Trial in Baltimore tot's starvation death postponed

A trial set to begin Monday for members of a Baltimore religious group accused of killing a 16-month-old boy and stuffing his body into a suitcase has been postponed until January, prosecutors said.

A key witness in the case -- a forensic medical examiner -- was not available this week, according to prosecutors.

In other developments, one of the members of One Mind Ministries, which authorities have labeled a cult, was arraigned on a lesser charge Monday, which could pave the way for him to testify against One Mind's alleged leader, known as Queen Antoinette.

In early 2007, prosecutors allege, Queen Antoinette instructed her small band of followers in a West Baltimore rowhouse to deprive the child of food and water because he didn't say "Amen" at breakfast. After Javon Thompson died, he was placed on a couch while followers knelt down and prayed in a failed effort at resurrection, according to prosecutors. At least one of the members also danced around the child, attorneys have said.

The group eventually packed Javon's body in a suitcase and traveled with it to Philadelphia, where police later found it in a shed, according to authorities.

Queen Antoinette, who is charged with murder, repeated in court Monday her desire to represent herself, said Joseph Sviatko, a spokesman for the Baltimore state's attorney's office. Another group member, known as Princess Trevia, also reiterated her intention to represent herself, Sviatko said.

Prosecutors had reached a plea agreement with Javon's mother, Ria Ramkissoon, who is expected to testify in the trial. She pleaded guilty after being promised that any charges against her would be dropped if her son rises from the dead.

"It also is specifically noted," Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Timothy Doory had said in March as he described the plea bargain to the boy's mother, "that if the victim in this case, Javon Thompson, is resurrected, as you still hold some hope he will be, you may withdraw the plea and the charges will be nolle prossed [withdrawn] against you."

Her attorney, Steven Silverman, said Queen Antoinette had brainwashed his client.

"She is prepared to tell the truth if called upon," Silverman said Monday.

Silverman said Ramkissoon remains in the Baltimore city jail, but he hopes she will soon be released to a residential facility where she can receive counseling and treatment.

"She's come a long way since she was victimized by this cult," he said. "But she's going to need substantial services to assimilate into society."

Catherine Flynn, an attorney for another defendant, Steven Bynum, who was arraigned Monday on a charge of accessory after the fact, said she has been discussing a possible plea agreement.

Flynn said police allege that Bynum drove group members to Pennsylvania, where they eventually left Javon's body. The accessory charge is a better reflection of the allegations against her client, she added.

"I don't think he has any culpability for what's alleged to have happened to the child," she said.