Sentencing hearings scheduled for LdF couple charged with child neglect resulting in death

Sentencing hearings have been scheduled for a Lac du Flambeau couple charged with child neglect resulting in death (as parties to the crime), a class D felony.

Sheila Thompson, 33, entered a plea of no contest on June 12 and her sentencing hearing was scheduled for Aug. 18 at 9 a.m.

George Poupart, 29, entered a plea of no contest on July 5 and his sentencing hearing was scheduled for Sept. 25 at 1 p.m.

On Dec. 3, 2021, Poupart and Thompson were taken into custody after police arrived at their Lac du Flambeau residence at around 3 p.m. to find the Thompson’s six-year-old child lying unresponsive in the living room.

According to the criminal complaint filed in June of 2022, Thompson told investigators she woke up that morning around 7 a.m. and “glanced” at the child who appeared to be asleep while she cleaned. 

She said she went back to bed around 8 a.m. and Poupart, the complaint says, left around 2:15 p.m. “to run some errands” with the four other children who lived with them. 

Thompson, who was the one who contacted police, called Poupart when she found the child unresponsive that afternoon. 

Investigators noted in the complaint that the child appeared to be abnormally thin and pale, wearing a soiled diaper and infested with lice. 

The complaint also states that there were multiple complaints filed previously with Vilas County Social Services on behalf of school staff out of concern for the child’s well being. Though the child was enrolled in school both years prior, according to the complaint, he did not return for the 2021-22 school year. 

In a joint interview with investigators on Feb. 1, 2022, Thompson and Poupart told investigators they first noticed the child “thinning out” in the fall of 2021, two months prior to his death. When asked why the child had not seen a doctor in two years, Thompson told investigators there was “no reason” and did not elaborate, the complaint states.

At autopsy on Dec. 8, 2021, the child’s body was reported to have weighed 39 pounds (below the first percentile for six-year-old boys) and the cause of death was believed to be due to complications from diabetic ketoacidosis — symptoms known to consist of excessive thirst, vomiting and abdominal pain. 

The Class D felony carries a maximum penalty not to exceed $100,000 in fines or 25 years in prison, or both.

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].