My cousin's son's case is on Court TV!

[kcmecker]

This has been a big strain on my family for nearly two years. Please pray for Travis and Calista Heggem as they soldier on through this trial. They actually had the law changed so in further cases, the punishment is much tougher than this lady is facing...



http://www.courttv.com/trials/bieber/082405_ctv.html

State rests case against day-care owner accused in death of 1-year-old boy

BILLINGS, Mont. — After six days of testimony from grieving parents, evidence bags filled with dirty diapers, and toxicology tests that left more questions than answers, prosecutors rested their case Wednesday against a day-care operator accused of feeding a toddler a lethal dose of allergy medication.

Sabine Bieber, a 36-year-old married mother of three, is charged with the negligent homicide of 1-year-old Dane Heggem, who died while napping in a crib in a back room of a Tiny Tots day-care center.

When Heggem's blood tested positive for an elevated level of diphenhydramine — an over-the-counter antihistamine found in Benadryl — forensic investigators found traces of the drug in the diapers and urine of three other Tiny Tots children.

Testimony from the state's final witness, lead investigator Agent Gary Hatfield, continued Wednesday with a lengthy cross-examination.

The defense accused the detective of conducting a lopsided investigation, pinning Bieber as the one who the children medicine without fully investigating the parents.

"You did not ask the parents for a written list of all of the medications, over-the-counter or otherwise, that they had in their homes, did you?" defense attorney Robert Stephens asked Hatfield.

Hatfield confirmed that he had not, nor did he take inventory of the medicines in the parents' homes, as he was focused on one drug — diphenhydramine.

Every parent, Hatfield said, confirmed they had not given the drug to their child or authorized Bieber to do so.

The most compelling evidence prosecutors presented against Bieber appeared to be the two years' worth of Costco records, showing that the day-care owner had purchased more than 63 12-ounce bottles of Diphedryl allergy medication before Dane's death on Jan. 31, 2003.

Each bottle of Diphedryl contains about 72 teaspoons. If one were to assume consistent administration of the medication during a five-day week, 63 bottles over a 23-month period would equal about 10 teaspoons per day.

No evidence has been presented to suggest that investigators found a stockpile of Diphedryl at Tiny Tots, but jurors are likely to hear evidence from Bieber herself about where the medicine went, as she is expected to take the stand in her own defense.

Bieber denies giving Dane Diphedryl the day he died, and her attorney has argued that there is no evidence that the amount found in Dane's blood was a fatal level.

The defense contends that a heart condition, viral infection or an undetected genetic condition could have led to Dane's sudden death.

The defense called Dr. Ashraf Mozayani, chief medical examiner of the Harris County crime lab in Houston, to refute the state's toxicology findings.

Mozayani faulted the Montana crime lab for not extracting a piece of Dane's heart for genetic testing. She also pointed to the state's erratic toxicology results as evidence of shabby lab procedures.

Dane's blood tested positive for .6 milligrams per liter of diphenhydramine, about 10 times higher than a normal therapeutic level. But when the samples were tested again six weeks later, the level unexplainably doubled.

The witness also noted that drawing blood from Dane's heart, as the medical examiner did, was a "big no, no, no."

She echoed the defense's contention that higher postmortem concentrations of the drug pool near the organs and give false high readings.

Her testimony will continue after lunch Wednesday.

Bieber is charged with negligent homicide, three counts of child endangerment, and one count of evidence-tampering for allegedly throwing a plastic dosage cup into a sink full of soapy water during an investigative inspection.

She faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Her trial is being aired live on Court TV and Court TV Extra.

[morphius]

Dear lord, sounds like a big mess. Nothing like drugging the children to keep them all lethargic and sleepy.

That's wild. Hang that crazy old bat. Best of luck to your family, Mecker.

[Valiant]

That sucks, hopefully they do not get out on a technicality..

[JOhn]

Sad case, been watching it. Our Neighbors son used to go to that daycare.

[ROYC75]

WOW ...... I hope it turns out OK. Keep the chin up, prayers are sent.

[Bwana]

Indeed, big news around here. The crazy bitch was buying it in bulk from Costco.

[KChiefsQT]

wow, that is just terrible. I'm sorry this happened to your family. Best of luck, sending my hugs and prayers.

[Simplex3]

If s**t like this doesn't make you want to keep one of the parents at home nothing will. Come on people, lower your lifestyle and raise your own kids so that psychos like this don't get hold of them.

Karma's a bitch and she's going to f**k this lady up big time.

[Simplex3]

Originally Posted by ENDelt260

Lower your lifestyle? You lost me. I was in daycare as a pup. It certainly wasn't because Mom was out livin' it up.

Nearly everyone I know who has their kid(s) in daycare own multiple tvs, nice cars, etc etc. Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Single parents come to mind. However it's been shown time and time again that in a two parent household it's cheaper to have one parent stay home unless they're both making damn good money, in which case they can afford to drop one of the jobs.

Something I didn't understand until after I had my first kid is this: If you aren't going to be the one raising them the why the hell did you have them? Daycare kids see their parents for what, 3 hours a day tops? They spend 9 hours a day with some stranger and half a dozen other kids.

I've become even more against it now that I have a neighbor who runs a daycare. These people shouldn't be allowed to have pets, but they have 7 or 8 daycare kids on top of their own 3 every day. For Christ's sake, the COPS have been at their house when the parents came to pick up their kids and the people keep bringing the kids back. It's pathetic.

[Simplex3]

Originally Posted by ENDelt260

I won't pretend to have been privvy to my parents' finances when I was five or anything, but I can't imagine the cost of daycare exceeded Mom's salary. She is an accountant of sorts. Surely that would've jumped out at her.

I'm too mesmerized by the hooters in your avatar to remember what we were even talking about. Who's are those?

[Lzen]

The most compelling evidence prosecutors presented against Bieber appeared to be the two years' worth of Costco records, showing that the day-care owner had purchased more than 63 12-ounce bottles of Diphedryl allergy medication before Dane's death on Jan. 31, 2003.

Each bottle of Diphedryl contains about 72 teaspoons. If one were to assume consistent administration of the medication during a five-day week, 63 bottles over a 23-month period would equal about 10 teaspoons per day.

That right there is all they need to convict, IMO. It's pretty damning evidence. What a shame. Hope they send this winch up the river for a long time.

[MOhillbilly]

Its a good thing i am not the law of the land.

beaten till rotten sounds like it suits the crime.

[dtebbe]

I bet she was using Benedryl as a sediative. I know quite a few parents who give it to their kids before they fly, because it usually makes the kids groggy and sleepy.

DT

[Chiefnj]

I'm kind of surprised that each parent said they didn't give their child diphenhydramine. Kids in daycare typically pass colds and illnesses around with regularity. Giving a child an antihistamine is commonplace.

No matter. If she did not have the parents consent to administer the drug then she shouldn't have.