Parents ignored baby's slide towards death, jury told

By TONY STICKLEY

A couple who believed God would save their child fled the Starship hospital with the boy and went into hiding from authorities.

A jury in the High Court at Auckland heard yesterday that 6-month-old Caleb Moorhead died of bronchia-pneumonia.

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

The boy'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.

In her opening address, Crown counsel Christine Gordon, appearing with Steve Haszard, said the couple failed in their legal duty to obtain treatment for their child.

"It was that failure to obtain medical treatment that caused Caleb's death, because he had a condition that was completely treatable," Christine Gordon said.

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

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.

The jury heard that in the final three months of his life, Caleb developed a bad rash, had a terrible cough and looked pale.

Despite advice from Deborah Moorhead's mother, Mary Murray, the Moorheads refused to take him to a doctor.

They told her that Caleb was responding to natural remedies.

Christine Gordon said that Deborah Moorhead's own notes reflected her concern about her son.

"Worried, worried, could die," she wrote.

"Still, neither she nor Mr Moorhead took Caleb to a doctor or arranged blood tests," Christine Gordon told the jury.

Two weeks before his death in March last year, Caleb was eventually seen by a GP, Dr Paul Butler.

Dr Butler arranged for them to go to the Starship, where paediatrician Dr Patrick Kelly noted that Caleb was strikingly pale and neurologically abnormal.

Caleb's developmental levels were those of a 6-week-old.

He was severely anaemic and had significant shrinkage of the brain.

Doctors wanted to treat Caleb's anaemia, which they said could be life-threatening, but the Moorheads said they wanted to use herbal remedies, Christine Gordon said.

When the doctors reiterated the need for more tests and treatment, the Moorheads said they would think about it.

But later, without telling anyone, they left the hospital with Caleb, took their two other children and went into hiding with a friend in South Auckland.

Mrs Murray told the court that, when her daughter refused to have treatment for Caleb, she asked her how she would feel about Caleb dying.

"She told me that she did not believe that it was God's will for Caleb to die," Mrs Murray told the jury.

Roby Moorhead later agreed, after a number of phone conversations, to a meeting with Starship doctors, who told him that although tests were incomplete, Caleb's anaemia was due to dietary deficiency and there was a risk of a sudden deterioration if he developed an infection.

Christine Gordon told the jury that despite the warning, the Moorheads still refused to return Caleb to the Starship.

Both conditions were treatable, she said, and the brain damage could be partially reversed.

Christine Gordon said Dr Kelly told Roby Moorhead that it was urgent for Caleb to receive vitamin B12, which could not be administered by mouth.

He would tell the jury, she said, that even if Caleb had received treatment in the hours before his death, he could have been saved.

On March 29 last year, Caleb started breathing heavily and was treated by his parents with a cayenne pepper remedy, Christine Gordon told the jury.

The cause of death was bronchia-pneumonia associated with vitamin B12 deficiency.

When questioned by the police, 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.

Dr Kelly, who saw the child two weeks before his death, described him to the jury as severely malnourished.

The trial will continue today.