LYDIA SCHATZ - 7 yo (2010) - Oroville CA

OROVILLE -- A fundamentalist religious philosophy
that espouses corporal punishment to "train" children to be more
obedient to their parents and God is now being investigated in
connection with the death of a young Paradise girl and serious injuries
to her sister.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey confirmed Thursday that
other children in the home who have been interviewed told investigators
"this philosophy was espoused by their parents." Ramsey said he is also exploring a possible connection to a
Web site that endorses "biblical discipline" using the same rubber or
plastic tube alleged to have been used to whip the two young ridge
girls by their adoptive parents.
In court Thursday, a judge granted a two-week postponement
before the children's parents, Kevin Schatz, 46, and Elizabeth Schatz,
42, enter a plea to murder and torture charges that could carry two
life terms in prison. The delay will allow the mother to retain legal counsel as her husband did earlier.
The father's attorney, Michael Harvey, declined to comment
regarding the specific allegations against the couple until he has a
chance to review the evidence.
"All I can say is the family is shocked; they are grieving the
loss of their daughter and (ask) that people of faith will pray for
everybody involved," the defense attorney stated outside of court
Thursday.
The Schatzes were arrested Saturday morning after their adopted daughter, Lydia, age 7, stopped breathing. She was subsequently pronounced dead.
Her 11-year-old sister, Zariah Schatz, remains in critical condition
at a Sacramento children's hospital, though she is showing some signs
of recovery. The two were adopted at the same time with an infant girl,
now 3, from the same African orphanage about three years ago,
Prosecutors allege the two victims were subjected to "hours"
of corporal punishment by their parents on successive days last
Thursday and Friday with a quarter-inch-wide length of rubber or
plastic tubing, which police reportedly recovered from the parents'
bedroom.
Police allege that the younger girl was being disciplined for
mis-pronouncing a word during a home-school reading lesson the day
before she died.
The two young girls reportedly sustained deep bruising and
multiple "whip-like" marks on their back, buttocks and legs, which
authorities believe resulted in significant muscle tissue breakdown
that impaired their kidneys and possibly other vital organs, said
Ramsey.
He said investigators are researching a possible connection to
an Internet Web site set up by "fundamentalist Christian people" that
recommends use of the same whip-like implement "as an appropriate tool
for biblical chastisement ... to train a child from infancy to make
them a happier child and more obedient to God because they are obedient
to the will of their parents," said Ramsey.
The district attorney said some of the Schatzes' six biological
children, who were removed from the family home for their protection
following the parents' arrest, have made statements suggesting the
ridge couple shared this philosophy.
The other children in the home said the same rubber or plastic
tube was used on all of them "as a standard method of discipline, but
certainly not to the extent of these two girls," Ramsey added.
He said it's not clear at this point whether the Schatzes ever
visited the Web site in question, which Ramsey stressed "does not
endorse hurting or beating a child," nor is connected to any specific
church.
From the research he has done, the district attorney pointed
out that "even within the fundamentalist Christian community," parental
use of corporal punishment "is subject to a great deal of debate."
The ridge couple remain held on $2 million bail pending entry of plea in two weeks to the murder and torture charges.

Plea Deal Reached in Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz Murder Case
Last Update: 4/11 2:46 pm


The Paradise couple accused of beating their adopted daughter to death and critically injuring another will not be going trial after reaching a last minute plea deal with prosecutors. Trial for Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz was to begin Monday, but on Friday afternoon Kevin Schatz agreed to plead guilty to all the charges against him, including first degree murder and torture, in exchange for a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter for his wife.

The agreement means the couple's children will not have to testify in court. Both entered guilty pleas Friday afternoon. Butte County district attorney Mike Ramsey says Kevin Schatz faces two life sentences and will not be eligible for parole for 22 years. Elizabeth Schatz agreed to the maximum sentence of 13 years, four months. The couple is set to be formally sentenced June 10th. There six biological children and two surviving adopted children remain in foster care.

http://www.knvn.com/mostpopular/story/Plea-Deal-Reached-in-Kevin-and-Elizabeth-Schatz/Xr1yzgPjYEydj-PtCuLt8g.cspx

Couple plead guilty in fatal Paradise child beating

By RYAN OLSON - Staff Writer
Posted: 04/09/2011 12:05:58 AM PDT

OROVILLE -- A trial for a Paradise couple facing murder charges for beating one adopted daughter to death and injuring another ended before it began after the pair entered unexpected guilty pleas Friday.
Elizabeth and Kevin Schatz were expected to go to trial Monday in Butte County Superior Court for the Feb. 4 and 5, 2010, beating of adopted daughters Lydia Schatz, 7, and her then 11-year-old sister.

Lydia died of her injuries; the older girl required hospitalization but recovered.

The Schatzes' defense team and Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey had spent Friday with Judge Kristen Lucena discussing final motions before starting jury selection. As Ramsey prepared to leave the courtroom, defense attorneys Michael Harvey and Kevin Sears asked him to stay about a possible plea bargain.

Court was called back into session and Kevin Schatz pleaded guilty to one count each of second-degree murder, torture and misdemeanor cruelty to a child. He will serve at least 22 years of a 22-to-life prison sentence.

Elizabeth Schatz pleaded guilty to single counts of voluntary manslaughter, infliction of unlawful corporal punishment on a child and misdemeanor cruelty to a child. She will be sentenced to the maximum 13 years, four months in prison.

Both also face a six-month county jail sentence, and $20,000 fines each.

If the pair had been convicted on the original charges of first-degree murder and torture, they would've each faced maximum sentences of two life terms in prison.
Outside the courtroom, Ramsey said he was satisfied with the verdict and the resolution for the victims — who were reportedly whipped for hours with a length of plumber's supply line. He remarked that the likely sentences mean the Schatzes would no longer be in control of their children's lives.

"Now, at least for the children, they can get it behind them," Ramsey said.

Ramsey said he insisted that the couple plead guilty to the charges instead of pleading no contest — where defendants can stand silent while a judge convicts them based on evidence.

The murder and manslaughter charges were for Lydia Schatz's death. The torture counts applied for her older sister's injuries. The misdemeanor charges applied for injuries against a son who was 10 at the time.

Ramsey said the prosecution accepted a lesser manslaughter charge for Elizabeth Schatz because there was evidence she was under the control of her husband during and after the incidents. However, he required that Kevin Schatz plead to murder.

Outside of the courtroom, Sears said his client, Elizabeth Schatz, regretted what happened.

"She feels very remorseful over what happened to her children and she was very anxious to accept responsibility," Sears said.

Had the matter gone to a jury, Sears said he didn't believe the panel would find Elizabeth Schatz guilty of murder. He said the bargain's terms were close to a probable jury verdict.

Harvey said his client took the bargain because it will spare his wife from serving a longer sentence. It also eliminated the need for his children to testify in court — most of the Schatzes' six biological children and the older adopted daughter were listed as possible trial witnesses.

"He felt that was his duty as a father to his family," Harvey said.

While there has been discussion about the Schatzes' whippings being based on "biblical chastisements" drawn from the teachings of a fundamentalist religious organization known as No Greater Joy Ministry, Ramsey said he hadn't planned to focus on the teachings in his prosecution.

He said he had been prepared to address it if it was raised by the defense.

Sentencing will take place on June 10. The couple remain in custody at Butte County Jail.

Staff writer Ryan Olson can be reached at 896-7763 or rolson@chicoer.com.

http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_17808099