Followers of Christ parents charged with murder in death of premature twin baby

By Everton Bailey Jr.
Oregonian
June 6, 2017

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2017/06/followers_of_christ_parents_of.html#incart_river_index

Travis and Sarah Mitchell

The parents of a twin girl who died hours after her March home birth with dozens of people from the faith-healing Followers of Christ Church gathered at the house now face murder charges.

Sarah Elaine Mitchell, 24, and Travis Lee Mitchell, 21, turned themselves in and were booked Monday into the Clackamas County Jail on accusations of murder by neglect and first-degree criminal mistreatment in the March 5 death of Ginnifer Mitchell. A Clackamas County grand jury heard testimony for about a week before returning a secret indictment Friday. 

Other church members, including Sarah Mitchell's sister, have faced criminal charges in the deaths of their children with medical conditions, but none faced a murder charge before now.

Sarah and Travis Mitchell are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. They declined requests for interviews from the jail. Several members of the Oregon City-based church also declined comment as did prosecutors.

Investigators said the baby was having trouble breathing after she was delivered at the home of Sarah Mitchell's parents near Oregon City, but that no one called 911. The surviving twin, Evelyn, was later taken to Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland for treatment. It's unclear who has custody of the surviving twin.

Court papers offer new details of what happened that day.

Church elder Carl Hanson contacted the county's medical examiner's office to report the baby's death about an hour and a half after it occurred, according to a search warrant affidavit. Eric Tonsfeldt, the county deputy medical examiner who responded, later told investigators that it was "very common, and in fact the norm" for a Followers of Christ member to call the Medical Examiner's Office directly when someone in the church community died.

Typically, that call is made by Hanson, the affidavit said.

Sixty church members were at the home in the 14800 block of South Loder Road celebrating the twins' birth when Tonsfeldt arrived, the affidavit said.

Ginnifer was wrapped in a blanket and in Sarah Mitchell's arms when Tonsfeldt found them. They were in the master bedroom with Travis Mitchell, the couple's two fathers and a birthing assistant. Tonsfeldt reported that he initially received "vague," "stilted and forced" answers from them that didn't explain how the baby died, according to the affidavit.

The couple then explained that Ginnifer was alive for about four hours before she became "less fussy," lethargic and suddenly stopped breathing, the affidavit said. She was being fed milk through an eye dropper before she died.

A caretaker holding the baby was the first to notice the baby wasn't breathing. Ginnifer was 16 inches long and weighed 3 pounds and 6 ounces when she died, the affidavit said. Tonsfeldt estimated she was born after 7 1/2 or 8 months.

Sarah Mitchell's water had broken around midnight on March 4 and Travis Mitchell drove them to her parents' house more than two miles away. She gave birth about 3 p.m. the next day.

No one told Tonsfeldt at first that there was a second baby until about five minutes after he mentioned plans to take Ginnifer away for an autopsy to find an explanation for her death and low weight, he told investigators. Tonsfeldt was then led into the bathroom where several people were tending to Evelyn.

Evelyn appeared to be healthy and alert, but was about the same size as Ginnifer and it concerned the medical examiner, the affidavit said.

Tonsfeldt said he told the girls' parents and others at least three times that Evelyn was "at medical risk" due to her size and should go to a hospital immediately. Walter White, Sarah Mitchell's father, replied, "Thank you for your input," according to the affidavit.

Tonsfeldt called Oregon City police after he left the home and asked for a welfare check on Evelyn to see if she was being taken to a hospital.

An Oregon City police officer told investigators that he and another officer later went to the home and told White, Travis Mitchell's father, Joshua Mitchell, and another man that Evelyn had to go to the hospital. The three men agreed to drive her there five minutes later. An officer followed two cars that left the house to Willamette Falls Hospital, the affidavit said. The baby was later transferred to Doernbecher.

An autopsy by Oregon State Medical Examiner Karen Gunson found Ginnifer died from complications of prematurity and that her lungs hadn't developed enough to work on their own, the affidavit said. Her death wouldn't have occurred suddenly, Gunson told investigators, and there would have been signs that the baby was struggling to breathe including skin discoloration.

Gunson believed "the death was preventable if Baby Ginnifer had been given the medical care available in a hospital neonatal intensive care unit," the affidavit said. The baby's lack of lung development would have required 24-hour monitoring and medical treatment.

Child deaths have plagued the church for years. Members believe the sick will be anointed by elders and that their faith will heal all ailments. Death, if it comes, is God's will, they believe.

Several members have been the subject of criminal investigations in recent years for not getting medical treatment for their ailing children.

Sarah Mitchell's sister and brother-in-law, Shannon and Dale Hickman, were sentenced in 2011 to more than six years in prison in the death of their newborn son, who died fewer than nine hours after he was born two months' premature in 2009.

An autopsy found he had underdeveloped lungs and staph pneumonia.

Sarah Mitchell and Shannon Hickman are the granddaughters of the founder of the Followers of Christ Church, also named Walter White.

The church's history of child deaths prompted the Oregon Legislature to remove spiritual treatment as a defense for all homicide charges in 2011.

That same year, Rebecca and Timothy Wyland, two other church members, were sentenced to 90 days in jail for first-degree criminal mistreatment related to their daughter's care. As an infant, Alayna Wyland developed an abnormal mass of blood vessels that grew across her face and engulfed her left eye. Child protection authorities took custody, and Alayna improved under court-ordered care.

In 2008, 15-month-old Ava Worthington died at her parents' home of bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection. Her parents, Raylene and Carl Brent Worthington, never sought medical treatment. Carl Worthington was convicted of misdemeanor criminal mistreatment and sentenced to two months in jail. Raylene Worthington was acquitted on all charges.

Also that year, 15-year-old Neil Beagley became ill from a urinary tract blockage and died two weeks later. The Beagleys said they followed their son's wishes in treating him only with prayer and faith healing. Both parents were convicted of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to 16 months in prison.