Duluth Father Who Refused Baby Medical Treatment Convicted

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — A Gwinnett County man who insisted his dying baby be treated with prayer, not medicine, has been convicted of murder.

Herbert "George" Landell, 27, of Duluth, was sentenced to 30 years, with 20 to serve in prison, on Monday after a jury convicted him of second-degree murder.

Landell's daughter, Nevaeh, died on March 25, 2015, at 77 days old, weighing less than she did at birth.

Prosecutors say Landell and his wife, Lauren Fristed, fed the baby breast milk diluted with water because Fristed was not producing enough milk naturally.

"Instead of seeking medical assistance, the defendant advised her to add water to the milk in order to make the baby feel more satisfied," the Gwinnett County District Attorney's office said in a news release. "Because of their religious beliefs, they refrained from taking Nevaeh to any pediatrician for well-baby checkups."

Also due to those beliefs, Fristed had not received any prenatal care and the couple attempted a home birth without any professional medical care.

"They believed that through prayer and laying hands on the baby that she would be healed from any illness or sickness," prosecutors said in the release.

Nevaeh died from excess water intake and malnutrition, which caused her organs to be underdeveloped and her brain to swell, prosecutors said.

According to testimony in Landell's trial, multiple people advised the couple to get government assistance through programs like WIC and Peach Care, but they refused, again saying prayer would be enough.

On the day Neveah died, she turned blue, her eyes crossed, she vomited a brown substance and her body seemed lifeless and fatigued, according to prosecutors.

At that point, Fristed was "hysterically begging" for them to take her to a hospital, but Landell only did so when the child was near death. She was dead by the time they reached the hospital.

According to news reports at the time of his arrest, the former Publix supermarket worker told police that an "evil spirit" had been attacking the child and that he had battled the spirit with prayer.

Landell testified during his trial, denying any responsibility for the baby's death and saying he was exercising his religious rights. He attempted to shift the blame toward his wife.

Fristed already had pleaded guilty in the case. She was sentenced to 20 years, with 10 of them to be served incarcerated.

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