Another child dead – authorities taking it seriously, if belatedly

Kristen LaBrie, mother of nine-year-old Jeremy Fraser, has been charged with attempted murder in connection with the child’s death in March.

Kristina Chew at Change.org has the story:

Yesterday LaBrie pleaded “not guilty” to a charge of attempted murder; she had earlier been charged with child endangerment. The July 6th Associated Press vis WBUR reports that Jeremy was diagnosed with a “severe form of autism” while young. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in October of 2006 and given an 85 percent to 90 percent chance of recovery. He received “large doses of chemotherapy” and his cancer went into remission. LeBrie was given prescriptions for medications for Jeremy to take at home and this is when the story turns more than puzzling.

According to press accounts that Kristina shares on her blog, LaBrie apparently failed to fill prescriptions for followup medication to treat Jeremy’s condition. By the time the failure was discovered, Jeremy’s cancer had returned – and in an untreatable form.

I urge people to read the blog entry. There is also the confusing issue of a custody battle between LaBrie and Jeremy’s father. Some hard questions need to be asked – Kristina reports that both parents had been subjected to complaints of abuse and neglect numerous times. Where were the authorities who are supposed to monitor families that are the subjects of complaints?

It’s not the first time that the Massachusetts DSS has come under scrutiny – they failed to exercise their duties in safeguarding Haleigh Poutre – until she was beaten into a coma. Then they sued to have life-support withdrawn. –Stephen Drake