A malnourished boy died an agonizing death after he likely ingested too much olive brine, which his adoptive parents had fed to him as an unusual form of punishment.
Seven-year-old Isaiah Stark was rushed to hospital on February 17, 2020 after an extended period of vomiting and displaying ‘unusual’ behavior. He became unresponsive on the drive, and died the next day.
His adoptive father, Jon, was a cop in their small town of Grand County in Colorado, while his wife Elizabeth raised their five boys at home.
Local authorities have concluded Isaiah’s death was a tragic accident not worthy of pressing charges, but child welfare activists have been campaigning for a thorough investigation, arguing it was ‘needless and could have been prevented’, according to an investigation by the Denver Post.
Jon and Elizabeth repeatedly expressed frustration and voiced their struggles while raising little Isaiah, who they adopted from his biological mother shortly after his birth.
They claim that the little boy suffered mental health problems which ‘held him and our family hostage’ and Reactive Attachment Disorder – which is characterized by a young child struggling to form healthy emotional bonds with a caregiver.
In 2019, two years after Isaiah had been formally adopted, Elizabeth contacted his doctor, admitting: ‘I am desperate for help.’
She reportedly asked if there was ‘a stronger medication that you can prescribe ASAP that will take the ability away from him to keep him awake and completely force his body to sleep?’
Seven-year-old Isaiah Stark was rushed to hospital on February 17, 2020 after an extended period of vomiting and displaying ‘unusual’ behavior. He became unresponsive on the drive, and died the next day
Jon and Elizabeth repeatedly expressed frustration and voiced their struggles raising little Isaiah, who they adopted from his biological mother shortly after his birth
In an extraordinary show of support, the region’s assistant coroner Tawnya Bailey assured the couple ‘I will do everything in my power to make sure this stays here,’ according to a report by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and seen by the Denver Post.
She reportedly told the couple that the sheriff’s investigator Bobby Rauch would do the same, adding that the district attorney would ‘throw aside’ any autopsy findings.
The Starks were assured ‘the case was done’, the report stated.
Stephanie Villafeurte from the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman later criticized the investigation, telling the publication ‘we have many unanswered questions, and those responsible for giving these answers are unwilling to do so.’
In a report conducted by her department, it was alleged that Jon and Elizabeth had claimed little Isaiah was ‘damaged when they took him in’, ‘different and difficult.’ They had reported his problems stemmed from ‘manipulative behaviors and willfulness.’
Elizabeth also claimed that Isaiah ‘hated her’ from the age of two months old, the report stated, and that he only misbehaved privately, when in the care of his adoptive mother.
Isaiah was the only child of the five boys who was adopted, and all of the children were homeschooled.
Three separate mandatory reporters contacted the state’s child abuse hotline after his death.
Elizabeth also claimed that Isaiah ‘hated her’ from the age of two months old, the report stated, and that he only misbehaved privately, when in the care of his adoptive mother
His adoptive father, Jon, was a cop in their small town of Grand County in Colorado
One of the concerned mandatory reporters disclosed that Jon and Elizabeth used olives and olive brine as a strange form of punishment when their children misbehaved, the ombudsman stated.
‘The reporting party was concerned for the other children in the home and the potential for excessive discipline,’ the letter notes.
According to the autopsy, little Isaiah was so dehydrated at the time of his death, that a far smaller dose of olive brine could have killed him than would otherwise be considered fatal.
He was also suffering malnourishment and both his small and large intestines were markedly distended, the publication learned.
Shireen Banerji, poison center director at Denver’s Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, said such a large amount of sodium absorption is quite rare.
‘It would have to be more than an accident,’ Banerji said. ‘You’d need to drink it like a beverage; you’d need a good amount.’
Despite Villafeure’s findings, District Attorney Matt Karzen maintains there was nothing that indicated he should prosecute the parents.
‘The autopsy, and then subsequent additional review by medical professionals, could not confirm the exact cause of death nor establish any culpable mental state required for a criminal prosecution under applicable Colorado statutes,’ he said.
One of the concerned mandatory reporters disclosed that Jon and Elizabeth used olives and olive brine as a strange form of punishment when their children misbehaved, the ombusdman stated
Just one month after Isaiah’s death, the couple fell pregnant with their sixth son, Knox.
In a family blog seen by Daily Mail, Elizabeth described Knox as her ‘miracle baby’, adding: ‘We lost Isaiah in February 2020. Three weeks later, the world collapsed and curled into itself in isolation.
‘For us, it only echoed the loneliness our family knew during his seven years of life, what we stumbled through in the darkness of his mental illness.
‘Knox is our miracle baby, born with CDH ten months later.’
DailyMail.com has contacted the Stark family for comment.
