COUPLE'S FRIENDS RAISING MONEY FOR MURDER DEFENSE.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

Mary Ellen Spalding lives on a fixed income and can't give much to help Mike and Kathleen Gentry's legal fund.

Nevertheless, she's donating the $30 a month she usually spends on bowling to help pay lawyers defending the couple accused in the starving death of their severely disabled teen-age daughter.

Other friends are hawking ``Save the Gentrys'' T-shirts on the Internet - bright-yellow crewnecks that show the silhouettes of two people in separate jail cells. ``You Could Be Next,'' reads the back of the shirt.

On Thursday night, about 40 friends of the couple met at a Lake Los Angeles church in an effort to raise $10,000 for the Gentrys. They're planning a charity night at a JetHawks game, a booth at the Antelope Valley Fair, fliers, raffles and special church collections.

``It costs a great deal of money to litigate a murder trial,'' said Paul Villandry. ``If you knew Mike, you know that if you had any need, Mike would be there working for you. The least we can do now is set aside our own time to fight for them.''

Villandry described the Gentrys as giving people who go out of their way when someone needs help.

``Mike didn't have any money because he always gave it away to help others,'' he said.

When Villandry was down on his luck, he said, it was Mike Gentry who paid for new brakes for his car and did the work himself.

Thus, their friends were stunned when the Gentrys were arrested July 23, nearly 2-1/2 years after the death of their daughter, Lindsay Gentry, and charged with murder and child abuse.

The 15-year-old girl was 4 feet 8 inches tall and weighed about 50 pounds when she died, but could have lived if given proper care, officials said.

Friends are now trying to raise $10,000 to pay the Pomona attorney retained for Mike Gentry for his arraignment Monday at the Los Angeles Criminal Courthouse. Kathleen Gentry is expected to use a public defender.

``When he found out there (were) more than 10 people involved in this, he cried,'' Spalding said. ``And I cried and my mother cried and my husband cried.''

While reciting biblical passages, organizers appealed to the 40 people in attendance to do whatever they can to raise money.

``If you can do anything, you can help,'' Spalding said. ``If you can give up something, you can help.''

During the 2-1/2-hour meeting, more than two dozen people said they would testify on behalf of the Gentrys.

For more information, write the Gentry Defense Fund, 1036 E. Ave. J, Suite 146, Lancaster, CA 93535, or contact http://www.ptw.com/(tilda)trig.

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PHOTO (Color) Supporters of Mike and Kathleen Gentry have created a Web site for the couple's defense fund.