Corneau attorney seeks appeal of order that jailed the two sect members

BOSTON (AP) The attorney for two religious sect members is appealing a judge's order that sent them to jail for refusing to disclose the location of a missing baby.

Attorney J.W. Carney filed a motion on Tuesday with the Appeals Court, citing changed circumstances in the case. No action was scheduled on the motion as of Wednesday afternoon, said court spokesman Bruce Brock.

Rebecca and David Corneau were originally held in contempt of court by Attleboro Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth Nasif after they refused to turn over a newborn baby the state insisted was born to the couple. State child welfare officials have said they believe the child was endangered by the couple's religious beliefs that reject medical treatment.

But on Tuesday, Carney said Rebecca Corneau miscarried her baby in November at a friend's house in Massachusetts.

Nasif then ordered the couple to jail for contempt of court after they declined to give any information about where the miscarried baby was buried.

''The limited testimony or evidence I have heard that a miscarriage occurred does not convince me that one did,'' Nasif said.

Nasif told the Corneaus they have to bring their child to court on Feb. 14, or reveal the burial site.

Bristol County District Attorney Paul Walsh said Wednesday his office is reviewing the transcript of Tuesday's hearing to determine if it should pursue its own investigation.

Walsh said his office will talk to people who testified, as well as the medical examiner's office and witnesses who may have been present for or aware of the miscarriage, he said.

The district attorney's office routinely investigates unattended deaths.

An appeal of the contempt finding is still pending. Carney has argued before the Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court for a stay of the sentence while that appeal was pending. Both courts refused to grant a stay.

Carney's latest motion argues the Appeals Court should reconsider its refusal to grant a stay. He cited changed circumstances since the couple now says there is no baby.

The Corneaus belong to a small fundamentalist Christian group that rejects modern medicine, government and education.

A son of the Corneaus' who died during a home birth in 1999 was secretly buried in a Maine woods, alongside an infant cousin, who prosecutors said was starved to death by member of the sect. The Corneaus have not been charged in the case.