Child deaths have plagued the Followers of Christ Church for decades.

The Oregon City-based religion believes in a literal translation of the Scripture, which states that the sick shall be anointed by elders and that faith will heal all. Death, if it comes, is God's will, they believe.

The latest investigation involves the death on Sunday of a twin girl, Gennifer, who was born to Sarah and Travis Lee Mitchell.

Mitchell, 24, gave birth at her parents' home on South Loder Road in Oregon City. Gennifer developed apparent breathing problems and died in the home a few hours later, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

Mitchell's sister and brother-in-law, Shannon and Dale Hickman, were sentenced in 2011 to more than six years in prison in the death of their newborn son, who died less than nine hours after he was born in 2009.

In 2008, 15-month-old Ava Worthington died in 2008 at her parents' home of bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection. Her parents, Raylene and Carl Brent Worthington, never sought medical treatment. Carl Worthington was convicted of misdemeanor criminal mistreatment and sentenced to two months in jail. Raylene Worthington was acquitted on all charges.

That same year, 15-year-old Neil Beagley, brother of Raylene Worthington, became ill from a urinary tract blockage and died two weeks later. The Beagleys said they followed their son's wishes in treating him only with prayer and faith healing. Both parents were convicted of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to 16 months in prison.

In 2011, Rebecca and Timothy Wyland were sentenced to 90 days in jail after being convicted of first-degree criminal mistreatment related to their daughter's care. As an infant, Alayna Wyland developed an abnormal mass of blood vessels that grew across her face and engulfed her left eye. Child protection authorities took custody, and Alayna improved under court-ordered care.

Prompted by the church's long history of child deaths, the Oregon Legislature in 2011 removed spiritual treatment as a defense for all homicide charges.

Under the law, if found guilty, parents would be subject to mandatory sentencing under Oregon's Measure 11. Lawmakers and prosecutors hoped the threat of long prison sentences would prompt members to reconsider their tradition of rejecting medical treatment in favor of faith healing.

Of 78 children buried in the church cemetery from 1955 to 1998, at least 21 could have been saved by medical intervention, according to a 1998 analysis by The Oregonian.

The church traces its origins to the faith-healing Pentecostal movement of the late 19th century. Church leaders say it was founded about 1880. Walter T. White, the charismatic nephew of one of the early founders, brought a splinter group to Oregon in the 1930s. White died in 1969, and the last of the elders ordained by White died in 1986. The church is not affiliated with a mainstream denomination.

-- Noelle Crombie

503-276-7184; @noellecrombie