A Pennsylvania couple have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment after their toddler daughter died of a common ear infection according to the Press & Sun-Bulletin on June 11, 2015.
Hope Elizabeth Delozier, 18 months old, was pronounced dead on March 23, 2015 after her father took her to a local emergency room in Towanda, PA for treatment. Hope was pronounced dead shortly after arriving to the hospital. An autopsy revealed that the toddler died due to an untreated common ear infection that led to an abscess. Because the abscess was left untreated, the infection ultimately turned into streptococcus pneumonia meningitis. According to Meningitis.org, streptococcus pneumonia meningitis is a bacterial infection which is treatable if caught early. Nearly half of the survivors wind up with some sort of brain damage as it causes inflammation to the brain.
The child’s mother, Christine Delozier, 34, told police she didn’t believe in conventional medicine or vaccinations, preferring to treat Hope’s ear infection homeopathically. Hope’s father Ebed Delozier, 29, along with his wife Christine, also cited financial hardships as a reason for failing to get Hope medical attention. The Deloziers, along with their other young children, live in a camper in rural Pennsylvania.
According to the Daily Mail, Christine Delozier told a nurse at the Towanda Memorial Hospital emergency room that the toddler was experiencing labored breathing but that she did not believe in giving the children antibiotics. Christine seemed more concerned about the medical staff performing treatment than the consequences of refusing treatment according to one nurse who treated Hope. Experts have told WBNG 12 News that a simple antibiotic treatment administered when symptoms started would have more than likely saved Hope’s life. The timeline between when Hope got sick to when she died was only a couple of weeks.
Ebed Delozier said he thought Hope was getting better.
The Deloziers were arrested on June 10. According to the Press & Sun-Bulletin, Mr. Delozier had an unrelated active warrant open at the time of his arrest and was sent to a local correctional facility. Christine Delozier was released on no-cash bail.