PROVO — Attorneys in the case of a Saratoga Springs couple charged with starving their two adopted Russian children say they are prepared to call more than 100 witnesses when the case goes to trial next January.
In what may be one of the largest jury trials ever seen in 4th District Court, the trial of Reed and Teresa Hansen may last as long as five weeks, according to the request made by attorneys during a hearing Tuesday.
"This is going to be a very complex case," said Phil Danielson, one of the defense attorneys.
Danielson also said they will argue in court that the two children suffered from a condition known among some child therapists as reactive attachment disorder.
Although strongly debated as a legitimate diagnosis in many children, proponents say children diagnosed with the disorder have a difficult time bonding with a parent. Adopted children are diagnosed most often.
Reed and Teresa Hansen are both charged with two second-degree felony counts of child abuse and neglect and one class A misdemeanor count of child abuse. The couple pleaded not guilty in late April.
Prosecutors allege the couple starved two of their three adopted Russian children — a 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl — by withholding food from them as a form of punishment.
The couple is also accused of locking the boy in the bathroom without food, clothing or bedding, forcing the boy to sleep in the bathtub.
Danielson and Sheldon Carter, who also is mounting the legal defense, claim the two children were suffering from pre-existing medical conditions. That explains why they appeared malnourished, they say.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Sherry Ragan said medical experts will be asked to testify that the malnourished state of the children was not the result of a pre-existing medical condition.
Danielson said family members and neighbors will testify the Hansens were fit parents.
The defense, Danielson said, will also call their own medical experts to the stand.
The Hansens, who appeared in court Tuesday, held hands during the hearing and smiled. According to state child and family services officials, the couple's children were placed in foster care after charges were filed last year.
Danielson said their biological children have since been returned home and have been with them for several months. The three adopted Russian children have been adopted by other families.
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