A Washington state mother has been charged with first-degree manslaughter following the death of her 10-year-old daughter, who suffered from Type 1 diabetes and slipped into a fatal coma during a family road trip earlier this summer.
Detectives launched an investigation in July after the mother arrived at a Tacoma hospital with the child already deceased. According to the Kirkland Police Department, the girl is believed to have died from prolonged diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life-threatening complication caused by untreated high blood sugar.
Authorities allege that the mother, 42-year-old Lloydina McAllister, deliberately delayed seeking medical care despite recognizing her daughter was in a medical emergency. A charging document states that McAllister had received substantial training on diabetes management and was well aware of the risks associated with failing to treat DKA promptly.
Trip Instead of Treatment
According to investigators, McAllister, her boyfriend, and her three children left their home on July 17 for a road trip to the Oregon–California border. The day before the trip, the child’s insulin pump had begun reporting critically high glucose levels, and she had already been vomiting — a warning sign of DKA.
Instead of seeking medical assistance, the family continued traveling into Northern California before beginning the long return drive to Washington. Police say McAllister drove more than 700 miles to Tacoma without stopping at any medical facility, passing more than two dozen hospitals. Records also show that she never called 911.
At one point during the return trip, McAllister texted her mother — an employee at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital — writing, “I’m bring[ing] [the girl] in she is DKA we was on way to California but she was taking her pump out.”
When the family finally arrived at the Tacoma hospital later that afternoon, the child had already been dead for several hours. The charging document states that rigor mortis had set in and the girl’s body was stiff when examined.
Custody Concerns Cited
During questioning, McAllister told detectives she did not seek emergency care earlier because a custody agreement with the girl’s father did not allow her to take the child out of state. She allegedly said she was worried about potential consequences if the father learned she had crossed state lines without permission.
The girl, diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2018, had been hospitalized multiple times in recent years for DKA. After a hospitalization in May, McAllister reportedly received retraining on diabetes care due to concerns about her previous handling of the condition.
McAllister has pleaded not guilty and is currently being held on $1 million bail. Her trial is scheduled to begin in late December. The girl’s name has not been released publicly due to privacy laws.
Kirkland Police Chief Mike St. Jean called the case “emotionally challenging,” emphasizing the department’s commitment to protecting vulnerable children who rely on adults for lifesaving care.