Feeding Problems
Micheal and Kathleen Gentry were accused of murdering their daughter Lindsay by starvation in 1998. The case went to trial and a hung jury was found. But the prosecutors continue to press the case and have charged them with involuntary manslaughter with a trial set for April of 2000.  Most Articles are from the Antelope Valley Press, in Southern California USA.
Current Trial April-May 2000

July 24 1998  LAKE LOS ANGELES - A former Lake Los Angeles town councilman and his wife were arrested on suspicion of murdering their 15-year-old daughter, who suffered her entire life from muscular dystrophy until finally succumbing to pneumonia in 1996. Michael Gentry, 54, and his wife Kathleen, 44, were taken into custody by sheriff's homicide detectives at their home Dec 5 1998 VAN NUYS - An Antelope Valley mother, accused of killing her disabled daughter by starving her, collapsed in court Friday after she learned her trial was postponed again.

Kathleen Gentry, and her husband, Mike, of Lake Los Angeles are accused of intentionally starving to death their 15-year-old daughter, Lindsay. They face charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and child abuse.

San Jose Mercury News
Posted at 12:54 p.m. PST Tuesday, March 30, 1999

Parents accused of starving
teen to death

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lindsay Gentry weighed less than 50 pounds when she died. Her parents ignored, abused and finally starved the 15-year-old girl to death, a prosecutor told jurors as their murder trial got under way.

The girl, who had a congenital disease, was the subject of repeated abuse complaints, Los Angeles County prosecutor Kathleen Cady told jurors Monday in Superior Court in Van Nuys.

But a public defender said Michael and Kathleen Gentry did all they could for their daughter, who suffered from myotonic dystrophy.

The disease progressively weakens the body and wears away muscles. It also can cause a loss of appetite.

A medical expert will testify that the teen-ager's 1996 death ``was a classic case of someone dying with the disease,'' attorney Patrick Thomason said.

The Gentrys were arrested last summer at their Lake Los Angeles home after a two-year investigation. They are charged with premeditated murder, child abuse with special circumstances and conspiracy. The trial is expected to last up to seven weeks.

Court records indicate that numerous child abuse complaints were made against the parents, dating to 1988, but county caseworkers were unable to substantiate them.

In her opening statement, Cady said the girl repeatedly told teachers and nurses that her father hit her. They reported that at times she came to school with belt marks, bruises, a black eye and, once, a bloody nose.

The prosecutor also said her teachers began holding ``nutritional parties'' to feed the girl because she was losing weight.

She admitted the girl was obstinate and often refused to eat. She also had trouble eating because of bad teeth and because she was going blind.

``Mr. and Mrs. Gentry may not have specifically intended Lindsay to die, but they acted in constant disregard,'' Cady said. ``She died because her parents systematically starved her.''

``They did not starve Lindsay. They loved Lindsay,'' Thomason said.

He noted the girl did not gain weight, even when hospitalized.

He showed the jury an Oct. 4, 1995, note in which a doctor said he felt the girl was receiving ``good, nurturing care.''

Her parents followed the advice of doctors and the father worked overtime to pay for her medical expenses, Thomason said.

APR 27 1999

Prosecutor: 'Lindsay didn't have to die'

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press April 27, 1999.

By KEVIN VALINE
Valley Press Staff Writer

VAN NUYS - Forty-four pounds. A prosecutor Monday reminded the jury of the weight of a 15-year-old Lake Los Angeles girl when she died, supposedly of starvation at the hands of her parents.

The month-old murder trial against Michael and Kathleen Gentry is heading toward its climax.

Giving closing arguments on Monday, the prosecutor and defense attorneys attacked the credibility of each other's witnesses.

On the one hand, the prosecutor argued to the jury that the Lake Los Angeles couple starved their severely disabled daughter to death in 1996.

The Gentrys face charges of murder, child abuse and conspiracy to commit a felony. They have remained in custody since their arrests last July.

Deputy District Attorney Kathleen Cady told jurors that the doctors who treated Lindsay simply failed to see that her parents were starving her.

"Lindsay did not have to die when she did - weighing 44 pounds," Cady said. "Parents have rights, and with those rights come responsibilities."

Cady said whenever Lindsay was in school she gained weight because her teachers fed her. The girl lost weight whenever she was home during school breaks and vacations.

The defense argues the Gentrys are being persecuted, and that the prosecution failed to prove its case.

