DA says parents invented girl's symptoms

BROCKTON -- Saying there was a "much more sinister aspect" to the case, a prosecutor alleged yesterday that a couple charged with poisoning their 4-year-old daughter made up symptoms of mental illness so she would qualify for government benefits.

Michael and Carolyn Riley were twice rejected for Supplemental Security Income after doctors with the federal program examined their daughter Rebecca and found no indication that she suffered symptoms of bipolar disorder or attention deficit disorder, Frank Middleton, an assistant Plymouth district attorney, told a judge in Plymouth Superior Court.

The couple, whose 13th wedding anniversary is this week, sat before Judge Carol Ball with their wrists and ankles in shackles. They pleaded not guilty to murder charges brought by a Plymouth grand jury.

Middleton said Carolyn Riley's aunt testified to the grand jury that her niece told her she wanted to get Rebecca on medication so she could receive benefits.

In August 2004, Carolyn Riley took Rebecca to see Dr. Kayoko Kifuji and told the Tufts-New England Medical Center psychiatrist that Rebecca would kick, spit, hit, and laugh when punished, Middleton said. Eventually, Kifuji diagnosed Rebecca with attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity.

In March 2005, an SSI doctor rejected the family's application for benefits, and Carolyn Riley returned to Kifuji, Middleton said. This time, according to the prosecutor, Riley said Rebecca had mood swings, trouble sleeping, and was "driving her crazy."

In May 2005, Kifuji diagnosed her with bipolar disorder. The Rileys tried again to secure the benefits, but were rejected again and appealed the decision to an administrative law judge.

The couple had scheduled an appointment with SSI around Dec. 13, 2006, the day Rebecca was found dead in her Hull home, said Bridget Norton Middleton, a spokeswoman for the Plymouth district attorney's office.

The Rileys' lawyers denied the allegations, saying the parents were vulnerable people who followed a doctor's orders and tried to raise their children as best they could.

"It's Dr. Kifuji who is the cause of any overdose, if that's what it was," said Michael Bourbeau, Carolyn Riley's lawyer.

"The Commonwealth, with its great resources, is picking on [the Rileys] because it's easy," Bourbeau said.

Kifuji's lawyer, J.W. Carney Jr., declined to comment. Kifuji has voluntarily stopped practicing medicine during an investigation by the Board of Registration in Medicine.

Michael Riley's lawyer, John G. Darrell, disputed Middleton's allegations that his client seemed indifferent when emergency officials came to the couple's house after Riley called 911 to report his daughter's death.

He said Riley was medicated at the time and could not show emotion. "He is suffering greatly," Darrell said.

The couple will continue to be held without bail, but Ball recommended that Carolyn Riley be moved from MCI-Framingham, a medium security prison, to Suffolk County Jail on Nashua Street after Bourbeau said she had been mistreated by inmates and correction officers.

Diane Wiffin, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Correction, said neither Riley nor her lawyer have complained to prison officials about mistreatment.

The couple's two other children, a 12-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl, remain in the custody of the state Department of Social Services, said Carolyn Riley's mother, Valerie Berio, who attended yesterday's hearing.

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.