Court told 6-month-old could have been saved

By BERNARD ORSMAN

A paediatrician from Starship Children's Hospital has told the High Court at Auckland a 6-month old boy could have been saved even half an hour before his death if his parents had called an ambulance.

Dr Patrick Kelly was giving evidence in the second day of a manslaughter trial.

The baby's parents Roby Jan Moorhead, 45, and Deborah Anne Moorhead, 34, both of Dargaville, are accused of manslaughter by failing to provide the necessaries of life.

Baby Caleb Moorhead died of bronchia-pneumonia last year.

His parents had administered herbal remedies including poultices, garlic on the soles of his feet and wrists, and a cayenne pepper treatment.

When Caleb was born on September 3, 2000, he was described as a "thriving, bonny, healthy boy".

Yesterday Crown counsel Christine Gordon told the jury that the Moorheads were vegans, abstaining from meat, fish and dairy products.

A blood test during pregnancy showed that Deborah Moorhead had reduced vitamin B12 levels.

But she told her midwife that she was well-read on the subject and was dealing with it by way of diet.

On the stand this morning Dr Kelly said he had looked at medical research on children of Caleb's age who had been breastfed by vegan mothers who had developed similar symptoms at a similar age.

"The penny dropped and I realised that both his brain damage and anaemia were a consequence of B12 deficiency."

Dr Kelly said Caleb could have been saved if he had been given oxygen and put on a ventilator until the vitamin B12 could be administered.

Yesterday the court heard that when questioned by the police after Caleb's death, Deborah Moorhead said she was swayed by her religious beliefs and by concerns about blood transfusions and Aids.

"She said she believed in a Creator and that he had given herbs of the fields for healing his people," Christine Gordon told the jury.

Stepping into God's Original Diet was among the books the couple had.

Roby Moorhead told police he believed that the proposed treatment would put toxins and poisons into his son's body.

The couple did not want to use drugs because God had provided them with herbs, vegetables and plants.

He described how they put a poultice on Caleb's head, chest and back, and put garlic on the soles of his feet to try to cure him.

When asked if he would do anything differently, he allegedly shook his head.

He is said to have told the police that he would not have obtained treatment for the boy even with the benefit of hindsight.

He would not have compromised his beliefs for the immediate care of his son.

"I am looking at the long-term when Jesus comes, and I want to spend eternity with Caleb," he is said to have told the police.

The trial will continue today.