Isaiah Stark died of an unusual cause in February 2020. The coroner determined that he had too much sodium in his system. This was most likely caused by consuming an excessive amount of olive brine.
According to a mandated reporter’s call to a child abuse hotline, the 7-year-old’s parents, Elizabeth and Jonathan Stark, allegedly punished him with olive brine.
However, the Starks were never prosecuted for Isaiah’s death. A coroner and district attorney allegedly dismissed the case due to Jonathan Stark’s law enforcement background.
According to the Denver Post, Jonathan Stark was a police officer with the Granby Police Department in Grand County, Colorado. His wife, Elizabeth Stark, raised and homeschooled the couple’s five sons.
Shortly after Isaiah was born, his parents took custody of him. His mother was reportedly addicted to drugs, and he had a number of developmental issues.
He also reportedly had reactive attachment disorder. The rare behavioral health condition prevents infants and young children from developing healthy attachments to their parents and caregivers.
According to court documents obtained by the Post, Elizabeth Stark asked Isaiah’s doctors for help in 2017.
“I am desperate for help,” wrote Elizabeth Stark. “Is there a stronger medication that you can prescribe ASAP that will take the ability away from him to keep him awake and completely force his body to sleep?”
She reportedly messaged doctors on a monthly basis for several years. On February 16, 2020, Elizabeth Stark made an urgent request to Isaiah’s doctor.
“I am still having significant problems with his sleep,” she told me. “He says he is sleeping at night, and he seems to be, but he is wanting to sleep all day and we are held hostage by this, unable to do anything because he keeps falling asleep.”
The next day, his family rushed him to the hospital, but he became unresponsive along the way. Isaiah died the following day.
According to court documents, a coroner determined that his cause of death was hypernatremia, which is caused by high sodium levels in the blood, the Post reported. Despite symptoms of malnutrition and dehydration, the Grand County coroner ruled the death an accident.
“I do not believe this is anything more than a tragic accident,” Grand County Coroner Branda Bock stated in a Colorado Bureau of Investigation report.
After Isaiah died, the Starks met with the assistant coroner, Tawnya Bailey. According to a CBI report, she allegedly stated, “I will do everything in my power to ensure that this remains here.” She also reportedly assured them that Sheriff’s Investigator Bobby Rauch would do the same.
The district attorney declined to prosecute “because the autopsy, and then subsequent additional review by medical professionals, could not confirm the exact cause of death nor establish any culpable mental state required for a criminal prosecution under applicable Colorado statutes,” District Attorney Matt Karzen said in a statement, according to the Post.
“Words cannot express how grateful we are for our community’s outpouring of love following the loss of our son. “For a week, friends and family have rallied around the clock to care for every single need we may have,” Elizabeth Stark wrote on Facebook after Isaiah died.
“From treats and meals to paper goods so we don’t have to wash dishes, helping with our boys, giving flowers and money and cards, or just sitting with us when we so desperately need that comfort,” according to her. “We’re grateful. I am incredibly grateful. Thank you for all of your love and support, as well as your big and small gestures. We adore all of you and are speechless at your compassion.”
Knox, Elizabeth Stark’s “miracle baby,” was born less than a year after Isaiah’s death.