Attorney Pat Thomason - who defended Michael Gentry - finished his closing argument and was nearly mobbed in the hallway by Gentry supporters. It was Thomason who hammered away, saying that doctors who testified for the prosecution never got beyond the standard of
reasonable doubt.

"Not likely . . . possibly . . . could have been . . . probably," Thomason said, recounting the inconclusive conclusions of the prosecution's expert witnesses.

"I wanted to give you a standing ovation," one of the supporters told Thomason after he finished his summation.

The prosecutor wouldn't let the jury forget about numerous reports of child abuse against the Gentrys, with Lindsay complaining to school officials of bruises, marks and a bloody nose and lip inflicted by her father.

But defense attorneys said school officials never understood that Lindsay suffered from myotonic dystrophy, a rare neurological condition characterized by progressive weakness and wasting away of muscles.

Defense attorney David Houchin, who defended Kathleen Gentry, hinted that the Gentry's are victims of controlling school officials - school officials who were angry with the outspoken Michael Gentry, who in turn, was unhappy about his daughter's education.

Houchin produced a family snapshot of Gentry with Lindsay, portraying it as a picture of normalcy and affection between father and daughter.

"That's a picture of a father and his daughter - but in this case, it's this father," the defense attorney said, pointing to Gentry, seated in the courtroom.

Gentry, along with his defendant wife, sat silently taking it all in. Kathleen Gentry, stooped and bent, wore a blue pants suit. Gentry was in a dark suit without tie.

The court gallery was packed with more than three dozen of the couple's supporters, most of whom made the 70-mile trip from Lake Los Angeles.

The defense asked the jury to remember that three Los Angeles County social workers testified that when they made several unannounced visits to the Gentry home to check out reports of child abuse and neglect they
found nothing amiss.

Closing arguments were expected to conclude late Monday. Then the jury will begin to sort out testimony from dozens of witnesses, from medical experts and teachers to the Gentry's friends and neighbors.

The Gentrys were arrested last July, the culmination of a twoyear investigation into Lindsay's death. The teen stood 4-foot, 10inches tall and weighed 44 pounds when she died in February 1996.

The Gentrys said Lindsay refused to eat, but sheriff's investigators said the parents' refusal to take the extra steps necessary to feed their daughter had more to do with her death than the illness.

Initially, doctors who performed Lindsay's autopsy found no signs of foul play.

The trial, which started March 29, featured conflicting testimony from the witnesses.

The prosecution called two doctors who testified that Lindsay's parents starved her to death and the girl suffered chronic abuse at the hands of her mother and father.

Yet Dr. G. Hossein Pezeshkpour, the Kaiser Permanente pathologist who performed the autopsy on Lindsay, said the girl's death was a classic case of someone succumbing to myotonic dystrophy.

Mistrial declared in Gentry murder case

Jury in Lake L.A. couple's trial votes 10-2 for acquittal

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press May 7, 1999.

By KEVIN VALINE

Valley Press Staff Writer

VAN NUYS - The judge in the murder trial of Michael and Kathleen Gentry, the Lake Los Angeles couple accused of starving their disabled daughter to death, declared a mistrial Thursday after the jury reported it was hopelessly deadlocked in the case. Superior Court Judge John Fisher declared the mistrial after the jury foreman said the jury was stuck at 10-2 to acquit on the murder charge and further deliberations would be futile. The jury met for six full days over a period of two weeks.

The Gentrys are charged with the murder of their daughter, Lindsay, who stood 4 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed 44 pounds when she died in February 1996. She was 15 years old.

Defense attorney Lyle Middleton said he spoke to the 10 jurors who voted to acquit the Gentrys of murder. "They felt it was way too speculative to charge them with murder," he said. "Jurors felt Lindsay's doctors may not have done enough. But the problem is her disease. There is no cure."

The Gentrys also were charged with child abuse and conspiracy to commit child abuse. The jury deadlocked at 7-5 to convict them of child abuse and 9-3 to acquit them of conspiracy.

The couple, who remain in custody despite the mistrial, will be back in court Wednesday morning for a pretrial conference. The DistrictAttorney's Office may retry the case.

"A decision has not yet been made," District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Victoria Pipkin said. Deputy District Attorney Kathleen Cady, who prosecuted the Gentrys, could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

"I bet you lunch, the D.A. retries the case," defense attorney David Houchin said. "They have too much invested in a high-profile case." The Gentrys, who have been in jail since their arrests in July, could be released after Wednesday's court hearing, Houchin said.

