Neglect trial for UP parents delayed

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WOOD) - The trial for two Upper Peninsula parents who refused chemotherapy for their 10-year-old son and were charged with medical child neglect has been postponed.

According to Marquette NBC affiliate WLUC , Ken and Erin Stieler, parents of Jacob Stieler, were originally supposed to be in court next week, but the trial has been postponed until Jan. 10.

Stiler told WLUC said that Department of Human Services attorney Diane Heightman asked for a continuance.

Jacob Stieler was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma -- a type of malignant bone cancer -- and was treated at DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids.

In the summer of 2011, scans indicated that he was cancer-free, but doctors recommended further radiation and chemotherapy to prevent the cancer from coming back.

But Jacob hadn't fared well during the original bout of treatments, telling his mother that he wished he would fall asleep and not wake up. Ken and Erin Stieler decided that they would not make Jacob undergo treatment as long as the cancer was in remission.

Shortly thereafter, DHS brought charges of child neglect against the Stielers.

Doctors at DeVos Children's Hospital said in court documents that without further treatment, Jacob's cancer will "come back with a vengeance."

Erin Stieler said Jacob sees a doctor regularly and will continue getting pet scans. She said should a scan show cancer, they will decide on treatment as a family.

The Stielers are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 15 for a motions hearing, according to WLUC.