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Mass. v. Robidoux: Cult dad starves baby
More articles on this topic: The BodyCourt TV, July 17, 2002
http://www.courttv.com/trials/taped/robidoux/background.html
(Court TV) — When the infant son of an obscure cult died after being denied solid food for almost two months, the father said he believed he was following God’s will.
But prosecutors called it murder.
Prosecutors say that Jacques Robidoux intentionally starved his son to fulfill a religious vision that his sister said she had regarding the baby’s diet.
The defendant’s sister, Michelle Mingo instructed Robidoux’s wife Karen to drink only almond milk in order to eliminate vanity — and told her that she should only feed the child breast milk.
For 52 days, Jacques and Karen adhered to the regimen — only to find baby Samuel dead on April 26, 1999, just three days before he reached his first birthday.
Jacques Robidoux says he takes full responsibility for Samuel’s death, but says he was only following what he thought was God’s orders. His defense also contends that reasonable doubt exists because Samuel died of unknown causes.
But prosecutors called baby Samuel’s death a homicide, charging the 29-year-old father with first-degree murder. Karen, 26, was charged with second-degree murder, while Michelle, 37, faces charges of being an accessory to assault and battery on a child. The women are expected to be tried in September.
Jacques Robidoux, however, was tried first in June in Bristol County Superior Court, Taunton, Mass.
(…)
Three months after Samuel’s death, Rebecca Corneau, the defendant’s sister, and her husband David, both cult members, say she gave birth to a baby that was stillborn.
Prosecutors say that in October the cult took a trip to Baxter State Park in Maine for a religious celebration called the Feast of Tabernacles — and that the tiny bodies of Samuel Robidoux and Jeremiah Corneau were buried there.
Meanwhile, Robidoux’s former brother-in-law, Dennis Mingo, who left the cult long before Samuel’s death, turned over a 10-page handwritten account he found in his home detailing Samuel’s death.
After meeting with Mingo in November, police arrest Jacques Robidoux, who was later found in contempt of court for refusing to cooperate.
It was a year before police found the remains of the two small children.
The Body
The cult, which has no official name but has been referred to as “The Body,” began in 1978 after Roland Robidoux decided to leave the World Wide Church of God (WWCG), which he originally joined in the early 1970s because of its strict Christian beliefs. According to published reports, he sought to establish a church that would truly serve God.
After leaving the WWCG, Roland Robidoux and his family formed weekly Bible study groups out of their home. Roland believed God was beckoning him to abandon the church and form his own. At its peak, the cult had 70 followers, mostly disgruntled members of the WWCG. Roland said they were God’s chosen people.
In 1986, Roland Robidoux met up with his longtime friend, Roger Daneau — Karen’s father. Roland and Roger had attended Catholic school together as kids. Daneau’s family joined study groups led by Roland.
Throughout, Roland became the leader of the cult, controlling their lives, right down to their diets. He also urged the members to cut off ties with anyone who was not a believer, including family members. Roland also rejected traditional religious music, so the group composed its own.
Eventually, Roland came across a book, “Born in Zion,” that was written by Carol Balizet, a former nurse who became a spiritual midwife. She urged a complete withdrawal from society because it was dominated by what she termed “Satan’s seven counterfeit systems” — education, medicine, commerce, banking, entertainment, schools, and government. Balizet proposed living life according to God’s directions, to obey God without objections or concerns with the outcome.
The book also says that women should shy away from the established medical system when giving birth. Instead, she endorses women giving birth at home with the help of a spiritual midwife.
(…)
The Verdict
After six-and-a-half hours of deliberations over two days, the jury of six men and six women found Jacques Robidoux guilty of first degree murder on June 14, 2002.
Because the first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence, Judge Elizabeth B. Donovan sentenced Robidoux accordingly immediately after the verdict was read.
The Aftermath
The state child welfare agency awarded custody of Jacques’ youngest children, Caleb and Jollie, to Nicole Kidson, his sister. They all live in Belmont, Maine. Karen’s two children from previous relationships are living with their respective fathers.
In August 2000, Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth P. Nasif terminated Michelle Mingo’s parental rights and awarded her husband Dennis custody of their five children, Rachel, Zachary, Hannah, Rosalynne and Jonathan, then ages 3 to 10.
Trinette and Mark Daneau’s infant daughter Rebecca was placed in state custody, which sought to award permanent custody to the child’s aunt.
The judge agreed with the Department of Social Services which argued that the sect members were unfit as parents because they did not send the children to school, nor did they provide them with medical care or adequate nourishment.
As of June 2002, all but four of the 12 children have been adopted or permanently placed with relatives not associated with the sect. Rebecca and David Corneau continue fighting the state’s efforts to terminate their parental rights to their four children: Emmalyne, 8, Elizabeth Rose, 6, Sarah Anne, 4, and Kattereina Elise, 1.
On June 18, 2002, four days after a jury convicted Jacques, Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth Nasif released David and Rebecca Corneau, who had been in jail on contempt charges for refusing to tell authorities what became of their youngest child. The Massachusetts Department of Social Services alleged the Corneaus are hiding a child Rebecca had to keep the state from taking custody. The couple had been in jail since February 5, 2002.
Their attorney has said publicly that Rebecca delivered a stillborn child at the home of a family friend in November 2001. The Corneaus refuse to answer questions about their stillborn child, asserting their Fifth Amendment rights.
Judge Nasif ruled that the court had reached a standstill in forcing the Corneaus to cooperate. He said the case is better pursued by the district attorney’s office and the grand jury, which is investigating the child’s death.
For the full story, see the link provided above
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