (the girl’s) severe lice infestation, Rosebear responded by keeping (the girl) isolated rather than seeking medical attention for (the girl).”

Testimony in the court said the girl established an infection which could have been caused from scratches on her scalp due to the untreated lice infestation.

“The medical testimony also established that (the girl’s) prolonged starvation may have been an independently sufficient cause of death, or may have severely compromised (the girl’s) immune system’s ability to fight infection,” according to officials.

Co-defendant Julius Fineday was sentenced to five years in prison in July, McClatchy News previously reported.

Officials said Fineday neglected the girl in “nearly every way” until she was “not just thin, but skeletal” when she died.

“All of the adults and children involved in the case received nutritional and cash assistance adequate to meet their basic needs,” officials said.

However, officials said, Rosebear “nonetheless intentionally deprived (the girl) of those basic needs by withholding food, and by looking the other way while (the girl’s) health deteriorated.”

“One of the most tragic things about (the girl’s) death is that it was so easily preventable … day after day, week after week, month after month, Ms. Rosebear watched as (the girl) slowly starved to death,” Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said in the release.

Officials did not clarify what the relationship between the woman and the girl was.

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