Witness Says Sect Leader Tried To Bring Boy Back From The Dead

Associated Press/October 1, 1988

Spokane -- A former elder of the "No-Name Fellowship" has testified that sect leader Douglas Kleber tried to raise Aaron Norman from the dead after the 10-year-old boy died of untreated juvenile diabetes.

Steven Arden testified yesterday that elders and the boy's father also tried cardiopulmonary resuscitation without success.

Bob Norman, 43, is on trial for first-degree manslaughter in the death of his son Dec. 20 at the family home in Mead, a suburb north of the city.

Arden told a Spokane County Superior Court jury that Jeffrey Siegel, former pastor of the Spokane fellowship, encouraged Kleber to try to resurrect the boy.

Siegel's wife, Terri, testified that she told Kleber two days before the boy died that she feared he had diabetes. She added that Kleber, whose sect distrusted doctors and practiced strict physical discipline, told her not to worry and assured her the boy would be all right.

"I told him I was afraid Aaron was going to die," Mrs. Siegel said. "I told him I would rather see him on insulin than dead."

Two local doctors testified that the boy would have been obviously ill during the days before his death and could have been saved if he had been taken to a physician.

"I would say he would have appeared to be very, very sick," said Dr. Barry Gould, a diabetes specialist.

The doctors also said a spanking given the boy the day before he died probably caused stress that worsened his condition. Bob Norman and Kleber spanked the boy to try to make him confess sin they believed was causing the illness.

Under cross-examination, the doctors said the onset of diabetes can be rapid.

Defense attorney Roger Peven contends the parents had little time to consider the seriousness of their son's illness because his condition deteriorated quickly.

On Monday, Jeffrey Siegel testified that Norman could have sought hospital care for his dying son had he wished, although the sect preached against conventional medicine.

When church elders discussed that option the day before Aaron died, Norman said, "My heart is in faith, and I don't feel I want to do that at this point," Siegel told a packed courtroom.

Siegel pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree criminal mistreatment in Aaron's death.

Kleber, founder of the now-defunct fellowship, has pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal mistreatment and also is expected to testify at Norman's trial. The former University of Illinois football player started the fellowship in the 1970s as a Bible-based study group.

Sect Leader Gets Three Years

Associated Press/October 28, 1988

Spokane -- The founder of an athletes' prayer group that prosecutors say became a destructive cult was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison for his part in the death of a boy whose parents belonged to the Christian sect.

Doug Kleber, 34, of Champaign-Urbana, Ill., pleaded guilty in October to second-degree criminal mistreatment in the death of Aaron Norman, 10. The boy died of untreated juvenile diabetes Dec. 20, 1987.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge John Schultheis cited Kleber's position of trust and the cruelty of discipline against the boy in going outside the standard 90-day sentence for the crime.

The judge ordered Kleber to serve his sentence in Washington state, rejecting a request by attorney Richard Bechtolt that the sentence be served in Illinois, where Kleber lives with his wife and three children.

Schultheis also swept aside Kleber's plea for mercy.

Speaking in a low, husky voice, Kleber told the court, "It is hard to put into words the pain, the shame, the sorrow of the last year." Kleber said he loved Aaron Norman and was sorry that he participated in, and was responsible for, the events that led to the boy's death.

Bechtolt said an appeal of the sentence would be considered.

Kleber, a former University of Illinois football player, founded the Bible-based prayer group of Christian athletes at the university in 1976.

The group's former Spokane pastor, Jeffrey Siegel, 33, formerly from Illinois, pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal mistreatment in the case and was sentenced in November to 24 months in prison.

Sentencing for Bobby Norman, 43, Aaron Norman's father, is scheduled for Tuesday. Norman was convicted in October of first-degree manslaughter for failing to seek medical attention for his gravely ill son.

The boy died the day after he was spanked by Kleber and his father during a faith-healing session watched by Siegel and other leaders of the fellowship. The sect believed the beatings were necessary to get the boy to confess his sins and be healed, members testified during Norman's trial.

Deacon Found Guilty In Son's Death From Diabetes

Associated Press/October 19, 1988

Spokane -- A jury yesterday convicted the former deacon of a faith-healing sect of first-degree manslaughter in his son's death from untreated juvenile diabetes.

