COURT ORDERS COUPLE TO STAND TRIAL; GENTRYS TO FACE CHARGES THEY STARVED DAUGHTER TO DEATH.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

The parents of a severely handicapped 15-year-old girl who died weighing just 50 pounds were ordered Tuesday to stand trial on charges that they deliberately starved her to death.

Michael and Kathleen Gentry of Lake Los Angeles are scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 1 on charges of murder, child abuse and conspiracy in the February 1996 death of their daughter, Lindsay, who was born with several mental and physical handicaps.

``Mr. and Mrs. Gentry aided and abetted and actively and intentionally starved their child to death,'' Los Angeles Municipal Judge Glenette Blackwell said at the culmination of the two-day hearing.

Blackwell also reduced Kathleen Gentry's bail from $1 million to $500,000 on the condition that she not contact any trial witnesses. Michael Gentry's bail remained at $1 million.

The Gentrys have received widespread support from the residents of Lake Los Angeles, a close-knit community in the Antelope Valley. Supporters have raised money for the couple's defense and also have created an Internet site with news of the case.

Jack Nicolai, 54, of Hesperia, a second cousin of Michael Gentry, said he was shocked at Blackwell's ruling.

``I don't like it,'' said Nicolai, who attended the hearing. ``I know they're innocent.''

Kathleen Gentry's attorney, Dave Houchin, said he wasn't surprised by the ruling because defendants are rarely released after a preliminary hearing. He said he is prepared to try the case before a jury.

In interviews, the couple has said they cherished their daughter and tried everything to get her to eat. Despite their best efforts, they said, the 4-foot-8 teen weighed only 50 pounds when she died. Lindsay's death certificate lists pneumonia and marasmus - progressive emaciation caused by a lack of food - as contributing factors.

But a teacher's aide who befriended Lindsay testified Tuesday that the 15-year-old had a voracious appetite during weekend visits at her house and was always hungry.

``I gave her eggs, pancakes, oatmeal - anything soft,'' said Paula Elrod, who invited Lindsay to her house because she was concerned the girl was so thin. ``She would eat more than I would.''

When asked by Los Angeles Municipal Judge Glenette Blackwell how she was able to get Lindsay to eat, Elrod replied, ``I just loved her. Her favorite food was green burritos.''

Elrod also recounted an instance when Kathleen Gentry interrupted a telephone conversation between her daughter and the teacher's aide.

``Lindsay became angry (and said), Get off the phone, Mommy. I'm talking to my other mommy and she doesn't want me to die,'' Elrod said.

Lindsay's death was attributed to natural causes until authorities received a tip from a family friend that Lindsay had been mistreated by her parents. Detectives launched a two-year investigation that culminated with the Gentrys' arrest in July 1998.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Ray Rodriquez, who oversaw the case, said investigators consulted with doctors who said they believe Lindsay's death was due to her parents' negligence.

Rodriquez also testified he'd interviewed a nurse at Lindsay's school, who told him she'd found marks on the girl's buttocks that appeared to be from a belt buckle. Lindsay told the nurse her father had hit her with a belt because she wouldn't go to bed - a statement later confirmed by Michael Gentry, Rodriquez quoted the nurse as saying.

During another conversation with a special-education teacher, Rodriguez said the woman had been told by Kathleen Gentry to rub Lindsay's nose in feces after the girl had soiled her pants.