Lawyer: Birth Defect, Not Vegan Diet Caused Baby's Death

POSTED: 1:39 pm EST January 20, 2005
UPDATED: 1:57 pm EST January 20, 2005

MIAMI -- A Miami-Dade County couple charged with manslaughter have a new attorney today, and he's says the pair are innocent, claiming their vegan lifestyle had nothing to do with their daughter's death.

Joseph and Lamoy Andressohn are accused of contributing to the death of their 5-month-old daughter Woyah by keeping her on a raw food diet. But attorney Ellis Rubin said something else caused the girl's death."

This case is right out of the 'Twilight Zone.' It is perfectly obvious that the little girl did not die from malnutrition as the state has charged," Rubin said. "In reading the autopsy report it is perfectly obvious that there is a gland that controls the immune system and growth that was missing in this little girl."

Rubin is referring to the thymus gland and hopes experts sworn testimony will vindicate his clients.

The autopsy report that Rubin referred to concluded the parents did not feed an adequate diet to their children but classified the death as an "accident." Prosecutors called it manslaughter and child neglect. Investigators have said that at the time of Woyah's death, she weighed just 7 pounds, which was less than her birth weight."

That is not true. There are five different weights -- conflicting weights," said Lamoy today.

Joseph said that when he gets his four other children back he will permit them to eat whatever they want. He said when the children lived with him before, they wanted to eat raw food because they saw him and his wife eating that type of diet.

The Andressohns have not seen their other children since 2003.

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