More Details on the Death of Madeline Kara Neumann

UDPATE, April 28, 2008: Parents in diabetes case charged

The parents of an 11-year-old girl who died of complications from untreated diabetes last month have both been charged with second-degree reckless homicide, according to Marathon County District Attorney Jill Falstad.

...In a statement released at a 1 p.m. news conference, Falstad said the parents' actions meet the standard of the charges.

"Second-degree reckless homicide has two elements," Falstad said. "The first element is that the defendant caused the death of another. The second element is that the defendant caused the death by criminally reckless conduct.

"In this case, that conduct was the failure to seek medical intervention. The failure to seek medical intervention created unreasonable and substantial risk of death or great bodily harm to Kara and the Neumanns were aware of the risk."

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From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A local police official said Friday that charges are possible against the parents of Madeline Kara Neumann, the 11-year-old girl who died of complications from untreated diabetes. "If we didn't believe at the end of our investigation there (would) be charges, then our investigation would have ended a lot sooner," Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel.

He said his department will likely complete its investigation by early next week and that ultimately it will be up to the Marathon County district attorney to determine what charges, if any, could be filed in a case that has received national attention.

"Our feeling is it was an unnecessary death," Vergin said. "After everything else is said and done, it was unnecessary for the 11-year-old to die. She could have easily been treated and had a long, loving life here on Earth."

Lesli Pluster, an assistant district attorney, said the case "is still considered under investigation."

...Earlier this week, police executed a search warrant on the Neumanns' home and took away medications, medical books, bedding, religious books, videos and pamphlets, as well as diaries and computer equipment.

Among the items taken by police from the home were eight Blue Cross HMO cards for the family, according to an inventory. The record didn't indicate whether the cards were still valid or had expired.

The book "Sovereign God," by David Eells, and several CDs by Eells were also taken. Eells is the founder of the Web site AmericasLastDays.com and Unleavened Bread Ministries. Leilani Neumann has written two posts on the Web site, and she and her husband had twice prayed over the telephone with Eells in the waning hours of Kara's life.

Other books included "Handbook for Healing," "God's Chosen Fast," "90 Minutes in Heaven," "Dear God Prayer Book" and a medical and first-aid book.

Members of the Neumann family appear to have been followers of David Eells. At the very least, it appears that they were influenced by him. The Neumanns claim not to be religious fanatics but the evidence removed from their home would suggest otherwise.

At this point, there are no charges against the Neumanns but Police Chief Vergin does expect charges to filed.

Some of the latest revelations about Kara's condition in her final days and hours come from her grandmother.

...Evalani Gordon, the girl's grandmother, told an investigator that her granddaughter had been ill for one to 1 ½ weeks and reported that "Madeline was very tired and wanted to be held by mom."

She said three to four days before her granddaughter's death, "the girl only wanted to lie down and do homework from her bed." By Saturday, when the girl was unable to walk or talk, the grandmother, who lives out of state, told Leilani Neumann to take Madeline to a doctor, the document says.

"Leilani Neumann told Evalani Gordon that Madeline would be fine and God would heal her," according to the document.

On Sunday, Gordon spoke with Leilani Neumann and discovered the girl was in a coma. Gordon then contacted a daughter-in-law, Ariel Ness, who lives in California. Ness then called the Marathon County Dispatch Center.

Ness later contacted the dispatch center to inform authorities that "water may have been poured down the girl's throat," the document says.

Marathon County Medical Examiner John Larson said that the girl "was found to be in an emaciated state," according to the document.

In an interview with the Journal Sentinel, Larson said, "I think it's probably safe to say she was gaunt, drawn, extremely slender. She certainly had an appearance of malnutrition and dehydration."

According to the Web site of the American Diabetes Association, the body burns fat to get energy in ketoacidosis.

If an 11-year-old child is unable to walk or talk, it's time to get medical care immediately.

That's not a difficult call to make.

Vergin also provided other details of the case in an interview. He said the Neumanns' three other children were at the home as well as Althea and Randall Wormgoor, friends of the couple. The Wormgoors spoke on the phone during a 911 call from the home Sunday.

Vergin said when authorities arrived at the home, "the copper just scooped the child up and ran out to the ambulance."

Friday, a friend of the family answered the door at the Neumanns' home and said the family was not interested in talking.

I can understand why the family wouldn't be interested in talking.

If I were grieving the death of a child, there's no way I would agree to talk to the media, whatever the circumstances.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal:

Three siblings of a Weston girl who died from untreated diabetes as her parents prayed for healing instead of taking her to a doctor have been removed from the home to stay with other relatives, police said Friday.

An agreement was reached between the parents and social services experts that the move would be in the best interests of everyone, Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said.

The children are not in danger, he said.

"They were checked out by physicians. ... Physically, they are fine," he said. "There is no physical evidence of abuse or neglect. None."

...The children removed from the home range in age from 13 to 16 and are expected to return to their parents once an investigation of the girl's death wraps up, Vergin said.

He would not specify where they are living, other than with another family member.

...Vergin said his agency's final report will make no recommendations on possible charges against the parents, leaving that up to the district attorney to decide.

"There is no intent. They didn't want their child to die. They thought what they were doing was the right thing," he said. "They believed up to the time she stopped breathing she was going to get better. They just thought it was a spiritual attack. They believed if they prayed enough she would get through it."

...If the district attorney believes the parents did not have a "good-faith belief" that the girl was about to die and they had a strong belief in relying on prayer for treatment, it would be difficult to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred, [Janine Geske, a Marquette University law professor,] said.

New details emerged Friday on how quickly the girl's health deteriorated.

"We are getting people who saw this girl a week before she passed away and she appeared fine," Vergin said.

The girl became bedridden last Saturday, he said.

I don't know how the Neumanns were able to stand by and pray as they watched their daughter become bedridden, unable to walk or talk.

Even if her dramatic deterioration took place within a day or two of her death, that was plenty of time for the Neumanns to get their daughter medical care. They had to know that her life was in danger.

I believe that the parents never intended for her to die. I just can't believe that they really thought they were doing the right thing by failing to get their daughter to a doctor when she was obviously so ill.

The grandmother was saying that the child needed to see a doctor. I don't know why she chose to get her daughter-in-law in California involved rather than just calling 911 herself.

...The grandmother eventually contacted a daughter-in-law in California who called police last Sunday on a non-emergency line, reporting the girl was in a coma and needed medical help. An ambulance was dispatched to the home shortly before some friends in the home called 911 to report the girl had stopped breathing, authorities said.

It's so sad to think that an ambulance was en route to the home when Kara stopped breathing and the adults in the home finally decided it was time to call 911.

I think it would be wrong not to charge the Neumanns. Just because they didn't want her to die, and I truly believe they didn't, doesn't mean they shouldn't be held accountable for neglecting her.

Although Kara's death wasn't intentional, it can't be considered an accident. Her parents failed her. I don't think religion can be used as an excuse for a degree of that neglect that has such devastating consequences.