A Pennsylvania woman accused of starving her 11-month-old baby was in court Tuesday.
According to investigators, Elizabeth Hawk, 33, told a Children and Youth Services worker that she eats a “vegan lifestyle diet” and so do her children. Police, however, said it was abuse and charged the Fayette County woman with child endangerment.
A police complaint said the baby developed a rash and that Hawk refused to use steroid cream because she didn’t believe in western medicine. Instead, she applied coconut oil.
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The boy’s father said the baby suffered with the rash for eight months until he took him to a child-abuse doctor in August.
The father also testified he believes his son is developmentally delayed because he was only eating nuts and berries. He said the boy wasn’t crawling, standing or reaching milestones. The boy also didn’t have any teeth.
According to testimony, a CYS worker met with the boy and said he was not active and had a severe lobster-red, blistering rash all over his body.
Hawk’s defense attorney said her actions were not criminal, but a judge disagreed. She was taken to the Fayette County Jail.
The boy is in the custody of his father, along with his two siblings. His father told the court the baby is doing very well. The rash is gone and he is starting to progress developmentally.
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