Woman charged after not allowing girl ‘to eat when her blood sugar was too high’ and other alleged abuses

RIVESVILLE, W.Va. (WBOY) — A woman has been charged after deputies said she was not allowing a child “to eat when her blood sugar was too high,” and other alleged abuses.

According to a criminal complaint filed by the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, a 14-year-old girl was found unresponsive at a residence in Rivesville “due to high blood sugar.”

The home was the residence of Betty Underwood, 49, of Rivesville, and after the juvenile victim was transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital for treatment, she “was found to have bruises to her head, face, chin, hands, legs and ankles,” as well as “bleeding on the brain” which resulted in the victim being placed “in pediatric intensive care” … “for approximately one week,” deputies said.

In their investigation, deputies learned that Underwood “was witnessed between the summer of [2022] and [November of 2022] hitting [the victim] with a wooden spoon on the hands and face,” according to the complaint.

Deputies also learned that Underwood “would not allow the victim to eat when her blood sugar was too high,” and that Underwood “had been observed shoving the victim’s face into a dirty cat litter box for not cleaning the box the way she thought it should be cleaned,” deputies said.

In one instance, Underwood “was heard making comments that she did not care if the victim died and advised a neighbor to inject her with a full pen of insulin, knowing it could kill the victim,” according to the complaint.

Underwood has been charged with two counts of child abuse resulting in injury. She is being held in North Central Regional Jail on $100,012 bond.