Episode 335: Starved Teen Forced To Drink Hot Sauce - Killer Threw Up In Court Seeing Victim’s Final Photos

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The surveillance footage that captured the limp body of a young boy getting dragged into a closet was surprisingly clear.

“You’re pathetic, but I already knew that.” The person talking came into view and positioned the boy in front of the camera. His body was completely nude except for a sagging diaper. To be alive - seemed agonizing.

The little boy’s breathing sounded like a fish out of water - they bent over and pinched the little boy’s lips together.

“See? You don’t need to breathe through your mouth like that - dummy.”

Those would be the last words he ever hears. The boy would die in that closet. After enduring endless torture- starvation, ice baths, and being forced to drink hot sauce. But who was behind the camera watching?

Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com

The house in Michigan where Shanda, Paul, Timothy and Gabriel lived

Shanda’s Facebook

Eric, Paul and Timothy’s bio dad

Timothy as a child

Timothy and Paul

The locks on the fridge and freezer

Alarm on door

Large dog food container and full bowl

Prosecutor briefly shows photo of Timothy Ferguson taken by Paul Ferguson. This photo was sent to SVA along with a text request that Timothy be fed

Evidence photo showing the exact hot sauce

Front door: stairs going up to main level, stairs going down to basement level

Basement common area. Timothy is under the white sheet in the bottom left corner

Basement common area. Timothy is under the white sheet, bottom center. His bunk bed is on the right

Timothy’s top bunk. The man in the photo is another police officer. He’s standing in front of the doorway to Gideon’s bedroom

Kitchen. This is the home as they found it, not after the search. It was this messy before the officers searched

Fridge full of food that Timothy can’t access

Freezer w pizza rolls, frozen meat, etc.

Inside the pantry. Canned soup, cereal, etc.

Kitchen. Stairs lead down to the front door. There’s a chest freezer with another lock on it

Bathroom. No shower curtain on the shower

Camera facing Timothy’s bed and small room

Basement bathroom. Motion sensor camera is on the far right corner of the counter

Counter of the bathroom. (camera is taken as part of the search warrant). The bottle of hot sauce up top, zip ties bottom center

Keys in the house that could activate door alarms

Leg shackles. Shanda said she bought them so Paul could use them on legos for a TikTok video

Unknown substance

This is a list of all the evidence that was taken during the search warrant: leg shackles, cameras, USB drive, 3 phones, 2 iPads, and a pair of jeans

Paul in court

Shanda Vander Ark vomits after seeing gruesome photos of dead son

Shanda Vander Ark takes the stand in trial

Inside the Mind of Shanda Vander Ark: Tortured Son Murder Trial

Paul Ferguson testifies against mother in trial

Oldest brother, Eric Nolan Ferguson shares victim impact statement

Sister, Millie Joan Ferguson shares victim impact statement

Sentencing of Shanda Vander Ark

SOURCES:

ARTICLES

• https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/muskegon/shanda-vander-ark-to-be-sentenced/69-c0e1f506-b730-44a0-9d2a-14e05d260f39

• https://www.woodtv.com/news/muskegon-county/woman-sentenced-for-systematically-torturing-child/

• https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/investigations/shanda-vander-ark-sentenced/69-d6735794-e55b-4b24-88ad-ec45ac9b7cdf

• https://www.woodtv.com/news/muskegon-county/woman-sentenced-for-systematically-torturing-child/

• https://www.woodtv.com/news/muskegon-county/woman-sentenced-for-systematically-torturing-child/

• https://www.woodtv.com/news/muskegon-county/woman-sentenced-for-systematically-torturing-child/

• https://www.courttv.com/news/mi-v-shanda-vander-ark-tortured-son-murder-trial/

• https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/lakeshore/muskegon/norton-shores-mom-charged-in-sons-death-doesnt-show-up-to-court-friday-after-heated-testimony-the-day-before

• https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/muskegon/norton-shores-mom-accused-of-torturing-killing-son-faced-similar-allegations/69-6eb7f1b1-198e-41c9-a8ba-c719618a1df3

• https://www.woodtv.com/news/muskegon-county/woman-bound-over-to-stand-trial-in-death-of-15-year-old-son/

• https://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/2023/07/a-year-after-a-teen-was-found-tortured-to-death-mom-and-brother-await-trial.html?outputType=amp

• https://www.woodtv.com/news/muskegon-county/woman-arrested-after-malnourished-teen-found-dead/?ipid=promo-link-block1

• https://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/2023/12/boy-was-on-deaths-door-while-mother-continued-to-punish-him-prosecutor-says.html

HOT SAUCE

• https://elijahsxtreme.com/collections/hottest-sauces/products/xtreme-regret-hot-sauce

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS/OTHER YOUTUBE VIDEOS

• https://audioboom.com/posts/8417742-is-shanda-vander-ark-mentally-ill-or-evil

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnWzOY1Vp6A

• https://www.tiktok.com/@courtsinsession222/video/7325853408768937258

• https://www.tiktok.com/@courtsinsession222/video/7325874170913606958

• https://twitter.com/al4mma/with_replies

• https://www.reddit.com/r/shandaVanderArk/comments/19cy7rz/more_facebook_creeping/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/shandaVanderArk/new/

