The mother of a young boy who spent years blogging about her son's chronic illnesses is now accused of his murder.

Lacey Spears, a self-described "mommy blogger," had been documenting her son Garnett's various illnesses in her online blog. She treated the Internet as her support group, garnering messages of hope and well-wishes for her sick son after telling tales of chronic bloody ear infections to unexplained fevers.

Even eating was a problem for the young child. Garnett's problems with digestion became so severe he required a surgically-implanted feeding tube to take in nutrients, . Those ailments, which seemingly afflicted him nonstop, caused continual trips to the hospital -- 23 in all. 

Authorities now believe that Garnett's numerous ambiguous illnesses were now a result of Lacey's Munchausen by proxy, a psychiatric disorder that causes a parent to hurt their child for attention.

From the outside, Garnett and Lacey's story appeared to be quite a struggle. Lacey claimed that Garnett's father, a police officer named Blake, had died in the line of fire, leaving her without the love of her life, and Garnett without a father.

In reality, Garnett's father, a man named Chris Hill, was alive and well. He had never met the boy; Lacey had left the state and taken Garnett with her shortly after he was born, and she had told Chris before she left that Garnett was not his child.

He didn't hear from her again until a 5-year-old Garnett was on his deathbed, suffering from seizures at a hospital in Chestnut Ridge. A short time later, Garnett was dead.

It was in January, on the last trip that Garnett and Lacey made to the hospital for help, that authorities believe Lacey killed Garnett by administering a lethal level of sodium into the child's feeding tube. And now the mother who documented her son's runny noses and skinned knees is now accused of torturing her child to death.

It's a strange twist in what once appeared to be a doted mom's tale. Lacey had moved from Florida to Rockland's Fellowship Community only a short time before, in hopes of finding a healthier life for the boy in idyllic community. The duo fit in well, with Lacey farming and caring for the elderly, while Garnett attended school.

But even the move cross-country made little difference, and Garnett's condition continued to deteriorate, allegedly at the hands of his mother. 

It was reportedly one of the residents of the Fellowship Community who turned her in, contacting authorities after becoming concerned with Lacey's request from the hospital, in which she asked her to dispose of the bag that she'd used to feed Garnett.

While these charges are the most serious Lacey has faced, this is not the first time that authorites have expressed concerned over her care of Garnett.

While living in Clearwater, Florida in 2011, the blogger was investigated by Florida's Department of Children and Families, with child welfare investigators concerned over charges of physical harm and medical neglect.

According to the allegations, "Mom [would] slap him for no reason as hard as she can. He begins to cry and then she begins to love on him." 

She was also accused of taking Garnett swimming with his eyes and ears bleeding, and of allowing him to go out with high-grade fevers. Lacey was categorized as an "intermediate risk," and the case was closed with no follow-up.

A second complaint in Florida followed, accusing Lacey of not getting the proper medical attention for Garnett, who had lost weight since the first visit from DCS, but Lacey was again categorized as an "intermediate risk" and no action was taken.

Lacey is now charged with second-degree depraved murder and first-degree manslaughter for poisoning Garnett, and is facing 25 years to life if convicted.

She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.