US mom accused of denying cancer meds to autistic son

Kristen LaBrie's son, Jeremy Fraser, was diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer in 2006. He died in March 2009 at the age of nine.

Labrie allegedly repeatedly failed to fill chemotherapy prescriptions for her son and deceived his doctors into believing she was giving him the medications he needed to save his life.

Trial begins with some strong words from prosecutors
An Essex County prosecutor said Tuesday at the beginning of the trial that Kristen LaBrie, the local mom accused of failing to give chemotherapy treatments to her cancer-stricken, autistic son, took actions that were like pushing the boy in front of a car.

"She's charged, ladies and gentlemen, in a sense of pushing him in front of that car," Essex County Assistant District Attorney Kate B. MacDougall told jurors in her opening statement, reports the Associated Press.

Mom deceived the doctors treating her son
Jeremy was diagnosed with the non-Hodgkins lymphoma in October 2006, but doctors told LaBrie her son had an 85 percent to 90 percent chance of being cured with a two-year, five-phase treatment plan of chemotherapy.

MacDougall said LaBrie was responsible for giving her son medications for non-Hodgkins lymphoma but failed to do that on numerous occasions.

LaBrie, 39, of Salem "didn't tell anyone she was not giving Jeremy chemotherapy drugs," MacDougall said.

Boy showed improvement in first few months
The prosecutor said that after months of treatment, the boy's doctors saw progress and were optimistic that his illness could be sent into remission. But, that optimism disappeared in February 2008, when Dr. Alison Friedmann discovered that his cancer had returned in the form of leukemia.

MacDougall said doctors then checked with LaBrie's pharmacy and found that she had not complied with the treatment regimen for her son.

“Dr. Friedmann made two horrifying discoveries. First, was that the defendant was not filling Jeremy’s chemotherapy prescriptions. And the second was that his cancer was back,” said MacDougall in Lawrence Superior Court.

During regular visits to Massachusetts General Hospital, LaBrie assured the boy’s doctors that she had been giving him the drugs, but she actually had not filled five months' worth of prescriptions for chemotherapy drugs, she said during opening statements Tuesday.

Defence attorney speaks
Meanwhile, Labrie's attorney, Kevin James, said that Jeremy was "severely autistic" and required constant care. He claimed she did not realize that the medication's side effects would cause him pain and make him ill for prolonged periods of time.

Labrie became exhausted and upset because of Jeremy’s prolonged sickness, and decided— not "consciously" — to stop giving him the medication, James said.

"She really thought the medication — the cure — was beyond what Jeremy could tolerate," James said.

He called LaBrie's decision to withhold treatment "a tragic mistake," but not a crime.

LaBrie is charged with attempted murder and child endangerment.

The trial is ongoing before Superior Court Judge Richard E. Welch III. Testimony in the case resumes Wednesday.