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Jury Gets Case In Trial Of Mom Accused Of Denying Son Meds

LAWRENCE (CBS/AP) -- A jury has begun deliberations in the case of a Salem woman accused of withholding cancer treatment from her autistic son.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports

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Kristen LaBrie, 38, is charged with attempted murder, child endangerment and assault and battery for failing to give her son, Jeremy Fraser, at least five months of at-home cancer medications.

The boy died at age nine in 2009.

WBZ-TV's Diana Perez reports.

The jury began deliberating just before 11 a.m. Monday after hearing closing arguments and instructions from the judge.

Judge Richard Welch said a child's legal guardian must provide prescription medications. He said jurors must decide whether prosecutors have shown that LaBrie's decision to withhold medication qualifies as an "overt action" under the state's attempted murder law.

During its deliberations the jury asked the judge whether choosing not to provide medicine is an "overt action" that justifies conviction on an attempted murder charge.

THE DEFENSE

Defense attorney Kevin James told jurors at Lawrence Superior Court that LaBrie was unable to give her son the medication because she knew how sick they would made him. James claimed her mental ability to care for him waned as she attempted to cope with his cancer.

"You have to make this beautiful child that she cared for from birth, with severe autism. You have to make him sick and she failed to do that," said James.

James called her an innocent mother who didn't stop the medicine because she wanted to hurt him, but because she didn't want him to suffer.

He also said there were others involved in Jeremy's care that should have spotted a problem, like the hospital, Jeremy's doctor and social worker.

"They want to put her in jail because she fell short even though there's a bunch of other bodies that had more resources as her, they fell short as well," said James.

THE PROSECUTION

Essex County Assistant District Attorney Kate MacDougall pointed to LaBrie, who took the stand last Friday, as the direct cause for Jeremy's death.

"He had an 85 to 90 percent chance of a cure, and she took that from him," said MacDougall, whose statement drew tears from LaBrie.

Prosecutors insisted that LaBrie's inability was actually an intentional criminal act against her sick child.

MacDougall closed by asking the jury to look at the evidence and find LaBrie guilty of all charges.

(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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