The Facts

The Facts About Elizabeth's Situation

In her 10 short years of life, Elizabeth Davis has experienced more than anyone should in a lifetime.

Her father died, she has been permanently separated from her mother and her maternal grandparents and uncle, she has been forced from her home, she has been made to attend a cult church that doesn’t believe in medicine or traditional health care treatments, and has been exposed to a rare, dangerous substance called Antimony, the presence of which remains unexplained and swept under the rug by her current guardians and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

It is time for someone to stand up for Elizabeth and her future health and well-being.

These facts are indisputable and immediate intervention by Governor Stitt, Oklahoma DHS head, Jeffrey Cartmell and Tulsa County District Judge Matthew Todd Chesbro is needed to ensure Elizabeth’s safety:

● Elizabeth has tested twice for high levels of antimony, an extremely rare chemical compound similar to the poison arsenic 

• In August her level was 5.6 mcg/L, and retested in September her level remained 4.6 mcg/L. These extremely high levels (over 100x a "safe" amount) pose a significant health risk to Elizabeth in the short and long term
• According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the range of .02 to 1 mcg/L is considered normal. The above amount is extremely rare
• Despite slightly decreasing levels month-over-month, these levels are still extremely concerning and the origin of Elizabeth’s exposure has not been investigated in any meaningful way, despite the Tulsa Police Department being asked to investigate the origin of the exposure

● Testing of Elizabeth’s mother’s house and items from the house, including Elizabeth’s clothing, blanket, stuffed animals, etc. also show high levels of antimony present

● Testing of Elizabeth’s maternal grandfather and uncle both returned levels of 0 mcg/L of antimony

● Testing of Elizabeth’s guardians, her current home, her belongings, etc. have not been tested for antimony (to our knowledge)

● Elizabeth’s current DHS-ordered placement with her paternal uncle and aunt puts her further at risk medically

• Elizabeth’s uncle and aunt are members of the General Assemblies Church of the Firstborn, which is a fundamentalist cult with strong beliefs in faith healing and no belief in modern Western medicine
• The congregations of this church trust prayer rather than medical doctors for healing
• Elizabeth’s paternal grandfather, Dan L. Davis, is the leader of the Church of the Firstborn congregation in Tulsa
• Numerous deaths of children and adults have been attributed to their beliefs and have been prosecuted in various states, including Oklahoma
• Eric Davis, Elizabeth’s uncle and current guardian, had his first wife die of diabetes in her late twenties, a medically-treatable disease. She left behind two small sons. They claim she died of unknown causes
• Eric Davis's son is now married to the Tulsa County Court Clerk, Don Newberry's, daughter, which raises a conflict of interest question
  
• In fact, in 2012 the Tulsa County District Attorney’s office prosecuted and obtained a manslaughter conviction of a member of the Church of the Firstborn for denying her son medical treatment and causing his death. (Dan Davis testified in her defense). Oklahoma v. Grady, Susan Grady’s Sentencing Memorandum, CF-2010-4992 (Dist. Ct. Tulsa Cty 2012)

● This case has been mishandled since the beginning

• This never should have been a deprived case; proper process and statutory requirements were not followed by DHS
• The maternal grandfather was a fit guardian that had an emergency guardianship in place prior to the filing of the deprived action
• The order to take minor child into emergency custody issued in the deprived action was precipitated by a “Child Protective Services Affidavit” that is riddled with errors
• The Tulsa Police Department has been contacted regarding the investigating into the origins of the antimony exposure, which has not been meaningfully examined eight months later despite testing showing continued high levels
• Now, DHS is considering permanent custody with current guardians, despite not knowing how the antimony exposure occurred, if the potential poisoning is ongoing, and without a long-term health care plan for Elizabeth in light of their anti-medical treatment beliefs

Elizabeth

Needs Us

Elizabeth deserves the same protections every child deserves.The religious group involved, the Church of the First Born, has faced longstanding concerns including:

When children are involved, these concerns deserve independent oversight and transparency.

Elizabeth deserves to grow up safe, healthy, and free. No child should be beyond the protection of the law.

OARC’s Mission

Oklahomans Against Religious Cults exists to shine a light on cults that exploit faith to control, abuse, and isolate vulnerable people. Our mission is to educate the public, support victims, and advocate for transparency and accountability so that no organization operating in Oklahoma can hide abuse behind claims of religious authority.