Trigger Warning: This article mentions details about child abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
Child abuse cases have become in new normal in America. While these cases were always prevalent, thanks to transparent journalists and the widespread relevance of social media, they have now come to notice. Recently, a couple from California who identified as vegan naturopaths were convicted of severe child abuse after subjecting their newborn son to ice baths, high-temperature saunas, and prolonged starvation in what they claimed were attempts to “heal” him naturally.
John Gonzalez, 38, and Jaqueline Navarro, 45, were each found guilty of one felony count of child abuse and endangerment, along with a felony enhancement for causing significant bodily harm to a child under the age of five. This verdict was announced by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
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As per True Crime News, their son, now 5 years old, suffered irreversible brain damage, which has led to fatal disability that has ruined his vision and his ability to walk and talk. The result of what prosecutors described as extreme malnourishment and denial of proper medical care. Meanwhile, prosecutors said that the couple was ardent followers of naturopathy, a treatment type that includes alternative, natural therapies to modern medicine.
The practice is believed that the human body could heal itself without modern medical intervention. The couple exposed the baby to extreme wellness practices, including saunas and ice baths, while refusing to feed him breast milk or formula, which they considered “toxic.”
Instead, the baby was fed a soy-based, fruit- and vegetable-only diet, consistent with their “mucus-free fruitarian” philosophy, a regimen that doctors later said lacked the essential nutrients needed for brain development.
Back in 2020, John Gonzalez and his wife brought their 10-month-old son to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach while visiting Orange County. Hospital staff were shocked to see his condition; he was reportedly pale, grey, catatonic, with dangerously low blood sugar and suffering from constant seizures.
Later, the child was transferred to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where expert doctors confirmed that he was severely underfed and had suffered extensive neurological damage. The ignorant parents had even deflected the doctor’s diagnosis then and argued with the doctors that “starvation would lead to healing,” and rejected the treatments suggested by them, showing typical signs of a child abuse case.
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The baby’s grandmother, Patrizia Sanchez, had raised several cautious alarms in October 2019, calling Tulare County Child Welfare Services multiple times to report the brutal instances of child abuse. Sadly, despite repeated attempts to alert to the abuse, the boy remained with his parents until the 2020 hospitalization episode.
The child welfare services failed to intervene and look into the case, which has also led to the tragic incident. That failure led to a $32 million lawsuit settlement paid by Tulare County. Gonzalez and Navarro face up to 12 years in state prison when they are sentenced on July 25, 2025.
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Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said, “This innocent child suffered from almost the first breath he took because of his parents’ beliefs that starvation would cure him. Instead of curing him, they robbed him of his sight, his ability to take his first steps, to say his first words, and his chance to see the world through the eyes of a child who is seeing everything for the first time”.
Todd Spitzer claimed in sadness that the child will never be able to experience the world and live his life, all because of his parents, who decided to play dumb and starve him to death. Patrizia Sanchez, the grandmother of the disable child who now cannot eat or do everyday things on his own, has been awarded custody as he remains under special care.
At this point, the incident of child abuse showcases pure neglect from both the authorities of the child welfare services and the parents. When will people realise that it’s always the safest option to consult medical experts in case of any issues with the anatomy, rather than relying on ordinary Google results, and blind spiritual practices?
Please, please, and please — never gamble with life in the name of belief or unproven remedies. Naturaphathy is a beautiful technique, but it might not work for everyone. Life is too fragile, too precious, to risk on anything but truth, care, and science.
