EPHRATA - The trial began this week for a Moses Lake couple accused of allegedly refusing to take their 2-year-old son to the hospital as the boy was starving and in "critical" condition.

Robert A. Staats and Michelle K. Staats, are each charged with first-degree criminal mistreatment and second-degree criminal mistreatment after their son was hospitalized in May 2012, reportedly severely malnourished and underweight, according to court records. Both previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Both prosecutors and Staats' defense attorneys agreed to a stipulated facts trial (meaning both sides have agreed on certain facts in the case in order to streamline the process and save costs). Nearly 300 pages of documents were submitted in Grant County Superior Court Monday, which will be reviewed by the court before a hearing next month where both sides will give closing arguments.

In May 2012, the child was taken to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake when he was found not breathing, allegedly weighing between 8 and 10 pounds. The boy was later transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

In a statement by the boy's primary care physician after he was released from Sacred Heart, the physician wrote the boy suffered from severe malnutrition and medical neglect, adding earlier intervention would have allowed for a much healthier weight gain regardless of any underlying medical diagnoses, according to court records.

According to previous reports from the Columbia Basin Herald, the boy began having health problems in February 2011 and reportedly was not taken to a doctor until November 2011. Court records show the boy weighed about 21 pounds in January 2011 when his weight began to drop.

Michelle Staats reportedly acted as the child's primary care provider, telling police she didn't trust hospitals and used herbal and homeopathic treatments for her children. She reported the boy spat up food and only drank breast milk. She contacted the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in July 2011 to develop a plan to get the child to eat solid foods. When the boy's health did not improve, they advised her to contact a doctor.

The boy's condition reportedly continued to worsen, when Michelle Staats allegedly took him to see a naturopath doctor in November 2011. When the boy continued to have problems eating, the doctor reportedly advised the Staats to take the child to a hospital, describing the boy's condition as "critical, suffering from severe anemia and electrolyte imbalances."

The Staats allegedly never took the boy to a hospital and Michelle Staats reportedly turned to a San Francisco herbalist, who recommended treatment, according to court records.

Emails between Michelle Staats and the herbalist seemed to indicate the boy's condition was improving. Staats wrote the boy would have good and bad days, until April 2012, when the boy's condition reportedly worsened. Robert Staats reportedly told his wife they should bring the boy to a hospital before his condition improved.

The boy's condition was never reported to Child Protective Services by WIC or the naturopath physician, according to court records. The report filed from DSHS stated the Staats were failed by family members who reportedly told them to just feed the boy more, and were failed by healthcare who did not report the case to Child Protective Services.

Staats attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the charges in June of last year, arguing the Staats' should be protected under the Christian Science exemption. Grant County Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline denied the motion, stating the Staats are not Christian Scientists, so the exemption has no effect, according to previous reports from the Herald.