Teachers testify against parents in child's death

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press April 18, 2000

By ALAN SCHNEPF Valley Press Staff Writer

VAN NUYS - More former teachers of Lindsay Gentry testified against her parents Monday in the involuntary manslaughter trial of the couple.

Michael and Kathleen Gentry are accused of allowing their physically and mentally disabled daughter to waste away because they did not take proper steps to keep her nourished. When then15-year-old Lindsay Gentry died in 1996, she weighed about 45 pounds, but stood 4 feet, 10 inches tall.

One of those teachers, Diane Hogaboam, drew a disturbing picture of Lindsay Gentry for the jury. She described the girl who showed up in her special education classroom every morning as a hungry, dirty and neglected young girl who was fed by teachers and staff who believed her parents did not feed her enough at home.

She testified that Lindsay Gentry's attendance at Challenger Middle School diminished near the end of the 1993-1994 school year and that her parents eventually requested that she be homeschooled.

That's why Hogaboam, a witness called by prosecutors, said she was surprised when Lindsay Gentry showed up for class one morning the following September.She also said the deterioration of the girl's appearance surprised her. So she had a photograph taken to document what she thought had to be neglect at the hands of Michael and Kathleen Gentry.

"She was thinner than I had ever seen her," Hogaboam said. "She was unhappy; she was wearing dirty clothes. Her appearance was shocking."

Lindsay Gentry died about six months after that photo was taken.

Michael and Kathleen Gentry already faced trial on the matter last year. The jury in that trial declared itself hopelessly deadlocked in May 1999, stuck at 10-2 in favor of acquittal.

At that trial, the Gentrys' supporters often packed the courtroom. So far, the courtroom has been bare during the involuntary manslaughter proceedings. Kathleen Gentry said many of those people cannot be present during testimony because they will serve as witnesses when the defense presents its side.

Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Kathy Cady said she believes the prosecution will be done presenting its case on Thursday, after the court takes Wednesday off for religious observances.

Patricia Turner, who taught Lindsay at the Wilsona School District during the 1992-1993 school year, said Monday she and other teachers would feed the girl at school because she complained of hunger and appeared malnourished.Turner said Lindsay Gentry responded to the feedings by becoming "revitalized" and energetic, but that school staff noticed a disturbing trend in the student's weight.

Lindsay Gentry would fill out slightly during the school week, only to return on Monday looking just as gaunt and underfed as she did the previous week, Turner claimed.She testified further that school staff decided to weigh Gentry on Mondays and Fridays to monitor her weight shifts during the school week and over the weekend. The weigh-ins confirmed their suspicions, Turner told the court.

Michael and Kathleen Gentry eventually sent in a doctor's note requesting the school to stop feeding their daughter, according to testimony.Although Turner said the weigh-ins were logged and went into Lindsay's permanent file, prosecutors did not introduce such logs into evidence during Monday's proceedings.

Lindsay Gentry suffered from a rare neurological disorder called congenital myotic dystrophy, which causes muscles to deteriorate, and according to some testimony can cause a lack of appetite.

Gregory Gerard, the principal of Challenger Middle School during Lindsay Gentry's stint there, also testified against the parents, echoing Turner and Hogaboam's contentions that the defendants neglected their daughter.

Hogaboam said the Gentrys would send their daughter to school with a lunchbox, but that its contents were scant and disgusting. She said the bread on Lindsay's tiny sandwiches was sometimes moldy, that the lunchbox was filthy and that at one point, a troop of ants arrived at school in the box.

Prosecution witnesses also testified that Lindsay would come to school with bruises that the girl said were inflicted upon her by Michael Gentry when she misbehaved, who had the mental capacity of a 6-year-old according to a medical witness who testified last week.

In addition, Turner testified that it was not uncommon to have accidents with her bodily functions. She said Lindsay told her that when those accidents occurred at home, she would be forced to wash her underwear in the toilet and then wash her body off.