BAY CITY, MI — A Bay City mother accused of starving her son with special needs to death entered a courtroom with tears in her eyes. Her sobbing did not abate for the entirety of the brief hearing, as she stole glances toward supporters seated in the gallery behind her.

Jessica M. Burke’s woes increased when she learned prosecutors intend to charge her with murder in the 2024 death of her 4-year-old child, Noah J. Whitmire.

Burke, 39, appeared before Bay County District Judge Timothy J. Kelly for a scheduled preliminary examination the afternoon of Wednesday, Dec. 10. Since her arraignment in mid-May, Burke has only faced a count of first-degree child abuse despite a pathologist ruling Noah’s manner of death as homicide.

Burke, a brown ponytail draped over her right shoulder, did not sp

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