Posted on 04/21/2002 9:28:42 PM PDT by RGSpincich
Ruth Christine Admits 'Mistakes' in Children's Kidnapping 04/18/2002
By ABE ESTIMADA, kgw.com Staff
Ruth Christine, whose husband police say kidnapped their three eldest children at gunpoint in southern Oregon, admitted on NBC’s “Today” show she made some mistakes in dealing with state child welfare authorities.
Ruth Christine told NBC’s Matt Lauer she hasn’t seen her children since she was jailed in Douglas County in southern Oregon on kidnapping charges. She was released from the jail in Roseburg last week. The children are living with her parents overseas.
“Obviously, it’s very traumatic for our children who are now living in England with my parents,” she said. “And we’ve been unable to see them or talk to them.”
Lauer asked Ruth Christine, accompanied by her lawyer, Edgar Steele, if she thought she had erred in her judgment last year.
“Do you think you made mistakes in the way you handled the situation?” Lauer asked.
“If I could go back, I’d probably handle it a little bit differently,” Ruth Christine said. “Actually, I mean, the whole thing was very, just extremely hard to deal with.”
“When your children are taken away, when you’re under so much stress and going through so many difficult things, it is really hard to make choices,” she said. “And we didn’t know how to deal with the legal system or any of those things. If I had more knowledge at that time, I think that would’ve helped.”
August Kidnapping
In 2000, Oregon had taken custody of Bethany, Lydia and Miriam Christine after case workers found them emaciated and dehydrated while living in a converted city bus in Grants Pass.
Last August, Brian and Ruth Christine and a family friend followed their daughters and state workers to a rest stop near Roseburg following a supervised visit. The girls were on their way back to their foster home.
When the van stopped, Brian Christine held a gun to a state worker’s head, forcing the worker to hand over Bethany, Lydia, and Miriam. Police arrested Brian and Ruth Christine several days later in Montana.
Kidnapping Trial Set
The couple had expressed strong, anti-government views and had refused to defend themselves in court. They also refused court-ordered, psychiatric evaluations. The couple finally hired Steele.
Ruth Christine has given birth two to more children. Brian Christine remains incarcerated.
The couple is scheduled to go on trial April 30 on kidnapping charges. But Steele, the Christines’ lawyer, said Brian Christine was attempting to “rescue” the children.
“Our hope is that the jury is going to see this young couple for what they really are – a set of parents that have been wronged by a rogue state agency,” Steele said. “That’s exactly what I’m willing to call Services to Children and Families in Oregon. That’s what CPS in Oregon is called. They change the name every time they get a bad enough reputation. They give it a new name so as to evade that reputation.”
The Christines’ plight has become a new battle standard for some anti-government groups, who've posted numerous Web sites attacking the state for its decision to keep the children away.
Lauer asked Ruth Christine: “The police call it a kidnapping. You say it’s a rescue. Explain the difference to me.”
Ruth Christine: “I don’t think I should comment. We’re waiting for it go to a trial.”
Lauer pressed again, asking why she thought it was a rescue.
“I love my children,” she said. “We love our children. We care about them. And the whole time that our children have been separated, they were moved from foster home to foster home. We were having nightmares and just had been through so much trauma and, we just wanted to be together as a family.”
State Allegations
According to the state, Bethany, Lydia and Miriam Christine were suffering from severe malnutrition when they were taken into custody in 2000. An anonymous call had tipped off state child welfare authorities.
Ruth Christine said on the day a state worker came to their residence, the daughters were eating lunch.
“I don’t see how much that can be because we’re sitting here eating and drinking,” she said, adding that the allegations were a “big exaggeration.”
Lauer asked, “A big exaggeration or fabrication?”
Ruth Christine said, “Both.”
“So is there some truth to it, but that isn’t the complete truth?” Lauer asked.
“No, they were happy, healthy children, and we were happy as a family together,” she responded.
Lauer also pressed Ruth Christine on what state workers say were signs of physical abuse, such as a skull fracture and laceration on Lydia.
Ruth Christine was silent after that question, then deferred to Steele.
Steele said records show that several different doctors had examined the children and found nothing before child welfare services found “a doctor who said, in his opinion, there was a skull fracture.”
“It took only two or three doctors to find it, though,” Steele said sarcastically.
Lauer pointed out that Brian Christine had admitted to hitting Lydia and causing her to fall down.
“He told them that he had disciplined her, not hit her,” Ruth Christine said.
If convicted, Ruth Christine faces a lengthy prison time or even deportation. A mistreatment case is scheduled for July 9.
(The AP contributed to this report.)
Big talk from a future convicted child molester. Actually, predictable. So it turns out demidog aka Rick Fisk has been locked up for the past few years on molestation charges. No wonder he was defending the Christines way back then.
I was wondering whatever happened to him and did a simple Google search. He was framed,of course.
Wow, you revived a thread that has been dormant for over 16 years! Didn't think it was possible to do that.
No surprise on demi, he was a piece of work as were the others involved.
Good to see you are still active, I have been sorta dormant on FR sometimes in the the last 16 years, however, have been very active for the last 5 months on the Q threads.
Good to hear from you again after all these years. I had no idea this thread would re-activate. Kind of surprising. Take care, old friend.
(sending you a PM)
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