A nationally known expert in the study of Munchausen syndrome by proxy testified yesterday that a Butler County couple who lost custody of their children last fall are "normal parents" who were swept up in the medical community's confusion over a neurological disease that is difficult to diagnose.
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Dr. Loren Pankratz, a medical psychologist and clinical professor with the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, told Butler County juvenile court he flew to Pittsburgh at his own expense and is foregoing his usual $15,000 witness fee because he is convinced that Mannie and Ron Taimuty-Loomis are innocent of accusations that they concocted a set of medical ailments for two of their three children.
It was an explosive hearing, not just for the dramatic testimony on the opening day of the defense's case, but also for the display of tempers that led to two defense lawyers being arrested by sheriff's deputies at the direction of juvenile court Master Joe Brydon, who is presiding over the case.
Defense attorney Mildred Sweeney and her daughter, co-counsel Flora Sweeney, of Cranberry, were brought before President Judge Thomas Doerr on contempt of court charges. The elder Sweeney was arrested after she yelled at Brydon for referring to her repeated objections as "embellishments," and the younger attorney was accused by Brydon of failing to follow his orders when she tried to accompany her mother with the sheriff's deputies. Mildred Sweeney was held in contempt and ordered to pay a $100 fine. The daughter was not fined.
Pankratz testified he has been studying the range of "patients who deceive in the medical setting" for 30 years and has been hired by prosecutors, defense attorneys, insurance companies and the Roman Catholic Church as an expert in medical deception. "I have no agenda, no axe to grind. I call each case like I see it," he said.
When it comes to the Taimuty-Loomises, Pankratz said he is convinced they are the victims of false allegations of Munchausen syndrome by proxy -- a psychological disorder that involves a parent, usually the mother, causing or reporting medical symptoms that lead to medical interventions.
The Taimuty-Loomis children -- Ezra, Adia and Symia, now ages 7, 5, and 2, respectively -- were taken from their home in September by Butler County Children and Youth Services. CYS said Mannie Taimuty-Loomis manipulated doctors into giving Ezra and Symia narcotic drugs and feeding tubes.
The parents contend that Ezra, and possibly Symia, have mitochondrial disease, in which the mitochondira -- the part of the cell responsible for energy production -- fails to work properly.
CYS Solicitor Dan Houlihan presented testimony during 10 court days from medical and school professionals, contrasting pictures of children who were failing to thrive when under the parents' care and who now are doing well in foster care.
Pankratz said he has found the "separation test" to be unreliable proof of Munchausen's because children's conditions can improve for a variety of reasons, including changes in medical treatment.
He said that if he were the Taimuty-Loomises, he would be predisposed to believing the children had mitochondrial disease because of medical symptoms that were objectively noted by doctors as well as medical indications that a sibling, Jonah, had died just shy of his third birthday in January 2001 from complications of the disease, which often runs in families.
Pankratz said the couple are "worthy parents" who "were caught up in the doctors' differences of opinions as to how the children should be managed medically. ... The symptoms and treatment of these children were not driven by the imaginations of the parents."
The defense case is expected to continue today with testimony from an expert in mitochondrial disease who defense attorneys say will testify that Ezra has the disorder. The case is expected to be concluded this week.
First Published: April 19, 2005, 4:00 a.m.
