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Mom indicted, arrested for denying son cancer care

E-mail|Link|Comments () July 5, 2009 10:40 PM

By Sean Sposito, Globe Correspondent

A 37-year-old Salem woman, who allegedly withheld life-saving cancer treatment from her dying son, was arrested tonight, two days after she was indicted on charges stemming from the death of the autistic child.

Kristen LaBrie, whose 9-year-old son, Jeremy Fraser, died of leukemia in March, was indicted by an Essex County Grand Jury on Friday.

Charged with attempted murder, permitting serious bodily injury to a disabled person, child endangerment, and permitting substantial bodily injury to a child, she is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in Salem Superior Court.

Jeremy was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2006. However, LaBrie -- who had custody of the boy between October 2006 and February 2008 -- allegedly failed to provide life-saving prescriptions or keep doctors visits. The disease eventually progressed to leukemia, according to court papers.

Jeremy died just days after his father, Eric J. Fraser, took him to a hospice.

According to court documents, LaBrie's Danvers-based lawyer, Kevin James, might argue LaBrie's mental health was so strained she was unable to make appropriate choices for her son.

Neither James nor Fraser could be reached for comment tonight.