Testimony Ends In Trial Of Mom Accused Of Denying Sick Son Meds
LAWRENCE (CBS/AP) - Testimony has ended in the trial of a Salem mother accused of withholding cancer treatment from her autistic son.
38-year-old Kristen LaBrie was back on the stand Friday in her attempted murder trial in Lawrence Superior Court.
After her testimony ended, closing arguments were set for Monday. The jury is expected to get the case in the afternoon. A conviction on the charge of attempted murder carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Prosecutors allege LaBrie denied chemotherapy medications to her son, Jeremy Fraser, for at least five months after he was diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer in 2006. The boy died in March 2009 at age 9. LaBrie told the jury that she feared her son's treatment was worse than the illness itself.
"The medication I did not give him at home, that I was instructed to give him, I did not give him because he was very, very sick and I was afraid, and I did not want to make him get any more sick… I was afraid he would die."
WBZ-TV's Peg Rusconi reports.
LaBrie's attorney says she was worn down by caring for Jeremy, worried about the drugs' side effects and made a tragic -- not criminal -- mistake in stopping his medication.
According to doctors, Jeremy responded well to treatment for lymphoma. But his cancer returned in a more deadly form, and they discovered LaBrie had not given him months of chemotherapy medication.
LaBrie then lost custody of her son, and prosecutors pointed out she never tried to get it back, or even visit during Jeremy's final days.
"There was a stay away order, from the court," LaBrie testily told prosecutor Kate MacDougall under cross examination. Asked MacDougall, "Did you go to the court?" Answered LaBrie, "He wasn't in court." Again, MacDougall, "Did you go to court to ask for permission to say goodbye to your son?" Answered LaBrie, "I didn't."
Asked by WBZ if it was a tough morning, LaBrie answered, "Yeah." Her mother came to her defense, saying, "She was an excellent mother to that little boy and did everything she could to take care of him."
WBZ-TV's Peg Rusconi reports.
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