Christines plead guilty to starving daughters

Oregonlive.com ^ | 7/2/02 | AP

[RGSpincich]

Already imprisoned for seizing three of their daughters at gunpoint from state child welfare workers, Ruth and Brian Christine pleaded guilty today to charges that they starved two of the girls.

Josephine County Circuit Judge Gerald Neufeld sentenced them to 14 and 13 months but ordered them to serve the time concurrently with an earlier sentence.

Brian Christine pleaded guilty to criminal mistreatment for withholding food from his eldest daughter, Bethany, and refusing to stop for police. He was sentenced to 14 months.

Ruth Christine pleaded guilty to criminal mistreatment for withholding food from her daughter, Lydia, and got 13 months.

They were convicted May 10th of robbery, custodial interference and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle for taking their children at gunpoint from state child welfare workers.

They each were sentenced to seven and one half years in prison. Brian Christine got an extra five years for threatening social workers with the gun.

[Slyfox]

I really don't care.

[concerned about politics]

Well, do your search and post a link. I want to see the picture you're referring to--and don't tell me to do it. You're the one that brought it up.

BTW, as long as you're interested in pictures, do you have a link to pictures of them starving to death? Thanks.

[Catspaw]

Of course you don't. You have an agenda, need to screed your screed and ignore the facts. Don't let me stand in you way.

Now crawl back onto that soapbox and keep singing that one-note tune.

[RGSpincich]

Miriam, 2 yrs. old 15 pounds, was the most starved of all the children. She is not mentioned in the plea agreement. Hopefully this charge is still alive. I don't see where the prosecutor has dropped any charges, this may be just a change of plea regarding these two older girls. The trial is supposed to be July 9.

[dsutah]

Wait a minute! It seems to me that some doctor checked them out right 'after' they were taken from their parents; and said that they were not ill-nourished or 'starved', but were naturally thin because the family were vegetarians. I do remember reading this. What are you going to say to that? They paid the doctor, or something? (sarcasm)Good grief! If they had starved, wouldn't they be bony and sick, and half-dead by then? I don't know why the parents pled guilty to that, but I do remember reading about that doctor!

[Catspaw]

That's your job. You brought up the picture(s) of them healthy and hearty while in custody of the Christines.

But you can go to Steele's website. He was selling t-shirts with one of the children's pictures on it, if I remember correctly.

[dsutah]

Can you tell me why they were sitting on a couch with their children, in a sweet, peaceful, family setting? How would the foster situation have allowed them to sit all together like that? If they were so mean to the children, why would they be pictured like that?

[Catspaw]

Here's a photo of a T-shirt that one enterprising resident of Douglas County has put together and is selling for $25 each in front of the courthouse during the trial.  He put our www.PCLU.org website URL on the shirts to encourage donations for the Christine Defense Fund.  All profits above the cost of the actual shirts are given directly to the Christine Defense Fund.  If I knew how to do it, I would put one of those shopping/checkout pages on my PCLU website to accommodate direct orders.

The front says, "No Hugs...No Kisses...No Kidding.  My mommy and daddy vacationed in Oregon and now all I have is this lousy t-shirt."  The back says, "In Control We Freak...Visit Oregon...Lose Your Kids...Go To Jail...State vs. Brian and Ruth Christine...April 30, 2002...www.pclu.org."

[concerned about politics]

That's your job. You brought up the picture(s) of them healthy and hearty while in custody of the Christines.

I believe you feel they were starving. Just thought I'd like to see the pictures of how starved they were.
No one seems to be mentioning any starving pictures.
You seem so sure of yourself that they were starving, I figured you must have some proof or something. Sorry, my err.

[Catspaw]

I wonder if the prosecutor's holding that charge back, just in case. The only way to find out is to see if that charged was dismissed with prejudice.

[Catspaw]

Where's your pix of the kids fat & sassy? I posted the link to Steele's t-shirts. Where's yours?

[RGSpincich]

That was a visitation room that is used especially for that purpose. They were being supervised by social workers.

[Slyfox]

Lot's of cow-pie land mines around here, eh?

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Here's your picture of Miriam at the hospital. She weighed 15 pounds. This child was starved.

[concerned about politics]

[TruthWillWin]

During the hearing, Edgar J. Steele, attorney for the Christines, stressed that the Christines were agreeing to the plea arrangement for two reasons only: First, and foremost, to spare any of their children having to endure any further hearings or trials; and, second, because it had been agreed that all time imposed would run concurrent with their present sentence.

Interpretation = The evidence was overwhelming and we did a plea bargain.

[concerned about politics]

[dsutah]

Well, aren't you sweet. Calling someone who disagrees with your thinking an idiot? For your information, there are people on here who are not playing supreme judge with these people! I see that we are idiots, and cruel to children; if we merely disagree with you, Oh great, all-knowing one!

[Catspaw]

Yup, that pix of the Christine family was taken at the visitation center, after the children had been in foster care for a number of months. Eating regularly will fatten up those kiddies.

[RGSpincich]

Supervised visitation. The picture you posted was taken more than eight months after the children had been taken into protective custody.