Pathologist Cites Malnutrition in Teen Girl’s Death

In a dramatic shift in testimony that caused the defense to challenge its own witness, a pathologist who examined the body of Lindsay Gentry testified Tuesday that the disabled girl had died of her disease but malnutrition was a possible contributing cause.

At the retrial of Lindsay’s parents, Michael and Kathleen “Katrina” Gentry, Dr. G. Hossein Pezeshkpour, who performed the February 1996 autopsy on the girl, said he believed Lindsay either died of myotonic dystrophy or a combination of the disease and malnutrition.

But last year at the Gentrys’ first trial, which ended in a hung jury, Pezeshkpour testified that Lindsay “died of her muscle-wasting disease rather than malnutrition,” said defense attorney Patrick Thomason, pointing out discrepancies in the doctor’s statements.

The question is central to the case against her parents, who are charged with involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and conspiracy for allegedly failing to provide enough food for their daughter, who was 4-foot-10 and weighed 44 pounds when she died at age 15.

The prosecution in the trial before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John S. Fisher alleged that the Gentrys physically abused and neglected the girl over a period of years, and that she eventually died from starvation.

Defense attorneys for the Lake Los Angeles couple contend the girl died from the degenerative disease that crooked her back and gave her severe cataracts.

Last year, a jury deadlocked on whether the Gentrys were guilty of murder. They have steadfastly maintained their innocence, rejecting at least three proposed plea bargains, the last of which would have allowed them to go free after pleading guilty to child endangerment. The couple are risking up to 10 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

On Tuesday, Pezeshkpour also said that some but not all of Lindsay’s malnutrition could be explained by her disease.

Lindsay’s autopsy showed that she had “mild degenerative changes” in the upper part of her esophagus, which suggests problems with swallowing, Pezeshkpour said.

“The basic problem with myotonic dystrophy is that the muscle does not relax,” Pezeshkpour said. “If the food is trying to go down . . . it may take some time to relax.”

The girl’s facial muscles were also so emaciated that her chin dropped down, the pathologist said. “We can infer from that that she had problems with chewing.”

Pezeshkpour’s statements challenged medical experts for the prosecution who testified earlier that myotonic dystrophy wasn’t known to cause malnutrition and that a test showed that Lindsay didn’t have trouble swallowing.

But when questioned by Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathleen Cady, Pezeshkpour said problems with swallowing and chewing can only explain “some percentage” of the girl’s apparent malnutrition.

Also Tuesday, Lindsay’s pediatrician testified that Katrina Gentry came to her in late 1995 with concerns about her daughter’s decrease in appetite.

Dr. Nancy Monyak MacKenzie said she conferred with both mother and daughter. “Patient said she does not want to eat because her teeth hurt,” she read from her notes.

The mother and the pediatrician discussed tube feeding and hospitalization for the girl. “[Lindsay] listened and did not seem to like the idea of tubes in her stomach,” the doctor noted, adding that she recommended nutritional supplements and better dental care.