Bobby Dan Norman, 43, was charged in the death of his 10-year-old son, Aaron, at the family's home near Spokane on Dec. 20, 1987. A similar charge against his wife, Judith, was dismissed before the case went to trial.

The Spokane County Superior Court jury received the case Wednesday after nearly three weeks of testimony, and the verdict was announced late yesterday afternoon after about 10 hours of deliberation.

The Normans were members of a nameless faith-healing Christian sect that eschewed conventional medicine and practiced strict discipline of both children and adults.

Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Clark Colwell declined to say whether he will ask for a sentence outside the standard 31- to 41-month range for first-degree manslaughter.

In closing arguments, Colwell depicted Norman as a "fanatic" who recklessly failed to seek medical attention for his son, who exhibited symptoms of juvenile diabetes in the days before his death.

But defense attorney Roger Peven argued that Norman was a man whose life was controlled by sect leaders and said religious fervor blinded his client to the boy's illness.

Witnesses testified the gravely ill boy was spanked and harshly interrogated by his father and sect founder Doug Kleber the day before his death. The beatings were an effort to get the boy to confess sins, which the men believed were making him ill, witnesses testified.

Kleber and former Spokane pastor Jeffrey Siegel, both 34 and from Champaign-Urbana, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree criminal mistreatment. Three other former elders of the fellowship, which disbanded shortly after the boy died, face trial on similar charges next year.

Before the sect disbanded in February, it claimed about 300 adult members in fellowships in Washington, Illinois, Texas and New Jersey.

Witness Says Sect Leader Tried To Bring Boy Back From The Dead

Associated Press/October 1, 1988

Spokane -- A former elder of the "No-Name Fellowship" has testified that sect leader Douglas Kleber tried to raise Aaron Norman from the dead after the 10-year-old boy died of untreated juvenile diabetes.

Steven Arden testified yesterday that elders and the boy's father also tried cardiopulmonary resuscitation without success.

Bob Norman, 43, is on trial for first-degree manslaughter in the death of his son Dec. 20 at the family home in Mead, a suburb north of the city.

Arden told a Spokane County Superior Court jury that Jeffrey Siegel, former pastor of the Spokane fellowship, encouraged Kleber to try to resurrect the boy.

Siegel's wife, Terri, testified that she told Kleber two days before the boy died that she feared he had diabetes. She added that Kleber, whose sect distrusted doctors and practiced strict physical discipline, told her not to worry and assured her the boy would be all right.

"I told him I was afraid Aaron was going to die," Mrs. Siegel said. "I told him I would rather see him on insulin than dead."

Two local doctors testified that the boy would have been obviously ill during the days before his death and could have been saved if he had been taken to a physician.

"I would say he would have appeared to be very, very sick," said Dr. Barry Gould, a diabetes specialist.

The doctors also said a spanking given the boy the day before he died probably caused stress that worsened his condition. Bob Norman and Kleber spanked the boy to try to make him confess sin they believed was causing the illness.

Under cross-examination, the doctors said the onset of diabetes can be rapid.

Defense attorney Roger Peven contends the parents had little time to consider the seriousness of their son's illness because his condition deteriorated quickly.

On Monday, Jeffrey Siegel testified that Norman could have sought hospital care for his dying son had he wished, although the sect preached against conventional medicine.

When church elders discussed that option the day before Aaron died, Norman said, "My heart is in faith, and I don't feel I want to do that at this point," Siegel told a packed courtroom.

Siegel pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree criminal mistreatment in Aaron's death.

Kleber, founder of the now-defunct fellowship, has pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal mistreatment and also is expected to testify at Norman's trial. The former University of Illinois football player started the fellowship in the 1970s as a Bible-based study group.

Sect Leader Gets Three Years

Associated Press/October 28, 1988

Spokane -- The founder of an athletes' prayer group that prosecutors say became a destructive cult was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison for his part in the death of a boy whose parents belonged to the Christian sect.

Doug Kleber, 34, of Champaign-Urbana, Ill., pleaded guilty in October to second-degree criminal mistreatment in the death of Aaron Norman, 10. The boy died of untreated juvenile diabetes Dec. 20, 1987.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge John Schultheis cited Kleber's position of trust and the cruelty of discipline against the boy in going outside the standard 90-day sentence for the crime.

The judge ordered Kleber to serve his sentence in Washington state, rejecting a request by attorney Richard Bechtolt that the sentence be served in Illinois, where Kleber lives with his wife and three children.

