Mom Testifies at 'Rebirthing' Trial

G O L D E N, Colo., April 3, 2001 -- The adoptive mother of the girl who died during a "rebirthing" session tearfully testified today that the 10-year-old underwent years of unsuccessful counseling before her fatal appointment.

Jeane Newmaker wept as she told a Colorado court she consulted counselors, psychologists and therapists to try to find the source of her adopted daughter Candace's outbursts — which ranged from refusing sleep to fits of rage. Newmaker even tried medication to discover the root of the problem.

Candace died during a rebirthing session on April 18, 2000 with psychotherapists Connell Watkins and Julie Ponder, who are on trial in connection with the child's death. Charged with child abuse resulting in death, Watkins and Ponder could each could face up to 48 years in prison if convicted.

"I knew it was provacative therapy and I thought it was our only chance," she said.

Newmaker, who adopted Candace in 1996, said she noticed problems with her daughter almost immediately. She said she resorted to the rebirthing session because none of the other treatments seemed to help Candace.

"Every recommendation was being implemented, but it wasn'thaving an impact. I was very concerned it wasn't going anywhere,"Newmaker said.

Newmaker brought Candace to Watkins' clinic in Evergreen, Colo., to treat her attachment disorder, in which children resist forming loving relationships, becoming unmanageable and violent. The rebirthing therapy was part of a two-week intensive program that cost $7,000.

Videotape Evidence Looming

The therapy was meant to bring Candace closer to her adoptive mother by having the girl push her way out of a blanket to simulate birth. But a 70-minute videotape, which is expected to be seen by jurors, shows Candace begging for her life as she tries to escape the blanket meant to represent a womb.

During the session, prosecutors say, Candace repeatedly told the doctors and Newmaker she couldn't breathe.

Earlier today, the first paramedic to arrive on the scene testified that Candace was cold and blue and showed signs of suffocation.

Defense lawyers argue the death was an accident and the girl had a heart condition that Watkins and Ponder did not know about before the procedure.

Newmaker and two other workers at the clinic are also charged in the death and are scheduled to go on trial later this year.

ABCNEWS' NewsOne and ABC Denver affiliate KMGH contributed to this report.