Parents Indicted In Faith-Healing Death

OREGON CITY, Ore. — A couple whose church preaches against medical care are facing criminal charges after their young daughter died of an infection that authorities said went untreated.

Carl and Raylene Worthington were indicted Friday on charges of manslaughter and criminal mistreatment in the death of their 15-month-old daughter Ava. They belong to the Followers of Christ Church, whose members have a history of treating gravely ill children only with prayer.

Ava died March 2 of bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection. The state medical examiner's office has said she could have been treated with antibiotics.

Dr. Christopher Young, a deputy state medical examiner, said the child's breathing was further hampered by a benign cyst on her neck that had never been medically addressed, The Oregonian reported.

Laws passed in the 1990s struck down legal shields for faith-healing parents after the deaths of several children whose parents were members of the fundamentalist church.

Since those laws took effect in 1999, "We haven't seen any cases of significant medical neglect ... until now," said child abuse Detective Jeff Green of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

The Worthingtons could face more than six years if convicted on the manslaughter charges and up to a year on the mistreatment charges, said Greg Horner, chief deputy district attorney. They were released on $250,000 bail, he said.

Horner said he didn't know whether the couple had lawyers to speak for them. A number listed for the couple was disconnected. A man who answered the phone at the church Monday would not identify himself and said: "We've been told 'No comment.'"

The Worthingtons also lost a baby boy in 2001, but an investigation was closed after family members told police the child was stillborn. Several other Followers of Christ children have also been stillborn or died during home births in recent years, and none of the deaths resulted in criminal charges, authorities have said.

Comments

[atomic]

These brainlessness religious morons are beyond hope. "We know we didn't do anything wrong" ... you killed your child you stupid morons. Where is your fake God now? OH that's right ... you get to continue breathing while your child is dead because of your insane fantasy that a God is taking care of you and all you have too do is pray.... because whatever happens it's Gods will. These people have a mental disorder and when an innocent child is killed because of it it makes my blood boil. I hope these stupid losers end up in prison for the rest of their lives. They can spend their days practicing their voodoo so called faith behind bars .. Christianity is a cult.

[scottyboi84]

I always hope their are other people out there with my belief that religion is a cult. Thank you, so much. I think these idiots deserve to die too...how dare they do that to their daughter, and not feel guilty? Are you kidding me??! The other children should be removed immediately and entered into the reversal of the brainwashing they obviously have been through. And why all the isolation within the past couple of years? Something is going on there, and if the police can't figure that much out, then, I guess, "God" help them....

[Paw1]

I cannot begin to understand how any parent, irrespective of religious preference, could sit and watch their child sicken and die without doing anything. Perhaps God heals through doctors - did they ever think of that? Obviously not.

This is as clear a case of neglect as I could possibly imagine. Throw Mommy and Daddy in jail and let the kids live with someone who cares enough about them to seek medical care when they're ill.

[ibsteve2u]

It surely is complicated being religious...can't get abortions because that kills, can't get medical help because that cures...must be hard on the old psyche.

[burnyourbible]

Funny-I see no comments from the "other side" defending these parents. Maybe because there is no defense of stupidity. This is a case of murder, plain and simple. As Ron White says, " you can't fix stupid". So very sad indeed.

[mfalino]

wait, at the end of the article, do they really say their "faith in God" is the only thing getting them through this difficult time? Wasn't it their faith in God that killed their daughter?

wow... WOW.......