GOLDEN -- Candace Newmaker's death was "a tragic accident" brought on by a cardiac problem and a heart broken by her biological parents' neglect, a defense attorney told a jury Monday.

Greg Lawler referred to the 10-year-old's heart literally and figuratively, saying his client, therapist Connell Watkins, performed rebirthing therapy on Candace to try to heal her psychological problems.

Candace died after the April 18 rebirthing session at Watkins' Evergreen home. Watkins and co-therapist Julie Ponder are on trial for child abuse resulting in death. Candace's adoptive mother, Jeane Newmaker of Durham, N.C., took her daughter to Watkins for "attachment disorder" therapy.

Candace was born in rural North Carolina in November 1989, but local social service officials removed her from her parents because of neglect in May 1995.

Where Candace's heart should have been, Lawler said, was instead "a void," filled with anger and hatred.

"Her biological mother and father stole it from her," he said. "They stole her heart."

In their opening statements, prosecutors and the defense dueled over Candace's cause of death.

The seven men and seven women on the jury were warned by prosecutors that the videotaped rebirthing will be a violent, disturbing 70 minutes, with the girl being restrained, severely shaken, screamed at and even licked on the face in an attempt to enrage her.

Candace was wrapped from head-to-toe in a blue flannel sheet and made to lie on the floor, where she was in the fetal position. Watkins, Ponder and two others placed pillows on top of Candace, then pushed against her, simulating birth contractions.

But the procedure was not therapy, it was torture, said Steve Jensen, a Jefferson County prosecutor. Candace was asphyxiated, causing her brain to swell and her heart to stop, he said, and Watkins and Ponder deliberately manipulated Candace's air supply, despite her begging for more oxygen.

"This is a case about the utterly reckless behavior of these two therapists," he told jurors. "This is the antithesis of treatment."

Watkins is shown on the tape screaming just inches from Candace's face more than 65 times, shaking her head 83 times and threatening Candace with separation from her mother or institutionalization.

When Watkins asks Candace why she's being put through this kind of therapy, Candace replies, "Because you like to torture people."

But Lawler painted Watkins as a caring, nationally renowned therapist who has treated more than 1,000 troubled children. Newmaker had been referred to Watkins by several therapists and parents whose own children had attachment disorder, he said.

Candace died of heart problems brought on by a recent 50 percent increase in a prescription drug she was taking, not from asphyxiation as prosecutors claim, Lawler said. The anti-psychotic drug, Respiradol, was known to make Candace pass out, he added.

"She was compromised," Lawler said, "She was physically compromised. And the tragedy of this case is Connell Watkins didn't know it."

Ponder's attorney, Joan Heller, said Candace's cause of death will always be a mystery because the autopsy done after the child's death is flawed.

"We'll never know exactly what happened," Heller said.

Ponder was interning with Watkins because she had dedicated herself to helping troubled kids, Heller said. Ponder, a marriage and family therapist from California, moved to Colorado to work with Watkins, she said.

Also Monday, Jefferson County District Judge Jane Tidball denied a request by Newmaker to watch the therapists' trial, which could last several weeks. She will be testifying as a witness and must not hurt Watkins' and Ponder's right to a fair trial, Tidball said.

Newmaker, who was in the room during the rebirthing, has also been charged and goes on trial in November. Newmaker has been given "testimonial immunity" so that whatever she says in this trial will not be used against her in November, Jensen said.

Contact Peggy Lowe at (303) 892-5482 or lowep@RockyMountainNews.com.