Court orders DFPS to reveal ‘withheld evidence’ in Texas medical child abuse allegations
A Rusk County court has ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to provide withheld evidence to reveal communication between medical providers and law enforcement that is said to have led to the arrest of a Texas mom accused of medically abusing her 3-year-old daughter.
In a motion filed before a hearing that was held Monday, Jessica Gasser’s attorney, Mike Schneider, urged the court to order DFPS to provide documents that show allegations of medical abuse were based on sworn affidavits that he says were “peppered with false and misleading statements to the court,” according to a news release from the Connolly Schneider Shireman law firm.
Schneider also asked for DFPS to be sanctioned for failing to produce discovery responses, overdue since a March 7 deadline.
Other developments at Monday’s hearing include DFPS’ agreement to allow Gasser and her husband unsupervised visits with their daughter, Ellie, every day at the couple’s home, where she has been cared for by a grandparent and aunt. The girl’s health was improving under her parents’ care but she lost “a dangerous amount of weight” in foster care “immediately after being seized” by DFPS last year, Schneider said in the release.
Additionally, the girl’s parents will be allowed to move back home with their daughter starting April 7, per agreement with the state, the child’s guardian and the child’s attorney, as approved by the court, according to the release.
“We’re grateful that the Gassers can begin rebuilding their family, but the state’s refusal to turn over evidence raises more troubling questions about the conduct and credibility of DFPS, healthcare providers and law enforcement personnel in this case — especially now that there’s strong, independent new evidence that destroys the original allegations and validates Jessica’s original medical concerns for her child,” Schneider said in the release.
Independent medical experts, comprehensive forensic psychological evaluations, and other evidence in the case “refute the so-called Munchausen by proxy allegations made against the Gasser family and validate Jessica’s fears of the child’s medical condition,” Schneider said.
According to Schneider, DFPS has ruled out allegations of medical neglect of the child by Gasser.
DFPS did not immediately respond to the Star-Telegram’s request for comment.
“Whomever is responsible for suggesting to media outlets across the country that Ellie was ‘thriving’ following removal from her parents has caused serious and irreparable harm to an innocent three-year-old child and her family,” Schneider wrote in the motion.
Gasser was first arrested in July 2023 in Tarrant County after a month-long investigation into whether she subjected her child to unnecessary medical procedures, also known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
Her case gained national attention after investigators alleged that Gasser made social media posts in which she falsely said her child had rare medical conditions. An arrest warrant affidavit also alleged she solicited donations through a GoFundMe account to get treatments at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
The first criminal case stemmed from a hypoglycemia test that Cook Children’s Medical Center staff in Fort Worth performed in February 2023 at Gasser’s request, according to the affidavit. The test involved Gasser’s toddler having her blood drawn 28 times over the course of a day, the document states. The affidavit alleges the blood draws should be considered bodily injury to a child because the test was unneeded and Gasser knew it.
According to the affidavit, doctors at three hospitals reported Gasser to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for suspected medical child abuse: Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, McLane Children’s Hospital in Temple, and Woman and Child Health Center in Longview.
Gasser was arrested a second time during an August 2023 family court hearing in Rusk County. Two additional arrest warrants presented at that hearing included two more charges against Gasser: third-degree felony exploitation of a child and first-degree felony injury to a child, according to court documents.
The criminal case in Rusk County was dismissed on Tuesday as the charges will be transferred to Tarrant County, Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Robbie Hoy told the Star-Telegram.
There is one criminal charge out of Tarrant County filed last summer currently pending against Gasser, according to Schneider. A pretrial hearing in the DFPS family court case is scheduled for early May.
Hoy told the Star-Telegram on Wednesday that there is an active warrant out for Gasser’s arrest. Despite Schneider saying the warrant is “rumored” and could not be confirmed, Hoy said Schneider was notified of the warrant six days ago and Gasser has not yet turned herself in.
Gasser is wanted on a charge of bodily injury to a child, according to Hoy.
This story was originally published March 27, 2024 at 12:50 PM.