Houchin and two other defense attorneys will ask Fisher to reduce the couple's bail in light of the jury's vote on the murder charge. Michael Gentry's bail is $1 million; Kathleen Gentry's is $500,000. "Their bail could fall to the low six figures, to around $100,000," Houchin said.

He said a decision to lower bail is up to the judge. Lindsay Gentry was born with myotonic dystrophy, a rare neurological condition characterized by progressive weakness and wearing away of muscles. The disease can also cause loss of appetite.

The Gentrys' arrest was the culmination of a two-year investigation into Lindsay's death. The Gentrys said Lindsay refused to eat, but sheriff's investigators said the parents' refusal to take the steps necessary to feed their daughter had more to do with her death than the illness.

Initially, doctors who performed Lindsay's autopsy found no signs of foul play. The nearly monthlong trial, which started March 29, went to the juryApril 26.

Jurors heard contradictory testimony from dozens of witnesses. For every doctor who testified that the Gentrys starved and abused Lindsay, another testified that the Gentrys were good parents stymied by Lindsay's disease and targeted by vindictive school officials. School teachers and other school officials testified that Lindsay came to school dirty and disheveled, but social workers testified that they found nothing amiss during unannounced visits to the Gentry home.

The defense hinted that the Gentrys were victims of controlling school officials who were angry with the outspoken Michael Gentry, who in turn was unhappy about his daughter's education. "He made a nuisance of himself making sure Lindsay got a good education," said family friend Sue Stokka, who testified on behalf of the Gentrys. "But you know what? That's not a crime. Now they have charged him with not wanting his daughter around. The charges are absolutely ludicrous."

Gentrys released from jail

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press May 16, 1999.

By FRAN PAOLINELLI
Valley Press Staff Writer

LAKE LOS ANGELES - Michael and Kathleen Gentry, a Lake Los  Angeles couple accused of starving to death their severely disabled daughter, were released from jail Saturday.

The couple arrived at their home in the small community east of Palmdale at about 12:30 p.m. and went to bed to rest, family and friends reported.

"They were exhausted," said family friend Sharon Toyne.

Unable to raise more than $1.5 million bail, the Gentrys had been forced to remain in jail since their arrest July 24, 1998, on charges of murdering their 15-year-old daughter, Lindsey.

The teenager died Feb. 6, 1996.

Although Kathleen Gentry's bail was later reduced to $500,000, relatives and associates had been unable to raise enough money to free her.

On May 6, after the jury returned a 10-2 vote for acquittal, Superior Court Judge John Fisher declared a mistrial. Friday, he lowered the couple's bail to $20,000 each.

The Gentrys, who were arrested three years after their daughter's death, must now face a new trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter.

Early Saturday morning, friends traveled to Los Angeles with bail money and brought the couple home.

Kathleen Gentry, who suffers from a mild form of myotonic dystrophy, the disease that doctors said killed her 15-year-old daughter Lindsay, had collapsed in court several times during the trial. On Friday, she collapsed again.

"She's very ill," said Helen Darrow, Michael Gentry's mother.

Myotonic dystrophy is a rare neurological condition characterized by progressive weakness and wearing away of muscles which can cause loss of appetite.

The doctors who performed Lindsay Gentry's autopsy said they found no signs of foul play.

However, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department started looking into Lindsay's death after receiving complaints alleging the Gentrys had mistreated their daughter.

The Gentrys, their family and friends and several witnesses have maintained the parents did everything they could to get Lindsay to eat but were stymied by her disease.

Friends in the community had planned a party to celebrate the couple's homecoming, but postponed the event because of Kathleen's illness, Toyne said.

Child Sexual Abuse

The other legal information that you should be aware of has to do with Child sexual abuse. While I have not heard of any documented cases you should be aware of this information:

Reardon et. al.  The Natural History of Congenital myotonic Dystrophy: Mortality and long term aspects. Archives of Disease in Childhood 1993; 68:177-181

Reardon noted that because of gastrointestinal problems children with CMD will show a positive anal dilation test. This test is sometimes used to diagnosis sexual abuse. Parents with CMD should be aware of this information. This test should not be used for any conclusive evidence of sexual abuse with children with CMD.

Breathalyzer

Dr. David Hilton Jones of Oxford England reported that a patient of his was unable to breath sufficentently into a breathalyzer test for the police. One other report was also recieved on a patient failing a police sobriety check due to DM.