SALEM, Mass. -- Prosecutors say a Beverly woman's decision to withhold cancer medication from her 8-year-old son will likely cost the boy his life.
Kristen Anne LaBrie was released on personal recognizance after pleading not guilty on Monday in Salem District Court to a charge of reckless child endangerment.
Her lawyer, Kevin James, says the charge is baseless and stem from a "contentious divorce."
Prosecutors say the boy, Jeremy, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2006. He was given an 85 to 90 percent chance of survival and had gone into remission.
But authorities say the 36-year-old LaBrie repeatedly canceled Jeremy's chemotherapy appointments and failed to pick up his medications from a pharmacy. Now his survival chances are 10 percent.
The boy's doctor reported the case to the state when the cancer returned.
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