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Sam Penrod Reporting A Utah County woman accused of negligent homicide for not getting her daughter medical attention went back to court today. Terece Bundy says her daughter's death from meningitis last year is something she should not be criminally prosecuted for.
Terece Bundy says she is getting a lot of support from who see her prosecution as mean spirited to a parent who lost a daughter to a disease. But prosecutors insist parents have to be held accountable for the health and safety of their children.
Terece Bundy has a lot of supporters who go with her to court. She is charged with negligent homicide after her nine-year old daughter Rachel died of bacterial meningitis. Authorities contend Bundy could have and should have got Rachel proper medical attention, which would have saved her life.
Terece Bundy, Defendant: "What sort of message is the county attorney trying to send to Utah families and really to families of the nation and to mothers, when they can prosecute for things such as this? It's kind of scary for those other moms out there, wondering if they are the next one."
Prosecutors have said they have evidence to prove Bundy tried treating Rachel's illness at home, and only took her to a chiropractor instead of a doctor. But Bundy's attorney disagrees.
Steve Russell, Defense Attorney: "I've looked at all the evidence and they don't have a case. And so, from my perspective and others with whom I've consulted, I don't see they have any hope of prevailing at trial."
Bundy's attorney says prosecutors have already offered a plea deal, if Bundy will get court ordered counseling. But he says it is a larger issue and one that Bundy will fight.
Steve Russell, Defense Attorney: "She's not going to stand there and admit that she's guilty of negligent homicide. She's not; there are some people who would cop a plea in order to get the whole thing over with, but that's not who Terece is."
Terece Bundy, Defendant: "There's a lot of concerned people out there and they love me and they love freedom and they love what this country is all about."
We will get to hear the evidence against Bundy when prosecutors take her case to a preliminary hearing at the end of August. That's when a judge will decide if there is enough evidence against her to have a trial.