Schultheis also swept aside Kleber's plea for mercy.

Speaking in a low, husky voice, Kleber told the court, "It is hard to put into words the pain, the shame, the sorrow of the last year." Kleber said he loved Aaron Norman and was sorry that he participated in, and was responsible for, the events that led to the boy's death.

Bechtolt said an appeal of the sentence would be considered.

Kleber, a former University of Illinois football player, founded the Bible-based prayer group of Christian athletes at the university in 1976.

The group's former Spokane pastor, Jeffrey Siegel, 33, formerly from Illinois, pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal mistreatment in the case and was sentenced in November to 24 months in prison.

Sentencing for Bobby Norman, 43, Aaron Norman's father, is scheduled for Tuesday. Norman was convicted in October of first-degree manslaughter for failing to seek medical attention for his gravely ill son.

The boy died the day after he was spanked by Kleber and his father during a faith-healing session watched by Siegel and other leaders of the fellowship. The sect believed the beatings were necessary to get the boy to confess his sins and be healed, members testified during Norman's trial.

Deacon Found Guilty In Son's Death From Diabetes

Associated Press/October 19, 1988

Spokane -- A jury yesterday convicted the former deacon of a faith-healing sect of first-degree manslaughter in his son's death from untreated juvenile diabetes.

Bobby Dan Norman, 43, was charged in the death of his 10-year-old son, Aaron, at the family's home near Spokane on Dec. 20, 1987. A similar charge against his wife, Judith, was dismissed before the case went to trial.

The Spokane County Superior Court jury received the case Wednesday after nearly three weeks of testimony, and the verdict was announced late yesterday afternoon after about 10 hours of deliberation.

The Normans were members of a nameless faith-healing Christian sect that eschewed conventional medicine and practiced strict discipline of both children and adults.

Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Clark Colwell declined to say whether he will ask for a sentence outside the standard 31- to 41-month range for first-degree manslaughter.

In closing arguments, Colwell depicted Norman as a "fanatic" who recklessly failed to seek medical attention for his son, who exhibited symptoms of juvenile diabetes in the days before his death.

But defense attorney Roger Peven argued that Norman was a man whose life was controlled by sect leaders and said religious fervor blinded his client to the boy's illness.

Witnesses testified the gravely ill boy was spanked and harshly interrogated by his father and sect founder Doug Kleber the day before his death. The beatings were an effort to get the boy to confess sins, which the men believed were making him ill, witnesses testified.

Kleber and former Spokane pastor Jeffrey Siegel, both 34 and from Champaign-Urbana, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree criminal mistreatment. Three other former elders of the fellowship, which disbanded shortly after the boy died, face trial on similar charges next year.

Before the sect disbanded in February, it claimed about 300 adult members in fellowships in Washington, Illinois, Texas and New Jersey.

Witness Says Sect Leader Tried To Bring Boy Back From The Dead

Associated Press/October 1, 1988

Spokane -- A former elder of the "No-Name Fellowship" has testified that sect leader Douglas Kleber tried to raise Aaron Norman from the dead after the 10-year-old boy died of untreated juvenile diabetes.

Steven Arden testified yesterday that elders and the boy's father also tried cardiopulmonary resuscitation without success.

Bob Norman, 43, is on trial for first-degree manslaughter in the death of his son Dec. 20 at the family home in Mead, a suburb north of the city.

Arden told a Spokane County Superior Court jury that Jeffrey Siegel, former pastor of the Spokane fellowship, encouraged Kleber to try to resurrect the boy.

Siegel's wife, Terri, testified that she told Kleber two days before the boy died that she feared he had diabetes. She added that Kleber, whose sect distrusted doctors and practiced strict physical discipline, told her not to worry and assured her the boy would be all right.

"I told him I was afraid Aaron was going to die," Mrs. Siegel said. "I told him I would rather see him on insulin than dead."

Two local doctors testified that the boy would have been obviously ill during the days before his death and could have been saved if he had been taken to a physician.

"I would say he would have appeared to be very, very sick," said Dr. Barry Gould, a diabetes specialist.

The doctors also said a spanking given the boy the day before he died probably caused stress that worsened his condition. Bob Norman and Kleber spanked the boy to try to make him confess sin they believed was causing the illness.