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj79WC4ogRM&list=PLXUkNRGHG5OzKXaGLSMIixhIuMBFWxWDO&index=11

• https://www.instagram.com/vander_ark_photography/

• https://www.tiktok.com/@pfergy_playz

• https://www.tiktok.com/@pfergy_playz/video/6983436613942545669

• https://www.youtube.com/live/ULBDStIGA9Q?si=AWTVI2-LFptlgoa1&t=7147

• https://www.youtube.com/live/ULBDStIGA9Q?si=vgtO2fAXzcxt07Pf&t=5790

• https://www.youtube.com/live/ULBDStIGA9Q?si=2MUCfhJprrQgcaZ-&t=13203

• https://www.youtube.com/live/ULBDStIGA9Q?si=TX473VIaJOGoGHRt&t=13833

• https://www.youtube.com/live/ULBDStIGA9Q?si=Rr6Gd2uCgG7PO2-M&t=7636

• https://youtu.be/AZlX5mXbJus?si=KnKy-99tsW-fBXks&t=1265

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7o3Q3NifI0&list=PLAPYj7h5FIO34FNuMpMdmOkQxanW_CK8D&index=17 

• https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=104434402902569&set=pb.100000080288740.-2207520000

• https://youtu.be/qbBcflcghb4?si=BIN4bAf7hrcPUBfE

• https://youtu.be/oV3F1vqGOak?si=5WBwd6VnvOplkW0S

• https://youtu.be/jFGBBG8nUc4?si=Yzr5Gm-R56TGlKY4 

PAUL’S YOUTUBE

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWwM2j1VdzY&list=PLNHA6oy-UCQuWvMCiQavLpM1FYn0ta3FS

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FBjt4evClE&list=PLNHA6oy-UCQsqa6KVVB7K6dme3QhSvlIh

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiMH-TM9B4Y

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkqS95-PLOQ

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6odz4ZKBm0w

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TroEfk6BpQQ

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeQanubHU-8

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UbSvH-eMOg

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuJ8R0iNYTo

• https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8cc6ynJ/

CLOSING STATEMENTS VID https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqGvhZ6-xo0

Shanda testimony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvcKpURpzfA 

Reddit comments + discussions https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrimeDiscussion/comments/19ab1b6/shanda_vander_ark/ 

Police report + shanda background info https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULBDStIGA9Q 

TIMOTHY AUTOPSY 

• https://www.youtube.com/live/ULBDStIGA9Q?si=vdgNARfV7h6nRPVI&t=5190 1:26:25

• https://www.youtube.com/live/ULBDStIGA9Q?si=az6fMK6LaYF5fsnl&t=14151 3:55:51 (BETTER)

TIMOTHY’S 6TH + 7TH GRADE TEACHER TALKS https://www.youtube.com/live/ULBDStIGA9Q?si=CyslZG1nuW4ULSjq&t=7333 2:02:00

PATERNAL GRANDPA TALKS https://www.youtube.com/live/ULBDStIGA9Q?si=ugsmEqclgv9mxS9r&t=11957 3:19:17

ADAM TALKS AT TRIAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aftE83IEdwk&list=WL 

SIBLINGS QUOTES “he was wanted by me” “he hated saying goodbye”

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/we-know-who-you-are-judge-and-victims-siblings-call-out-mom-who-starved-and-tortured-special-needs-son-to-death/ 

Basic story info. 

• https://scrippsnews.com/stories/i-feel-like-a-complete-failure-mom-accused-of-killing-son-testifies/

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2thvy1ULQA 

Adam Vander Ark’s old Flickr account https://www.flickr.com/photos/rollingphotos/with/4602160671 

Tiktok of Timothy and Paul trying on new matching shirts. From July 11, 2021.https://www.tiktok.com/@pfergy_playz/video/6983436613942545669?_r=1&_t=8iGlA1QS3Ux 

Scoville scale for measuring pepper spiciness. https://peppergeek.com/the-scoville-scale/ 

Shanda’s SA allegations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aftE83IEdwk&list=WL

Starvation Effects

• https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/01/20/463710330/what-happens-to-the-body-and-mind-when-starvation-sets-in 

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starvation#:~:text=As%20starvation%20progresses%2C%20the%20physical,be%20diarrhea%20in%20some%20cases. 

Hypothermia Effects

• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/airplane-1549-hudson-hypothermia/#:~:text=Generally%2C%20a%20person%20can%20survive,or%20core%2C%20of%20the%20body. 

Paul’s Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100042379986686

Bodycam footage, Paul’s 1st interrogation, Shanda’s arrest bodycam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7o3Q3NifI0&t=994s

Production Note:

Rotten Mango has not done original reporting on this case. The stories are based on existing material (listed in show notes).

The RM team works hard to make sure everything you’re listening to is as accurate as possible and we try to use multiple sources to verify the facts. Creative liberties may be taken in certain cases during the presentation of the case. Please email us at rottenmangop@gmail.com if you have any questions!