Prosecutors say McAllister got retraining from medical professionals on how to treat her daughter’s condition just two months before her death.
KIRKLAND, Wash. — Prosecutors have charged a Kirkland mother with first-degree manslaughter, alleging she recklessly caused the death of her 10-year-old daughter by failing to seek emergency medical care during a two-day road trip in July despite clear signs of a life-threatening diabetic emergency.
Lloydina Shnea McAllister, 42, was charged in King County Superior Court this month in the death of her daughter, who had Type 1 diabetes and relied on an insulin pump. According to charging documents, the child arrived at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma on July 18, already deceased. Hospital staff recorded her postmortem blood glucose at 700 mg/dL, which is more than seven times the upper end of the normal range.
Detectives say McAllister, her boyfriend, and her three children left on what she described as a “family road trip” on July 17, initially telling investigators they were headed to Medford, Oregon. Cell phone records, however, showed the family had driven more than 700 miles south to the Sacramento area before turning around. Over the course of the trip, investigators say they passed 31 open hospitals along the Interstate 5 corridor without stopping for help, and made no calls to 911.
Medical data from the child’s insulin pump showed her blood glucose alarm began reading “HIGH” around 10 a.m. on July 16 and stayed at maximum alert levels for nearly two days. According to investigators and medical staff, sustained high readings are an unmistakable indicator of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a rapidly escalating medical emergency.
Charging documents outline a years-long pattern of missed medical appointments, reports to Child Protective Services, and previous hospitalizations related to the girl’s diabetes management. Just two months before the child’s death, McAllister had received formal retraining from medical professionals after another DKA admission.
In an interview with detectives, McAllister acknowledged her daughter had begun vomiting before the trip and that she believed the girl’s ketones were high — a known sign of impending crisis. She told investigators she avoided stopping at hospitals because a parenting plan barred her from taking the child out of state, and she was afraid of the consequences.
The prosecutor’s office is requesting $1 million bail and no-contact orders involving McAllister’s two surviving children, citing concerns for their safety and for potential interference with the investigation.
If convicted of first-degree manslaughter, McAllister faces a standard sentencing range that can include years in prison. The medical examiner has not yet formally ruled on the child’s cause of death, but the investigation remains ongoing.
