OREGON CITY, Ore. (RNS) A medical expert testified Thursday (July 9) that a 15-month-old who died when her parents chose faith-healing over traditional medicine was killed by a fast-acting bacteria and not the consequences of long-term medical neglect, as prosecutors have argued.

Dr. Janice Ophoven, a defense witness in the trial of the girl’s parents,disputed several doctors who concluded that Ava Worthington died from complications of a cyst that interfered with swallowing and breathing, leaving her weakened and susceptible to infection.

The girl’s parents, Carl and Raylene Worthington, belong to a church that believes in faith healing and rejects medical treatment. The charges against them are based on their failure to provide adequate medical care for their daughter.

Ophoven said the Worthingtons are not criminals. She said Ava was a chubby baby of short stature who showed no sign of medical neglect or failure to thrive, as prosecutors allege.

The death of a child in Ava’s situation was unforeseeable and unavoidable, she said. Ophoven said the doctors misread the evidence and were led astray by flawed autopsy results.

The Worthingtons and several friends and family members who saw Ava in her last 48 hours said she appeared to have a bad cold but was active, eating, playful and gave no indication she would soon die.

She died from a pneumonia that quickly took root and the infection moved through her like a “flash flood,” Ophoven said.

The girl’s immunity may have been weakened from a cold she had around Christmas but there is no evidence that Ava suffered from a lengthy illness on March 2, 2008 when she suddenly stopped breathing.

“This is a child that got sick and died in a little bit over 24 hours,” Ophoven said.

— Steve Mayes