ATTLEBORO -- The lawyer defending reputed Attleboro religious sect leader Jacques Robidoux will hire an independent pathologist and other experts to challenge findings by the prosecution regarding the death of his son.
Robidoux, 28, the reputed leader of a sect which calls itself the Body of Christ, and his wife Karen are charged with murder for allegedly starving their son Samuel to death three days before his first birthday in April 1999.
A New Bedford Superior Court judge Friday approved a motion granting Jacques Robidouxs lawyer, Francis OBoy of Taunton, $25,500 to hire a forensic pathologist, a forensic anthropologist, a pediatrician and a nurse.
The prosecution alleges the couple stopped feeding Samuel solid food to fulfill a religious prophecy which required them to feed the boy only breast milk.
OBoy said he needed a pediatrician to determine whether or not the nutrition provided for Samuel was sufficient to sustain his life or, whether the lack of nutrition played any role whatsoever in his demise, according to his motion.
This is a cause of death case, OBoy said afterward. The question is what does the autopsy show.
The remains believed to be Samuels were found last October in a grave in Baxter State Park and consisted of little more than skeletal remains, according to court records.
The preliminary autopsy conducted by the Maine State Medical Examiners office revealed that leg bones tended to show that the child suffered from malnutrition, OBoy wrote.
Maine pathologists are seeking out opinions from forensic anthropologists for the purpose of comparison with other cases of deceased children in order to establish malnutrition as the cause of death, the motion says.
OBoy also filed a motion to prevent the prosecution showing a videotape during trial of the opening of the wooden caskets during the autopsy because it would be prejudicial to his client.
The videotape is of no evidentiary value and is so gruesome and upsetting as to shake the sensibilities of the jury, OBoy wrote. No action has been taken yet on the motion.
The remains were placed in wicker baskets inside the wooden coffins allegedly buried in a secluded section of the park by Jacques Robidoux and three other members of the sect, according to court records.
Also on Friday, Assistant District Attorney Walter Shea conferred with defense lawyers on the logistics of getting hair and saliva samples from the Robidouxs and writing samples from the couple and co-defendant Michelle Mingo.
Mingo, who is Jacques Robidouxs 36-year-old sister, is charged with being an accessory to assault and battery on a child.
All lived at 196-198 Knight Ave. and are currently being held in separate jails on bail. They were not in court Friday.
The prosecution wants the hair and saliva samples to get a DNA sample to compare with the DNA from the remains to conclusively identify them.
A judge refused the prosecutions request for blood samples from the couple who objected on religious grounds. But Shea said it is no more difficult to obtain DNA from hair or saliva.
The prosecution wants writing samples in an attempt to determine the author of journals kept by the sect and seized by the authorities. The journals detail the final days of Samuel, the prosecution alleges.
The case was continued for a status hearing June 25.