MILWAUKEE — An 8-year-old autistic boy who was accidentally suffocated to death by a minister during an exorcism last summer appeared visibly sedated by prescription drugs before the ritual even began, a defense attorney for the minister told jurors Tuesday.

Although the minister, Ray Hemphill, admitted to leaning on the boy for almost two hours while attempting to cast out demons, his defense attorney told jurors that medication Terrance Cottrell was taking, not Hemphill's "good works," actually killed the boy. Autopsy reports determined that Terrance Cottrell died of asphyxiation from intense pressure on his chest.

Hemphill, 47, who prayed over Terrance's chest as parishioners held the boy down, stands trial this week on one charge of felony physical child abuse, defined as the reckless causation of great bodily harm. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

Terrance had been diagnosed with autism at the age of 2 and had been taking the drug ziprasidone, also known by the brand name Geodon, at the time of his death.

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Two female parishioners believed that "Junior" — as Terrance was called — "looked a little strange, he didn't look quite himself, he was quieter than he usually was, and most important, he looked to be heavily medicated," according to Hemphill's public defender, Thomas Harris, in his opening statement.

On Aug. 22, 2003, at about 7 p.m., Terrance was brought to the strip mall-based Faith Temple of the Apostolic Faith Church by his mother, Patricia Cooper, to undergo what Harris claims was the 12^th such service Hemphill had performed on the boy that summer.

Defense Attorney Thomas Harris

A detective on the scene, Thomas Casper, also testified Tuesday that the small church had no air conditioning, just six fans set on low-medium speeds, and the thermostat in the church was at 80 degrees that night.

According to police statements, during the prayer session, Terrance was told to lie on the floor while Hemphill prayed and sang over him. Cooper and two other parishioners, Tamara Tolefree and Monica Tarver, held his limbs down because he scratched and kicked throughout the service.

According to the criminal complaint, Hemphill allegedly leaned on the boy, chest-to-chest, and at one point put his knee across the boy's chest.

"Terrance was not one who could fend for himself," said Deputy Assistant District Attorney Mark Williams, as he explained to jurors in his opening statement that Terrance, like most autistic children, hated to be touched, and had very few words to express his needs. "He fought violently to have them release their holds."

According to Williams, Hemphill "would lay over Terrance's chest and whisper things in his ear to try and eject the demon that he thought was inside him." At one point during the last fatal session, Terrance urinated and defecated on himself.

Prosecutor Mark Williams

When Hemphill finally rose off the boy, after almost two hours of praying, both his and Terrance's shirts were soaked with sweat. The floor beneath them was wet from sweat and urine. And Terrance was no longer moving.

But Hemphill's attorney pointed out that a pillow had been placed under the boy's head, and parishioners rubbed the child's legs and stomach to try to comfort him.

"Minister Ray did not act in a reckless fashion that day. There was nothing reckless about this admittedly nontraditional prayer service," Harris said. "It had been performed numerous times, and Junior's own mother was there supervising and assisting."

Judge Jean DiMotto allowed Terrance's mother and the two other parishioners, Tolefree and Tarver, to seek protection from prosecution under the Fifth Amendment and avoid incriminating themselves.

"The government is attempting to equate a voluntary church-prayer service, participated in by the victim's mother, as somehow criminal in conduct," Harris told jurors.

A firefighter also gave testimony Tuesday that took Harris by surprise.

James Kopp, an EMT who was among the first to respond to a 911 call at the church, told prosecutor Williams that Hemphill initially claimed Terrance had collapsed on the floor after playing with other boys in the church.

There were no other children present the night Terrance died, and this was the first time the defense attorney heard that his client had given a false account of events, as he claimed to the judge later, that there had been no mention of this fact in any reports he received from Williams.

Out of the presence of jurors, Williams told the judge he had faxed Harris the updated report of expected testimony from Kopp in late June, but Harris, who was on vacation when the fax presumably was sent, denied receiving update.

The damage was done, as Harris had specifically told jurors in his opening statement that the facts would show that his client had been completely cooperative with investigators.

"It's out there now," he said. "They've heard it."

Harris asked the judge to remedy the situation by barring Williams from bringing up his client's alleged statement.

Judge DiMotto asked both attorneys to recheck their fax machines and search for any evidence to prove whether the fax had been sent, before she would make her decision.

The trial, which is expected to last through Friday, is being broadcast live on Court TV.