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Dr.: 3-Year-Olds Weigh More Than 7-Year-Old Chandler

State's Witnesses Refute Defense's Claims Of Diabetes

POSTED: 5:26 pm MDT August 5, 2008
UPDATED: 1:07 pm MDT August 6, 2008

Medical experts for the state testified that Chandler Grafner, 7, didn't have diabetes or any other medical condition that led to his death.

Grafner's former physicians Dr. Kenneth Kutelak and Dr. Rudy Schmiedt said they had taken care of the boy since he was little. They said they last saw Grafner in 2006. Kutelak said he was shocked to see images of Grafner taken in 2007 when he died. He said he was hardly the boy he remembered seeing.

Most of the afternoon, jurors heard testimony from a pediatric pathologist.

Dr. Joel Haas said he agreed with a coroner's report that ruled Grafner's death the result of dehydration and starvation.

Haas said Grafner had less than a teaspoon of urine in his body and his ribs showed evidence that the boy had quit growing days, possibly weeks, before his death.

Haas said Grafner was extremely small for his age, at the time of his death.

"His weight was about the 50th percentile for a 3-year-old, which would mean that 50 percent of all the 3-year-olds in this country weighed more than Chandler when he died," said Haas.

Testimony in the case continues Wednesday.

The state could wrap their case up by Thursday and the defense could begin calling their witnesses Friday.


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