Posted on 06/08/2005 11:46:04 AM PDT by Graybeard58
A veteran paramedic struggled to hold back tears Tuesday as he described finding the shrunken, emaciated body of 18-month-old James Fredrickson lying on the floor of the Streamwood condominium where the child starved to death.
"It looked like somebody had taken tissue paper and put it over a skeleton," said Streamwood Fire Department paramedic Steve Beach, recalling how malnourished the boy appeared when rescue workers entered the family's home on Dec. 14, 2001, after receiving a 911 call.
Beach's emotional testimony came as the murder trial of James' mother, 27-year-old Amanda Fredrickson, opened at the Cook County Courthouse in Rolling Meadows. She faces a possible death sentence if convicted of first-degree murder charges that allege she deliberately allowed her youngest child to starve in the family's garbage-filled home.
The boy weighed only about 101/2 pounds when he died, barely a pound more than when he was born, authorities said.
Paramedic wipes away tears
Beach, the first medical worker to examine James, said the baby was "nothing but skin and bones.''
"There was no muscle or fat. You could basically see his entire bone structure,'' said Beach, a paramedic for 15 years who paused several times during his testimony to wipe away tears.
Dr. Charles Nozicka, a pediatrician called by prosecutors, testified that healthy 18-month-old babies typically have quadrupled their birth weight and usually weigh 25 to 30 pounds.
Prosecutor Tom Byrne told jurors that James died simply because his mother was too selfish and uninterested to care for him.
"This case is about a mother's responsibility to care for her own child," he said, adding the boy starved to death while living in a home "loaded" with food. Instead, Amanda Fredrickson let the baby slowly waste away until he died, Byrne said.
Byrne argued Fredrickson -- who he said frequently was away from the home -- viewed her son as "an inconvenience she couldn't be bothered with."
Fredrickson's attorneys portrayed her differently, insisting she loved her son but was so hampered by severe depression that she didn't realize the boy was seriously undernourished. Fredrickson's husband, Kristian, now serving 45 years in James' death, did little to help and was frequently gone from the home, defense attorney Kathryn Lisco argued.
'Didn't want her baby to die'
Because of her mental illness, Amanda Fredrickson couldn't take care of the family's squalid condo, couldn't care for the couple's 5-year-old daughter and could scarcely care for herself.
"She was extremely immature, a terrible caretaker,'' said Lisco, arguing Fredrickson never tried to harm her son.
"Mrs. Fredrickson didn't want her baby to die. She didn't intend for him to die," Lisco said. "Mrs. Fredrickson neglected him to death -- that's not first-degree murder.''
If Amanda Fredrickson is convicted, Judge Thomas Fecarotta, not the jury, will impose a sentence.
:sigh: words fail me.
Regardless of someone's stance on the death penalty, there are some cases that I can't see how someone wouldn't lean that way.
This is one of them.
Starve her. Put her on the Nazi concentration camp diet.
You beat me to it.
In this case, I'd rather just see her "neglected to death".
Despite being depressed, I bet she didn't forget to fill her pie hole.
Shouldn't the mom cite the Terri Schiavo ruling. If the individual can't take care of itself, the legal guardian can decide whether or not to withhold food and water.
The prosecutor said he starved in a home loaded with food. You can bet she was eating well.
This is so freaking messed up.
So messed up.
So wrong.
"She was extremely immature, a terrible caretaker,'' said Lisco, arguing Fredrickson never tried to harm her son.
** I just love these lawyers.
sw
Oh, give me a freakin' break. I was sick for several months last year with neurological problems and I'm diabetic. I could hardly walk I was in so much pain and I was severly depressed. But I got my butt out of bed every day and took care of my daughter. I didn't collapse until after she was in bed for the night. These BS excuses really pi$$ me off.
At least the child was "euphoric" and obviously felt no significant ill-effects at all. /sarcasm
I actually believe there is something wrong with this woman, that simply is not normal. Some kind of excess of narciccism, an inability to sense the need of others, some kind of autism. Weird man, sad as hell and weird. I find it hard to believe that she was that malicious or willfully stupid. Just weird.
Twinkies! It's all the Twinkie's she ate! It's not her fault!
I missed this my first read, but this woman was MARRIED!
Evidently she didn't see her child as a meal ticket. Hmmm.
Pretty sick...watch your own child starve. 45 years is being kind!
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