The faith-healing parents of a infant twin who died earlier this year, just hours after being born, have been charged with murder in connection to her death. The couple are practitioners of the “Followers of Christ” church – a group that doesn’t believe in medical care and instead relies on prayer and anointment with oil for healing.
Sarah Mitchell, 24, and Travis Mitchell, 21, home birthed twin girls at their home in Oregon City when one of the infants died hours later due to breathing problems.
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State Medical Examiner Dr. Karen Gunson told KATU News she isn’t sure if Gennifer would have survived if she was taken immediately to the hospital, but said it would have given her a chance. Dr. Gunson performed the infant’s autopsy and ruled the infant died of complications of prematurity, specifically relating to oxygen intake from the lungs. She’s not sure how premature the baby was, but estimates Mitchell gave birth about two months early. h/t katu
Travis and Sarah Mitchell have been charged with murder and criminal mistreatment in Clackamas County.