Older sister testifies via videotape in Killpack trial

PROVO — Cassandra Killpack was in trouble. She had just taken her baby sister's drink without asking. "You're going to have to go to mom and do the drinking water thing," Cassandra's older sister told her.

Cassandra was taken to the kitchen of her parent's Springville home, where her mother set her on a bar stool and forced water down her throat.

That testimony was heard Wednesday in 4th District Court.

Cassandra's parents — Richard and Jennete Killpack — are on trial for the death of the 4-year-old girl on June 9, 2002. The Killpacks, charged with child-abuse homicide, also are charged with two charges of child neglect/abuse.

Cassandra died because she drank so much water her brain stopped functioning, Utah Chief Medical Examiner Todd Grey said Wednesday. Grey also said bruises and internal injuries found during the autopsy probably played a role in the girl's death.

In videotaped testimony, Cassandra's sister said her mother forced the girl to drink water as a punishment "because Cassandra has a bad brain."

She said Cassandra had gone to therapy with her parents. As part of that therapy the girl was fed a bottle and told to crawl and play with baby toys. "She was supposed to be a baby for a while because she didn't get to be a baby," the girl said.

The Killpacks say they learned to give Cassandra water as a punishment from the Cascade Center for Family Growth, an Orem therapy clinic that has since closed. Cassandra had reactive attachment disorder, the Killpacks say, a mental health disorder Cascade specialized in treating.

On June 9, 2002, Cassandra was force-fed water for taking her sister's drink, the Killpacks' daughter said in the video.

"She drinks water till she pukes," the girl said.

When Cassandra began refusing water, her mother tied her hands behind her back and forced her to drink more by tipping her head back. At some point, Cassandra made choking sounds, but the girl said she was faking.

"It sounds real, but it's really not, because we know her real chokes," she said. "She has two chokes and one is the fake one and one is the real one."

The girl said so much water had spilled from Cassandra's mouth the barstool she was sitting on was wet. Cassandra slipped from the stool and banged her head on a box.

"My mom pulled her up and said, 'You're not going anywhere,' " the girl said.