PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon City couple that belongs to a faith healing church face criminal charges after their newborn boy died less than two days after being born.
The Clackamas County District Attorney's Office filed criminal mistreatment charges against 35-year-old Blair and 30-year-old Taylor Edwards on Monday. Each face first-and second-degree criminal mistreatment for the death of their child, Hayden, last June.
Hayden was born at 6:40 p.m. on June 24, 2023; their fourth child delivered at home. He appeared healthy and was eating for about a day and a half, until the morning of June 26, when he stopped eating. Around 11 a.m., his parents became concerned, and friends and family members began to show up to "pray and anoint the sick baby," according to court documents.
At the time, people noted that the baby was not looking healthy and "lips were turning blue."
"The parents, despite the baby's condition and not eating for 7 hours failed to seek any medical treatment for their son," prosecutors wrote in court documents.
By 2:35 p.m., the baby stopped breathing temporarily. He started to breathe again after his mother, Taylor, poured cold water on him. Then, at 3:05 p.m., the baby died, prosecutors said.
A cause of death was not determined, but an investigation found that he was "severely jaundiced including a yellowing of the skin and other organs," court documents state.
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Infant jaundice is a condition that develops when excess amounts of a yellow pigment called "bilirubin," made when red blood cells break down, circulate in the blood stream. It can cause a yellowing coloration of skin and eyes and is often associated with liver problems. Early treatment is key to ensuring that bilirubin amounts do not spike to dangerous levels, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The Edwards belong to the Followers of Christ, a religious sect that abstains from medical treatment in favor of prayer.
"When asked under what circumstances they would seek medical treatment for Hayden, their answers indicated that they never would and did not think they needed to here," the prosecutors wrote in the court documents.
Currently, Taylor Edwards is pregnant and due to give birth in June or July, courts records state.
"Medical experts indicate that Hayden’s condition may have been caused by a hereditary condition and are concerned that the next child born may also have this condition, which they say is likely treatable with adequate medical care," according to court documents.
Prosecutors in their court filings have requested a judge issue a pretrial release order to require the Edwards turn themselves in at the Clackamas County Jail, be booked and then released on the condition that they will provide any needed medical treatment for their children.
The couple is scheduled to be arraigned May 8 in Clackamas County Circuit Court.
Clackamas County has tried three couples in similar cases, the latest involving Rebecca and Tim Wyland, whose daughter nearly lost vision in on eye from an overgrown mass of blood vessels. In 2011, the Oregon City couple were sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years' probation, The Oregonian reported. The judge also ordered them to comply with any needed medical treatments for their children during the probation period.