Posted 4/18/2003 1:54 PM Updated 4/18/2003 2:01 PM

3 face trial in Kansas boy's duct-tape death

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) A judge has ordered a couple and their son's babysitter to stand trial for killing the 9-year-old boy, who authorities say suffocated after being wrapped head to toe with duct tape for stealing food.

After a daylong hearing Thursday, Judge John Bennett found sufficient evidence to try the three for the Dec. 30 death of Brian Edgar.

Neil Edgar Sr., 47; Christy Edgar, 46; and Chasity Boyd, 19, also face charges for abusing two of their other children. The Edgars also have two sons, ages 16 and 12, and a 9-year-old daughter.

The Edgars are pastors of God's Christian Outreach Ministry in Kansas City, Kan., and Boyd is a member of the storefront church. Five other church members face charges of abusing Brian Edgar.

Attorneys for the Edgars and Boyd entered innocent pleas for them on all counts.

A gag order has been issued in the case. Robert Kuchar, an attorney for Boyd, said that while he could not discuss his client's case in detail, "We look forward to the opportunity to present a full picture at a jury trial."

Prosecutors alleged that the Edgars and Boyd systematically abused the Edgars' children, who were all adopted, as punishment for taking food or sneaking water from the kitchen faucet.

The 16-year-old son testified that his parents were punishing Brian for stealing food by wrapping him "like a mummy" with duct tape and had even gone to the store to buy six more rolls of tape.

The teen told the court that on the night of Dec. 29, his mother and Boyd had wrapped Brian in duct tape until only his nose showed, and then Boyd carried him into a small storage room where he was placed on a sleeping bag.

Brian wasn't breathing when his parents checked on him the next morning, and his father took him to the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Richard Dietz, an emergency room physician, testified that Neil Edgar said he had given Brian an herbal sleep aid containing melatonin to keep him from waking up and stealing food, and asked if melatonin could have killed his son. The doctor said he answered no; an autopsy found no trace of melatonin.

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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