Jury Sees Fatal 'Rebirth' Video

G O L D E N, Colo., April 5, 2001 -- Colorado jurors wept today as they watched the videotape of a girl fighting for her life during a "rebirthing" session that led to her death.

Therapists Connell Watkins, 54, and Julie Ponder, 40, are on trial for the death of 10-year-old Candace Newmaker following a rebirthing therapy session last year. Candace was being treated for reactive attachment disorder, a condition where children avoid forming loving relationships and often become disruptive and violent.

During the session, Candace was supposed to force her way out of a blanket, becoming "reborn" to form a bond with her adoptive mother.

Today jurors saw that Candace's session went tragically wrong as the 70-minute video showed the girl pleading with Watkins and Ponder to let her out of the blanket.

"I'm dying! … It feels like I'm dying!" Candace cried as Watkins, Ponder and two of their assistants pushed pillows against both sides of the girl.

At the end of the session, the therapists unwrapped Candace and found her not breathing. Efforts to revive her failed and medical examiners later determined she died of asphyxiation.

Jurors wiped their eyes as they watched the video; one juror put her hands over her mouth in shock.

Sensing Alarm in Their Voices

On Wednesday, Candace's adoptive mother, Jeane Newmaker — who faces trial later this year for criminally negligent child abuse in the death — testified that she never knew rebirthing was a controversial practice and that Watkins and Ponder had only conducted the technique five times before meeting Candace. [Compared to Candace's 70-minute session, the two therapists' longest previous rebirthing sessions lasted only 6 minutes.]

Newmaker told jurors she watched Candace's rebirthing from a TV monitor and remembered Watkins and Ponder claiming the girl was sleeping. But, Newmaker said, she sensed there was something wrong.

"I heard alarm in their voice," Newmaker said. "I thought she [Candace] was dead. She was blue, and she wasn't moving."

The defense says Candace's death was a tragic accident and that the child suffered from a heart condition the two therapists were unaware of before the session. Charged with reckless child abuse resulting in death, Watkins and Ponder could face up to 48 years in prison if convicted.

ABC Denver affiliate KMGH contributed to this report.