GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) — When Carol Ferenz stood by her religious principles, it might have cost her life. It certainly has left authorities in a legal quandary about her son.
Mrs. Ferenz, a Jehovah’s Witness, turned down a blood transfusion after she was stabbed repeatedly in her Greenwich home on New Year’s Eve. The Westchester County Medical Examiner in New York said her death was a homicide caused by blood loss from stab wounds.
Her 42-year-old son, Stephen Ferenz, who is mentally ill, is charged with assault. Authorities are weighing whether to charge him with homicide and are looking at what role his mother’s refusal of a transfusion played in her death.
“Certainly, it had to play some role,” said prosecutor Jim Bernardi. “At this point, the degree to which it affected the outcome is still awaiting a review of the medical records.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses cite verses in the Bible that they say forbid transfusions. One often-cited Leviticus passage reads: “Whatsoever man … eats any manner of blood, I will cut him off from among his people.”
Mr. Ferenz is being held on $1 million bail under a suicide watch.
A similar case occurred in 1998 in California, where a Jehovah’s Witness who was hit by a drunken driver refused a transfusion and died. The 32-year-old driver, Keith Cook, blamed Jadine Russell’s death on her religious faith, but Cook was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Most defenses in such cases fail, said Laurie Levenson, a criminal-law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
“Overwhelmingly, the person who inflicted the harm is still responsible, notwithstanding the victim’s decision to reject medical treatment,” Miss Levenson said. “The issue is who caused her death — her son or her decision not to have the blood transfusion.”
But Miss Levenson said prosecutors are wise to proceed cautiously, noting that jurors can be unpredictable.
Mrs. Ferenz, 63, was stabbed in the chest and arm with a household knife. She was taken to a Greenwich hospital and later to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., where she died on New Year’s Day.
“She looked the doctor in the eye and said, ’No transfusion, no blood,’” said her husband, retired mail carrier Andrew Ferenz.
Mr. Ferenz said his son has been on medication for 25 years.
“When he does go off of it, he can’t control himself,” Mr. Ferenz said. “This is the only time he got violent.”
Mr. Ferenz said his son should not be charged with homicide.
“He doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Mr. Ferenz said. “He needs help.”
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