Mom Sentenced for Years of Abuse and Fake Medical Diagnoses in Shocking Case

A Minnesota woman will spend nearly four decades behind bars after being convicted of a shocking case of child torture and medical abuse involving her own kids.

On Thursday, August 7, a Crow Wing County judge sentenced 35-year-old Jorden Marie Borders of Crosslake to 39 years in prison. Borders was found guilty on June 4 of all 11 charges against her, including child torture, attempted murder, stalking, and theft by false representation, after a three-week trial.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the crimes “some of the most heinous and agonizing I have seen in my time as Attorney General,” adding that he is “praying for her children’s recovery from the suffering and trauma they endured.”

Investigators say Borders engaged in “medical child abuse,” deliberately harming her children to create false symptoms for doctors. According to court documents, she forcibly drew blood from her 9-year-old son before medical visits, falsely claimed her children had brittle bone disease, and made them wear unnecessary casts, boots, and neck braces. She even instructed them to fake illnesses, vomit, or cough on command to secure prescriptions.

The abuse extended far beyond fabricated medical conditions. The children testified that Borders hit them with belts, charging cords, and spoons, forced them to stand naked outside in the freezing cold, withheld food, and regularly threatened to kill them — sometimes with knives or guns.

Social media records revealed she discussed “end of life” plans for one of her children and even lied about a child being on a ventilator to others online. Authorities say she also scammed Medicaid by falsely claiming to be her child’s personal care assistant, pocketing over $18,000.

By the time she was arrested on November 23, 2022, Borders had been physically, verbally, and emotionally abusing her three children for more than five years.