A Religious Group Takes the Heat
True Living Church Statement
TLC Manti files Gives Finks Press
Chris Fink Gets 18 Month Prison Sentence
Media Claims Diet Divinely Inspired
Father admits starving infant son
11/05/99
By Stephen Hunt / Salt Lake City Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - After more than a year of denials, Christopher Fink pleaded guilty to felony child abuse Wednesday, admitting he and his wife, Kyndra, starved their 20-month-old son with a diet of fruits, nuts and vegetables.
Fink believed the so-called "fruitarian diet" would make his family healthier and thereby give them better access to their spirituality, said defense attorney David Biggs.
But while such a diet might be fine for adults, 10 months without fat, protein or dairy products nearly killed young David Fink, according to medical experts.
Fink, 24, pleaded guilty to second-degree felony child abuse. A child-kidnapping charge - for snatching the boy from Primary Children's Medical Center where he was in temporary state custody - was dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Fink also pleaded guilty to class A misdemeanor attempted aggravated assault for injuring a nurse's aide who was thrown to the pavement as she tried to stop the Finks' car.
When Fink appears in court Jan. 7, Senior Judge Roger Bean will likely send him to prison for a 90-day evaluation. Bean could ultimately send Fink to prison for up to 15 years.
Kyndra Fink was not in court Wednesday but was clearly implicated in several statements of admission in Christopher's written plea agreement which began, "I and my wife ... "
Kyndra Fink is scheduled for trial Jan. 11.
Biggs said Christopher Fink's feelings have "changed dramatically" from when he was arrested in October 1998 in the Montana wilderness.
Biggs said he has spent months talking with Fink about his "fruitarian" diet philosophy. Biggs has also read scores of nutrition articles suggested by Fink.
"He gave me all his best arguments and I said I was not impressed," Biggs said. "I gave the opposing viewpoint. He came to the conclusion he was very reckless in how he had treated his son.
"He called one day and asked if he could change his plea. He said the last thing he wanted was to be the cause of his son's pain."
The boy's malnourished condition had prompted acquaintances to take the boy to Kyndra Fink's sister. The sister took the boy to Primary Children's Medical Center, where state social workers took temporary custody of the boy.
Though 20 months old, the boy weighed only 15 pounds - the average weight of a 5-month-old. A doctor described his condition as "severe and life-threatening."
While visiting the hospital, the Finks received verbal notification from a caseworker that the boy was going to a foster home. But before that could happen, the Finks spirited the boy from the hospital on Sept. 19, 1998, and fled to Montana, where Kyndra gave birth to a second son in a tent.
The Finks were arrested 16 days later.
Both children now are in foster care. Prosecutor Dane Nolan said Christopher Fink's conviction could be a "big step" toward termination of his parental rights.
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©1999 The Dallas Morning News
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