A 32-year-old Crosslake mother is accused of torturing her three young children by removing their blood, forcing them to wear casts and neck braces despite not having injuries, and subjecting them to severe physical punishment.
Jorden Nicole Borders was booked into the Crow Wing County Jail on Wednesday after the Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office filed six felony charges and police in central Minnesota issued an arrest warrant for her.
According to the criminal complaint, the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation into child abuse in May after Children’s Minnesota hospitals and clinics treated one of the children for falling hemoglobin levels. The hospital decided that the only plausible explanation for the child’s condition was the removal of blood from their body.
Borders reportedly attributed the findings to the hospital lab, but a forensic interrogation performed on Monday with the children indicated that their mother often collected blood from the youngster using stolen syringes before medical appointments. The lawsuit states that the youngsters informed investigators they were ordered to flush the blood down the toilet and not to tell anybody.
The infant also received liquid sustenance via a PICC line or peripherally placed central catheter line. According to the complaint, officials felt this was medically unnecessary and left the youngster feeling hungry, which led to corporal punishment when the child sought to conceal food in their bedroom.
According to the lawsuit, Borders got financial help from the state of Minnesota to care for this kid and was nominated to receive gifts and money from local charitable organizations totaling more than $35,000.
Authorities discovered after the probe that Borders had self-diagnosed her other two children with osteogenesis imperfecta, better known as a brittle bone condition. According to the children, they saw Borders stealing casting materials from medical institutions, including Minnesota Orthopaedic Care at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center, and one of the children claimed that Borders herself cast their injuries. A medical examination revealed that one youngster wore a cast for 796 days, or almost two years and two months.
According to the lawsuit, the children made repeated allegations regarding their mother’s alleged mistreatment throughout their interviews. They said Borders strangled them and tossed them across the home, beat them with things such as a spoon and charging wires, had them stand outdoors in the cold in their underwear, and forced them to remain in their rooms unless she needed them to perform a task for her. One youngster told investigators that they had never had a bed and were forced to sleep on the floor, adding, “I was never safe.”
One of the children stated how Borders attempted to fool medical experts by causing the youngster to cough to fake asthma or vomit during a doctor’s visit. Another youngster stated that Borders pushed their sibling to stay in a wheelchair when their father was at home so that their father would not discover Borders’s deception. She also reportedly pressured her children into using profanity or biting her to create a mark so that their father could punish them, according to the lawsuit.
Authorities conducted a search warrant at Borders’ Crosslake residence in July and discovered syringes and casting materials. After interviewing the children on Monday, law enforcement officers attempted to arrest Borders but were unable to find her. The lawsuit added that Borders was thought to be hiding in her apartment.
Wednesday, a judge in Crow Wing County issued an arrest warrant for her. Wednesday at 9:44 p.m., Borders was booked into prison, as shown by the booking log. A 37-year-old guy with the same name as the registered property owner for Borders’ house was arrested and detained 10 minutes earlier on suspicion of assisting a criminal to evade capture.
Borders have not yet been in court to face the allegations, which include three counts of severe criminal child abuse and three counts of serious felony stalking. The maximum punishment for the torture accusations is 25 years in jail, a $35,000 fine, or both. The maximum sentence for stalking offenses is 10 years in jail and/or a $20,000 fine.
