Teen's father on the stand, denies knowing severity of son's condition

Oregon City faith-healing family were shocked by 16-year-old's sudden death

By Matthew Graham

The Oregon City News, Jan 27, 2010, Updated Jan 27, 2010 (7 Reader comments)

Pool photo / The Oregonian

Clackamas County Deputy District Attorney Greg Horner spoke to the jury last week during the faith-healing trial of Jeff and Marci Beagley. Horner pressed Jeff Beagley during testimony on details of his son's June 2008 death from a treatable urinary illness.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Jeff Beagley told an Oregon City jury Wednesday that despite staying home from work the June 2008 day his 16-year-old son died, spending the whole night before awake talking to Neil, carrying his ill son to the bathroom and family members coming to pray over Neil, he didn’t think Neil’s condition was bad enough that his life was in danger.

“(Neil) didn’t act like he was in pain or say anything about it,” Jeff Beagley said of his son’s condition on the day he died.

“He stops breathing, what happened?” asked attorney Wayne Mackeson.

“I thought about that a lot; I don’t know what I did,” Jeff Beagley said. “I couldn’t believe it. It was such a shock because he didn’t seem like he was that bad that he would die; it was just a total shock.

“Was there any talk about calling 9-1-1,” Mackeson asked.

“Not that I know of,” Jeff Beagley said. “I don’t remember.”

Jeff and Marci Beagley face criminally negligent homicide charges in the faith-healing death of their teenage son, who died June 17, 2008, from complications due to an inflammation in his urinary tract, according to the county medical examiner’s office.

Just the flu

Jeff Beagley testified during most of the day in Clackamas County Circuit Court that he had no idea why Neil died. He said he thought Neil just had the flu.

He also called into question previous testimony. Referring to a food journal the family kept in the week leading to Neil’s death, he said it didn’t account for everything Neil ate.

“I know there was more fed to him than was on that, it wasn’t 100 percent of what he ate,” he said. “It was more to keep track for (his mother) so she knew what she fed him.”

Jeff Beagley said he helped Neil get around the house and get to the bathroom, even sitting in the bathroom with him while Neil used the bathroom on the evening before Neil died. He said he did it more because he was worried about his son falling, not because Neil said he was too weak or light-headed.

Jeff Beagley cried while testifying about the death of his 15-month-old granddaughter, Ava Worthington, three months before Neil died. He cried again, as did Marci Beagley, when reviewing a school assignment Neil had done explaining why he looked up to his father.

God's will?

Prosecutors grilled Beagley, who claimed he hadn’t made statements reported by Oregon City Police Lt. Jim Band. Prosecutors also pressed Beagley on his religious beliefs and whether he ever would have taken Neil to a hospital.

1 | 2 Next Page >>