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.)
What's up with Philip Medland, Ruth's father. He bails Ruth out and then skips town. He could have bailed her out alot sooner and spent time with her but he did not. He and his wife have the kids, with the blessing of the Oregon authorities, in England. Ruth states that she has not spoken to the children. She has been out of jail for nearly two weeks. Are her parents refusing to allow her contact with the girls? Haven't heard a peep from the Medlands on what wonderful parents the Christines are.
Lock him up, throw away the key.
Such would only be clear to someone who has not paid a lick of attention to the case. Oregon has twice during this case traveled across state lines in attempts to steal two other new-born children who never took a breath of air in Oregon. Of course, a fellow nazi probably could come up with some strange justification for such heinous behavior from a comrade.
Once he's in prison, Brian will have less opportunity to commit more kidnapping or carjacking at gunpoint.
You seem to be completely ignorant of the case discussed in this article, yet you continue to post distractions from the topic at hand. Are you upset that the Christines might finally have their case publicized, considering they were denied due process from the start? Are you upset that government employees who have abused their offices, might have to explain their actions to a jury? I personally don't expect the Christines to get justice from a jury in Oregon, but they are entitled to that opportunity, according to the U.S. Constitution. The Oregon authorities clearly overstepped their bounds.
Her,too.
Maybe,but someone had to do something,they were living in a bus! Both parents committed Class A felonies "rescuing" the kids. At this point, it really doesnt make a difference how the story is spun.
Bovine scat.
Invent your own laws, invent your own facts. Brian will still go to prison for the felonies he committed, and his "supporters" will turn their backs on him.
We'll see.
The first mistake I can think of is her decision to marry with Brian. The second was to breed with him.
Bullshit he did. He would have plead guilty to the charges against him if that were so.
The more this case is publicized the worse they look. Skull fracture with xrays says Steele. Malnutrition, dehydration, gunplay with social workers. This is all the evidence that has come out because they are promoting themselves as good parents. Sheez. Does it get worse when the prosecution goes to work?
Oh but the Christines did do that fairytale look at Ruth and Brian Christine on several websites instead of dealing with CPS in the proper fashion. Knowing full well that the actual facts of the case would be kept from public view as long as this remained a Juvenile case. Now it's strictly a criminal case, actually a couple of them. They have willingly relinquished their parental rights in light of the evidence against them, why don't you give it up too?
Are they his two kids?
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