title:  8-Year-Old Dies Because Her ‘Extremely Religious’ Mother Thinks Doctors Are ‘The Work Of The Devil’
text: A mother describing herself as  extremely religious is being held on suspicion of the murder of her 8-year-old daughter, and the abuse of two younger children, in Newark, New Jersey.The body of 8-year-old Christiana Glenn was found in the family home in October of 2011. The girl had died a slow and agonizing death from severe malnutrition and an untreated broken femur.Her mother, 34-year-old Krisla Rezireksyon Kris underwent an assessment by clinical psychologists at Essex County Jail this week, during which she told mental health professionals that she became  extremely religious  prior to her daughter s death, and began following ever stricter lifestyle rules in an aim to become become  more godly, more spiritual. This involved keeping to a strict and limited diet, regularly fasting, and the avoidance of all modern healthcare   as she felt doctors and medicine do  the work of the devil .In reality, she was starving herself and her children to death, and putting them at great risk of death by treatable disease and illness.This week, Joel Morgan, a clinical neuropsychologist who assessed Kris, testified that she was suffering a mental disorder at the time, and not acting with the intention of hurting her children. Morgan argues that Kris was suffering a mental health crisis which made her vulnerable to the predations of an exploitative Pastor. Further, that this Pastor manipulated Kris into adopting the rules which ultimately killed her child, at the same time as extracting money from her. He stated: She adopted his way of life. She became a zealot and empowered him with having judgment over her and her children in terms of daily activities, prayer, diet, medical health, everything, Despite the testimony, evidence of Kris  educational and employment records was put forward to argue that the mother was of above average intelligence, and functioning well in life at the time of her alleged crimes.Whatever the outcome of the trial, a child is dead, and two others endured a horrible torment and now need to adjust to life without their mother. Featured image via Flickr Creative Commons