Accused murderers enter pleas

FALL RIVER, Mass. – The leader of a small Attleboro religious sect, along with his wife and sister, all pleaded innocent Tuesday in the starvation death of his infant son.

They were ordered held on bail.

In indictments returned Monday, Jacques Robidoux was charged with first-degree murder for allegedly “directing the systematic withholding of nourishment” from 10-month-old Samuel, who died in April 1999.

Karen Robidoux was charged with second-degree murder, and Michelle Robidoux Mingo was charged as an accessory before the fact to assault and battery on a child.

The three appeared separately before Judge John A. Tierney, who set bail for Jacques Robidoux at $500,000 cash, for Karen Robidoux at $100,000 cash and for Mingo at $50,000 cash.

Jacques Robidoux and Mingo had been held on contempt charges for months for refusing to testify to a grand jury. Tierney dropped the contempt charges.

The Robidouxs and Mingo did not speak except to enter their pleas. They were accompanied by attorneys appointed by the court after their indictments.

Alan Zwirblis, representing Mingo, asked Tierney to release her on personal recognizance. He told the judge that although the group had refused to testify before a grand jury, they would respect the authority of the court.

“These people will be here each and every time,” he said.

Prosecutor David Frank told the judge the baby’s death was a deliberate act by the adults. “He was starved and killed in a house full of food.”

The 13 members of the Attleboro sect had previously said they do not recognize the legal system and do not prescribe to traditional medicine.

The indictments allege that Mingo prophesied that it was God’s will to withhold food from Samuel, likely out of jealousy, and the Robidouxs went along with it. They watched the baby starve, become nearly comatose, and finally die, prosecutors say.

They had remained silent for months as authorities investigated the disappearance of Samuel and Jeremiah Corneau, the son of sect members David and Rebecca Corneau. Eight members of the group, including the Robidouxs, had been jailed for refusing to respond to the grand jury’s questions.