Under cross-examination, the doctors said the onset of diabetes can be rapid.

Defense attorney Roger Peven contends the parents had little time to consider the seriousness of their son's illness because his condition deteriorated quickly.

On Monday, Jeffrey Siegel testified that Norman could have sought hospital care for his dying son had he wished, although the sect preached against conventional medicine.

When church elders discussed that option the day before Aaron died, Norman said, "My heart is in faith, and I don't feel I want to do that at this point," Siegel told a packed courtroom.

Siegel pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree criminal mistreatment in Aaron's death.

Kleber, founder of the now-defunct fellowship, has pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal mistreatment and also is expected to testify at Norman's trial. The former University of Illinois football player started the fellowship in the 1970s as a Bible-based study group.

Sect Leader Gets Three Years

Associated Press/October 28, 1988

Spokane -- The founder of an athletes' prayer group that prosecutors say became a destructive cult was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison for his part in the death of a boy whose parents belonged to the Christian sect.

Doug Kleber, 34, of Champaign-Urbana, Ill., pleaded guilty in October to second-degree criminal mistreatment in the death of Aaron Norman, 10. The boy died of untreated juvenile diabetes Dec. 20, 1987.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge John Schultheis cited Kleber's position of trust and the cruelty of discipline against the boy in going outside the standard 90-day sentence for the crime.

The judge ordered Kleber to serve his sentence in Washington state, rejecting a request by attorney Richard Bechtolt that the sentence be served in Illinois, where Kleber lives with his wife and three children.

Schultheis also swept aside Kleber's plea for mercy.

Speaking in a low, husky voice, Kleber told the court, "It is hard to put into words the pain, the shame, the sorrow of the last year." Kleber said he loved Aaron Norman and was sorry that he participated in, and was responsible for, the events that led to the boy's death.

Bechtolt said an appeal of the sentence would be considered.

Kleber, a former University of Illinois football player, founded the Bible-based prayer group of Christian athletes at the university in 1976.

The group's former Spokane pastor, Jeffrey Siegel, 33, formerly from Illinois, pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal mistreatment in the case and was sentenced in November to 24 months in prison.

Sentencing for Bobby Norman, 43, Aaron Norman's father, is scheduled for Tuesday. Norman was convicted in October of first-degree manslaughter for failing to seek medical attention for his gravely ill son.

The boy died the day after he was spanked by Kleber and his father during a faith-healing session watched by Siegel and other leaders of the fellowship. The sect believed the beatings were necessary to get the boy to confess his sins and be healed, members testified during Norman's trial.

Deacon Found Guilty In Son's Death From Diabetes

Associated Press/October 19, 1988

Spokane -- A jury yesterday convicted the former deacon of a faith-healing sect of first-degree manslaughter in his son's death from untreated juvenile diabetes.

Bobby Dan Norman, 43, was charged in the death of his 10-year-old son, Aaron, at the family's home near Spokane on Dec. 20, 1987. A similar charge against his wife, Judith, was dismissed before the case went to trial.

The Spokane County Superior Court jury received the case Wednesday after nearly three weeks of testimony, and the verdict was announced late yesterday afternoon after about 10 hours of deliberation.

The Normans were members of a nameless faith-healing Christian sect that eschewed conventional medicine and practiced strict discipline of both children and adults.

Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Clark Colwell declined to say whether he will ask for a sentence outside the standard 31- to 41-month range for first-degree manslaughter.

In closing arguments, Colwell depicted Norman as a "fanatic" who recklessly failed to seek medical attention for his son, who exhibited symptoms of juvenile diabetes in the days before his death.

But defense attorney Roger Peven argued that Norman was a man whose life was controlled by sect leaders and said religious fervor blinded his client to the boy's illness.

Witnesses testified the gravely ill boy was spanked and harshly interrogated by his father and sect founder Doug Kleber the day before his death. The beatings were an effort to get the boy to confess sins, which the men believed were making him ill, witnesses testified.

Kleber and former Spokane pastor Jeffrey Siegel, both 34 and from Champaign-Urbana, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree criminal mistreatment. Three other former elders of the fellowship, which disbanded shortly after the boy died, face trial on similar charges next year.

Before the sect disbanded in February, it claimed about 300 adult members in fellowships in Washington, Illinois, Texas and New Jersey.