Chilling moment man admits using hot sauce to torture autistic younger brother, 15, before his death
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A Michigan man who pleaded guilty to abusing his autistic younger brother was calm and collected as he admitted to police how he tortured and starved the boy. Paul Byron Ferguson, 21, was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years and maximum of 100 years behind bars for the grisly death of his younger brother Timothy, 15, who died in July 2022 after suffering a barrage of sadistic abuse from Paul and his mother.
![[Paul Byron Ferguson (right), 21, was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years and maximum of 100 years behind bars for the grisly death of his younger brother Timothy (left), 15,]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/17/81790683-14202169-Paul_and_his_mother_have_both_been_sentenced_to_life_over_the_de-a-10_1734455379006.jpg)
The autistic child weighed just 69 pounds when he died in their Michigan home. He had been subjected to merciless abuse including being force fed hot sauce, deprived of sleep and locked away from food. Disturbing video obtained by Law&Crime shows the 'evil' older brother detailing to police how he force-fed Timothy fiery hot sauce before he starved to death.
![[He said they fed Timothy hot sauce because their mother, 44-year-old Shanda Vander Ark, said the boy had been 'sneaking food']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/17/93242175-14202169-image-a-9_1734455310673.jpg)
'Whenever my mother told me to put hot sauce on it I did. It was normally a thin layer to make sure that it wouldn’t be too much. Because from what I know, the ghost or the California Reaper is what, 2,000 Scovilles,' Ferguson told police. He said they fed Timothy hot sauce because their mother, 44-year-old Shanda Vander Ark, said the boy had been 'sneaking food.'.
![[The autistic child weighed just 69 pounds when he died in their Michigan home, and had been subjected to merciless punishments]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/17/80428155-14202169-The_autistic_child_weighed_just_69_pounds_when_he_died_in_their_-a-3_1734457698209.jpg)
Ferguson stretched his arms behind his head as he described how they forced the meek boy to stand against the wall as punishment and zip tied his hands together. The child abuser retched with shock as he was warned in Feburary that he could be jailed until the year 2124. His mom vomited in court during her own trial.
![[Vander Ark is said to have covered the house and the tiny closet Timothy was sleeping in with motion sensors, alarms, and live-feed cameras]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/17/79046875-14202169-Vander_Ark_is_said_to_have_covered_the_house_and_the_tiny_closet-a-12_1734455405436.jpg)
