The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

May 6, 2008

Charges dropped against Dr. Kerry in autistic boy’s death

PITTSBURGH — Prosecutors dropped charges against a local doctor accused of causing the death of a 5-year-old autistic boy by incorrectly administering a controversial chemical treatment.

Dr. Roy Kerry was accused of using the wrong drug and administering it incorrectly while trying to use chelation therapy on Abubakar Tariq Nadama in 2005.

Kerry practices out of his Advanced Integrative Medicine Centers in Greenville and Portersville.

The Butler County district attorney charged Kerry, 70, South Pymatuning Township, last year with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment, but recently moved to drop charges. A judge granted the dismissal on Tuesday.

Jury selection was to begin Thursday in Kerry’s trial. Nadama’s parents have filed a civil suit against the doctor.

In a petition, prosecutor William Fullerton wrote that the district attorney’s office asked that the charges be dropped after reassessing the merits of the prosecution and “given the existence of additional and more germane judicial avenues for addressing the conduct of Dr. Kerry.”

Kerry had surrendered his license pending the outcome of the case, but his license will be reinstated based on the withdrawal of the criminal charges, a Department of State spokeswoman said.

Chelation removes heavy metals from the body and is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating acute heavy metal poisoning. Some people believe autism is caused by heavy metal poisoning and that chelation represents a promising treatment for it. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials, however, say medical evidence does not support that belief, and the drug is not approved for that use.

The boy went into cardiac arrest in Kerry’s Portersville office on Aug. 23, 2005, immediately after receiving chelation therapy.

The CDC, which investigated the boy’s death, has said the boy was given a synthetic amino acid called Disodium EDTA instead of Calcium Disodium EDTA. Both are odorless, colorless liquids and may have been confused, the CDC found.

The Department of State also contended Kerry prescribed an IV push — meaning the drugs are administered in one dose intravenously instead of over a period of time — despite warnings that it could be lethal.

Kerry’s attorney, Al Lindsay, denied that the drug caused the boy’s death. He said Tuesday that the drug given was not the wrong drug, as prosecutors contended, though he said it was not the “preferred” drug. He also said it was not administered incorrectly.

“The administration by an IV push is the preferred method to do it,” Lindsay said.

Lindsay said the boy died of lack of oxygen to brain, which was caused by a heart problem not associated with the drug.

Lindsay commended the district attorney’s office for dropping the charges and said his client was relieved.

“There was a lot of misinformation that was out there and we were anxious to present it to a jury,” Lindsay said. “But the truth of the matter is, we’re obviously grateful that the district attorney took this position.”

The boy’s parents, Mawra and Rufai Nadama, had moved from Plymouth, England, to the Pittsburgh area to seek treatment for the boy’s autism. They have since returned to the United Kingdom.

Attorney John Gismondi, who represents the family in the civil case, said, “I don’t agree with the decision and we’re disappointed. But I respect that the district attorney is the boss of the criminal case.”

He maintains Kerry acted improperly. “It was the wrong drug, given the wrong way,” Gismondi said.



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