Felony charges held for couple accused of starving daughter
Felony charges were held for an Allison couple accused of starving their adopted daughter.
Jennifer Ann Havrilesko, 40, and Edwin Paul Havrilesko, 40, had a simple assault charge against them dropped after a preliminary hearing Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge Jesse Cramer. Aggravated assault and other charges were held.
Dr. Adelaide Eichman, a child advocate at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, testified the girl was near death when she was admitted to the hospital in July 2014 for severe malnourishment. She was 13 at the time, and Eichman said she weighed 48 pounds less than she weighed when she was 7.
“When I first met [the girl] she was very ill. She was very thin. She was having trouble breathing,” she said.
She said the girl had sores, low muscle growth, heart rate, temperature and blood pressure, all consistent with starvation. She was put on a breathing tube.
Eichman said the girl was admitted to the hospital when she was taken to a followup appointment for an unrelated medical issue. That doctor, who specialized in neuroscience, noticed she had infected sores on her ankles and admitted her to the hospital.
Eichman said without this hospitalization, she “likely would have died.”
She said the girl gained weight in the hospital, indicating she was able to gain and maintain weight.
The July 2014 hospital stay was her third in about two years, according to medical records addressed at the hearing. The girl also saw about 18 doctors in this period.
She was also admitted to a psychiatric ward for a possible eating disorder, but it was determined she liked to eat and was was willing to eat, Eichman said.
The girl, now 15, testified that her adoptive parents fed her. She had visible marks on her wrists, which she said were from the sores that were treated during her July 2014 hospital stay. But, she said, the sores came from a 5-year-old boy who would attack her.
“They were doing everything they could to help me heal,” she said, referring to her adoptive parents.
The girl was allegedly stealing food and money to buy food at school.
She testified that she told State Police Trooper Craig Spisak she stole the food because she was not getting enough at home. But at the hearing, she said she “found out” her parents were actually feeding her “double portions.”
Letters from doctors showed the girl was allergic to multiple foods, and the girl said her parents would try introducing her to these foods gradually on doctor’s advice. The letters also requested the girl be transferred to cyber school.
Eichman said the girl did not have any food allergies during her hospital stay.
The girl testified that before she was adopted, her biological parents would do “bad things” to her.
She said case workers would come to her adoptive parents’ house regularly. She has other adopted siblings, and the Havrileskos also have biological children.
Eichman said that because the alleged starvation was gradual, it is possible that it was not apparent to doctors or case workers.
“I can say, medically, without a doubt, that she was starved,” she said, adding that she cannot comment on whether or not the Havrileskos were intending to starve her.
The girl hugged both of her adoptive parents and chatted after the hearing.
Defense attorney Jack Connor argued that the girl’s testimony, combined with medical records, show the adoptive parents were trying to care for their child.
“I’m asking the court do some justice in these cases and drop these charges,” he said.
Prosecuting attorney Mark Mehalov said the girl was clearly starved.
“If this case goes further, there may be an indication of why [the girl] is saying the things she is saying,” he said.
The Havrileskos will face charges of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children and reckless endangerment in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas.