Trial starts for Mass. mom accused of denying meds

LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts prosecutor tells jurors that a woman accused of withholding lifesaving drugs from her cancer-stricken son took actions that were like pushing the boy in front of a car.

Kristen LaBrie is charged with attempted murder and child endangerment for failing to fill chemotherapy prescriptions for her son, Jeremy Fraser, who was diagnosed in 2006 with a treatable cancer. The boy died in March 2009 at age 9.

LaBrie’s attorney told jurors during opening statements Tuesday that the Salem woman had seen the severely autistic boy through the first four phases of his cancer treatment.

Attorney Kevin James said LaBrie became exhausted and upset because the medication’s side effects made Jeremy sick. He said she made a “tragic mistake” by failing to give her son medication.