LaBrie Found Guilty Of Keeping Cancer Treatment From Son

06:09

April 13, 2011

Kristen LaBrie looks at family and friends after being found guilty on all four criminal counts, including attempted murder at Lawrence Superior Court, Tuesday. (AP)

It took a jury in Essex County less than seven hours on Wednesday to find Kristen LaBrie guilty of attempted murder.

LaBrie is the North Shore women who, by her own admission, withheld life-saving cancer treatment from her young son, Jeremy Fraser, following his 2006 diagnosis with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

At first, doctors put Jeremy's odds of survival as high as 90 percent. During her testimony last week, however, LaBrie said she worried treatment was doing her son more harm than good. Without medication, his lymphoma developed into leukemia and he died in hospice care in 2009 at the age of nine.

LaBrie’s attorney, Kevin James, has requested that sentencing be delayed until Friday. LaBrie's attempted murder conviction carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, although legal analysts say she is likely to receive a prison term of up to seven-and-a-half years.

Guest:

Milton Valencia, reporter, Boston Globe

This segment aired on April 13, 2011.