Jump to content. ProPublica is an investigative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to revealing instances of power misuse. Join Dispatches, a weekly newsletter highlighting issues across the nation, to get our reports delivered straight to your email. Emma Joyce battled severe illness, eventually leading to her death while in the care of her parents at their modest Idaho farm. In August of 2009, Emma Joyce’s younger sister fell ill during the subsequent summer. Ava Joan consumed only a small amount of grapes and Sprite in a sippy cup, refraining from any other food or beverages. She was gasping for breath rapidly. When she vomited, the contents were dark in color, indicating a potential internal bleeding issue. In July 2010, Ava Joan passed away in her mother’s arms due to a complication of untreated diabetes. Less than two years later, the sisters’ younger brother also died from the same untreated diabetes complication. Nine years after that, another sibling, a 29-year-old boy, suffered for weeks with similar symptoms before passing away. The parents informed officers that they did not seek medical treatment for the four children who died because of their religious beliefs, the Followers of Christ, which views the use of modern medicine as a sinful lapse of faith.
