Cult couple continues fight to stay mum on baby's fate

Appeals Court Judge Janis Berry is expected to rule soon on whether an Attleboro cult couple should continue to be jailed in contempt because they refuse to give authorities information about a pregnancy they claim ended in a miscarriage.

Attorney J.W. Carney Jr., who represents David and Rebecca Corneau, argued yesterday that a lower court judge's questions to the Corneaus about the fate of the fetus put the couple in the difficult position of being in contempt or admitting to the crime of improper burial of a body. The Corneaus have been in jail since Feb. 5.

The couple had a son who died in a 1999 home birth and was buried in Maine woods next to a baby cousin who prosecutors charge was starved to death by cult members.

Bristol Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth Nasif has indicated that he does not believe the Corneaus' story about the miscarriage because the couple will not give any details about its circumstances.

Department of Social Services attorney Virginia Peel argued there is no new evidence to support a reversal of Nasif's finding.