SALEM — As nurses at Massachusetts General Hospital worried about where Jeremy Fraser would go after he was discharged from the hospital in March 2008, they mentioned his older half-brother, Kristen LaBrie's child from a prior relationship.
Social workers from what is now the Department of Children and Families told the nurses that the older child, a teenager, lived with his father.
"They appeared very surprised to hear this, as they were under the impression that when she is not here at the hospital, she has to be home for her son," social worker Erin Walker wrote in a March 17, 2008, report. "(Social workers) told them (the older son) does not live with her. The nurses reported Kristen talks about (her older son) like he lives with her."
That older child had been removed from LaBrie's custody years earlier.
The exchange between the nurses and the social worker was among several pages of documents filed by LaBrie's lawyer in an attempt to bolster his argument that LaBrie was actually a client of the social workers, and not the subject of an investigation into neglect of her child, as prosecutors say.
LaBrie, 38, of Salem, is facing charges of attempted murder and child endangerment after allegedly failing to provide her autistic, cancer-stricken son with the chemotherapy he needed to remain in remission. The cancer returned as a result of that missed medication, prosecutors allege, and Jeremy died a year later, at the age of 9.
LaBrie's lawyer, Kevin James, has argued that any statements made by LaBrie to those social workers should not be used as evidence at trial because of what he argues is a "privilege" between LaBrie and the workers.
Prosecutor Kate MacDougall argues that LaBrie was not a client of the DCF workers, however, and that even if she were, the statements would be admissible because of a specific exception in the law concerning the use of material gathered during a child abuse or neglect investigation.
The two sides recently argued their positions before Judge Timothy Feeley during a hearing in Salem Superior Court, where Feeley asked James for additional evidence to support his contention.
James, a Danvers attorney privately hired by LaBrie and her family, filed copies of reports that refer to Kristen LaBrie as "consumer adult." That designation appears on three pages of the DCF records submitted by James.
Those pages, however, also contain other details about LaBrie; her former husband, Eric; and Jeremy.
The reports detail the observations of nurses that Eric Fraser spent an entire day with Jeremy and "was very good with (Jeremy) providing him with everything he needed throughout the day."
That image of Eric Fraser was in contrast to LaBrie's description of him as being abusive — a description which, one social worker testified during a hearing in June, led DCF workers to offer LaBrie a safety plan.
A nurse also said Jeremy's doctor spoke at length with Eric Fraser, who explained that he hadn't seen his son for more than a year "because he virtually had to choose to keep himself safe. He reported a history of Kristen falsely accusing him of things."
That led into the discussion of where Jeremy would go after leaving the hospital and the inquiry about LaBrie's older son.
While at the hospital, the social workers noted that LaBrie had Jeremy on her lap, feeding him Goldfish crackers and discussing his treatment and test results.
Feeley has not ruled on James' motion. A status hearing is scheduled for Aug. 17.
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