Herbalist gets 4 months in jail in the death of a diabetic boy he treated with oils

An herbalist charged in the death of a diabetic teenager he treated with oils instead of insulin was sentenced to four months in jail and fined $5,000 Monday after pleading no contest to child abuse, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office said.

Timothy Morrow, who turns 85 on March 9, was convicted of practicing medicine without a license last week, according to a news release from City Atty. Mike Feuer, but after several days of deliberation, jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the charge of child abuse causing a death.

On Monday, Morrow pleaded no contest to that charge.

In addition to the jail sentence and fine, Morrow was ordered to pay funeral expenses for the boy’s family.

Morrow began treating the 13-year-old in August 2014, when the boy became sick with complications from Type 1 diabetes. The boy’s mother met Morrow at one of his herbal seminars, according to the news release.

Morrow told the boy’s parents to give him herbal oils instead of the usual insulin dosage. The boy, identified in court papers as Edgar L., died the next day. The medical examiner determined he would have survived had he received proper medical care.

As part of his sentencing, Morrow was warned that if he continued his practice and it led to someone else’s death, he could be charged with murder.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra