Posted on 10/17/2005 5:59:35 PM PDT by twippo
MIAMI -- Jury selection began Monday in the case of two parents accused of manslaughter and neglect in the death of their 6-month-old daughter, who prosecutors say starved after being fed only wheat grass, coconut water and milk made from almonds.
Defense lawyers for 36-year-old Joseph Andressohn and Lamoy Andressohn, 30, of Homestead contend that complications from a rare genetic disorder caused the death of their daughter Woyah in May 2003. The Andressohns maintain a strict raw food diet, which adherents believe is healthier and more natural.
"She did not die from malnutrition," said Ellis Rubin, attorney for the Andressohns.
Woyah weighed less than 7 pounds when she died, which is about average for a newborn but half that of most infants her age who are fed with breast milk or formula. The girl's body was described as "emaciated" in a medical examiner's report, with ribs clearly visible through her stretched skin.
Miami-Dade County prosecutors charged the Andressohns, who have four other children, with aggravated manslaughter and four counts of child neglect. The four other children are living with a relative under state supervision.
Under sentencing guidelines, each parent faces more than 17 years in prison if convicted on all charges at a trial expected to last about two weeks.
"The review of the evidence in this case made it clear that this was more than an accident. This was a crime," said Ed Griffith, spokesman for the Miami-Dade state attorney's office.
The Andressohns' defense will center on a little-known medical condition known as DiGeorge syndrome, a chromosomal disorder in which a person is missing the thymus gland that produces T-cells necessary for development of a healthy immune system.
The Miami-Dade County medical examiner found no thymus gland in an autopsy of Woyah, which Rubin said is evidence that DiGeorge syndrome caused the girl's death from pneumonia and esophageal reflux.
Prosecutors have countered with a report from a University of Miami pathologist concluding that there were T-cells in Woyah's system, meaning that a thymus must have existed prior to her death. They also say that malnutrition can cause a thymus gland to shrink, making it difficult to find, and that Woyah did not have the heart problems and facial characteristics of DiGeorge syndrome.
Beyond the scientific testimony, the Andressohns must overcome any bias among jurors against their alternative lifestyle and how they cared for their children. Testimony is expected to show that they forced the children to have enemas and sometimes whipped them when they violated dietary rules.
"There's a lot of prejudice against people who follow an unusual food diet. Our job is to select a jury that's going to be open-minded on this issue," Rubin said.
State Department of Children & Families investigators had looked into reports that the Andressohn children were malnourished and suffered from abuse. But a DCF report faulted them for failing to take adequate action to protect the children, even after noting that they appeared abnormally thin and one had a bloated stomach.
A DCF investigator and supervisor were fired in June 2003 after Woyah's death for not protecting the Andressohn children.
Many medical and nutrition people do Even my HMO MD does , Wheat grass has long been known to pick one up if you are in a run down condition, however one should watch their iorn level using wheat grass as one can get to much iorn. Wheat grass has very green but somewhat sweet taste.
I'm lactose intolerant and used to drink soy milk and have tried the almond milk several times. The almond milk tastes pretty good, but you can't find it everywhere.
I gave up the soy milk, other than as an additive at Starbucks, because of the health issues w/soy and as a diabetic, most soy milk is full of carbs. I was drinking as many carbs w/a glass of soy milk as I was eating. Even the so-called lite soy milk isn't all that light, and I'm better off leaving it alone.
I do use coconut milk (don't know what coconut water is) in cooking and w/my protein shakes. Yum and lots of nutrients.
No, it doesn't sound like the others were doing well, either ... so if they're eating hamburgers and macaroni and cheese in their foster home, and doing great, that would make the "medical condition" that required starving the baby seem to be a hallucination by the parents.
There's a vegetarian restuarant in Fort Lauderdale called Sublime. I'm 100% serious, they don't allow entry to patrons wearing animal fur.
CLINICAL SUMMARY Wheat grass is prepared by sprouting wheat seeds in water for 7-10 days before harvesting the leaves. Because the leaves are fibrous and difficult to digest, generally the juice from the leaves is extracted and consumed raw. Proponents of wheat grass believe that eating raw foods is more beneficial than eating cooked foods as the enzymes responsible for detoxifying the body are thought to be deactivated by cooking foods. Wheat grass juice is claimed to have several benefits, including neutralizing toxins and carcinogens in the body, preventing tooth decay, reducing high blood pressure, and aiding in the treatment and prevention of cancer and AIDS. It is also used to improve digestion, prevent hair from graying, for common colds, cough, rheumatic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, ulcers, and skin conditions. However, none of these claims is supported by clinical studies. Proponents of wheat grass equate chlorophyll to hemoglobin and believe that consumption of wheat grass can increase oxygenation in the body. This concept is not supported by current scientific understanding and there are no data from clinical trials to substantiate any of these claims. A small clinical trial involving 21 patients with distal ulcerative colitis showed that wheat grass juice can reduce the symptoms associated with the disease (1). No major adverse effects have been reported from consuming wheat grass. However, as wheat grass juice is consumed raw, contamination from the growth medium is a concern.
The people I know and myself when taking wheat grass always take it of a morning lest one be up all night polishing the furniture. Those of us who use the stuff do not profit from it, however there is much to be made from the drug business in this country, so go and take your Vioxx
It's one thing to be deluded, and quite another to be rude.
I am sorry but it is a sore spot that people have bought into the idea from the drug companys that anything that is good for them requires a billion dollars worth of testing which only the drug companys can afford of which they can also afford to alter. Good luck to you and yours.
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