Girl Was Subject of Abuse Files

A girl whose parents are charged with murder in her starvation death was the subject of 15 earlier child abuse complaints that authorities could not substantiate, according to court papers.

Prosecutors alleged that reports state Lindsay Gentry showed bruises, a bloody nose, a black eye and belt marks at various times before her death on Feb. 6, 1996, at age 15.

The revelations, contained in the murder file against her parents, Michael and Kathleen Gentry, allege that the girl repeatedly told teachers and nurses that her father hit or pushed her.

The document, filed by the Los Angeles district attorney’s office, show that from the time she was 6, Lindsay was the subject of abuse complaints, often from teachers, in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

In one case, the girl held a social worker’s hand and asked her not to leave because she was scared. In every case, she was left with her parents, who face trial in Van Nuys Superior Court next week for her death.

One investigation was closed after a social worker noted that the child “would be a very poor witness in a court hearing and there should be evidence or else parents say they will take legal action.”

Officials with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services handled nine complaints since 1988. The Orange County Division of Children and Family Services received six complaints in 1987 and 1988.

Orange County officials declined to comment. Los Angeles County officials said they conducted an internal investigation after Lindsay’s death and found the complaints were handled appropriately.

“We are absolutely satisfied that the social workers exercised their best judgment with the information they had at the time,” Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services spokesman Neil Rincover said. “Without getting into the facts, the allegations were handled by a number of social workers. They did involve police officers and doctors.”

Defense lawyer David Houchin, who is representing Lindsay’s mother, said the complaints were never sustained because the Gentrys never abused Lindsay.

“Everyone knows DCFS is on you like a cheap suit after a complaint. I know that they investigate so well,” Houchin said. “They will go after anyone after an allegation, even when there is a recantation. They don’t just turn you loose.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathleen Cady, who filed a motion to exclude the social workers’ findings, declined to comment.

Houchin said he expects the case to center on experts’ testimony of what caused Lindsay’s death. Lindsay, who was born with myotonic dystrophy, a rare neurological disease similar to muscular dystrophy, was mildly retarded and disabled.

When she died, a pathologist initially determined she had died of the disease. A contributing factor was extreme malnutrition caused by starvation, but that did not alarm doctors, as her illness can lead to problems with eating.

In an interview with The Times, Michael Gentry has called the charges a vendetta sparked by school officials who were upset when he pulled his daughter from school in favor of home tutoring in 1995.

Between April 1987 and June 1988, Lindsay’s teachers and school nurses reported abuse to child welfare workers on four occasions after finding belt marks and a black eye.

Some examples from the prosecutor’s file:

* The first complaint on record was on April 20, 1987. A school nurse reported belt marks on Lindsay. “Father denies abusing minor, admitted used the belt one time only on minor’s buttocks,” the file reads.

* Three months later, Orange County officials closed another case referred by a school nurse, involving a black eye. The case could not be substantiated, the filing states.

When the Gentrys moved from Anaheim to Palmdale in 1988, an Orange County social worker sent a 25-page report to Los Angeles County child welfare workers. That report stated that the evidence against the parents included bruising and the girl’s repeated absences.

“Unfortunately there was not enough time in Orange County to develop a case strong enough to call in police until it was too late,” the investigator wrote.

* Three months after the family moved to Los Angeles County, a school nurse in Palmdale complained to a social worker after Lindsay allegedly said her father pushed her. But the following month, the investigator closed the file, stating: “time limit expired. Unable to substantiate any of the allegations.”

* On two occasions, the couple’s oldest daughter accused her mother of beating the disabled girl.

* In November 1993, Lindsay suffered a bloody nose, swollen lip and a bruise on the bridge of her nose. She told school officials and a social worker that her father had hit her.

But the social worker decided, according to court files, that the allegations “are unsubstantiated as minor is developmentally disabled and cognitive level is low. She is unable to protect self; this is a repeat referral. Case open to ensure minor’s safety.”

The case was later assigned to another worker who closed it, noting that the abuse allegations were “not completely substantiated.”

The Gentrys were charged with premeditated murder last summer after a medical expert reviewing the case told police the child died from neglect.

The key issue in the trial is the cause of death. Lindsay’s parents say she was the victim of the congenital disease, which wastes muscles. In some cases, face and neck muscles are affected, making it difficult for the victim to eat, authorities said.