Trial ordered in torture case of Madison teen
MADISON- A Dane County Judge decided Friday that the Madison parents accused of torturing and starving their teenage daughter will go to trial, according to TODAY'S TMJ4's Todd Hicks.
A pediatrician specializing in child abuse testified Friday afternoon that the 15-year-old girl allegedly locked in her family's basement and deprived of food likely would have died if the pattern of abuse continued, according to the Journal Sentinel.
During testimony in court Friday, the doctor who examined the 15-year-old believed to have been tortured and starved by her father Chad Chritton and stepmother Melinda Drabek-Chritton, described her alarming condition.
"We lined up 100 children..same age, she would weigh less than the skinniest or the lowest weighing child in that entire group," said physician Barbara Knox, the medical director of the University of Wisconsin Child Protection Program.
The doctor told the court that in her opinion, the girl is a victim of serial child torture and starvation.
TODAY'S TMJ4 reports that defense attorneys slammed her testimony, saying the girl suffers from psychological issues.
In the end, the judge ruled there is enough evidence to send the parents to trial and if they are found guilty, they could face twenty years in prison.
No trial date has been set.
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