Court appoints a guardian for Ohrenschall’s daughter

Larry Henry

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 1998 | 10:23 a.m.

Although Katie Ross still is not allowed to visit her mother more than 90 minutes a day, Ross, the 16-year-old daughter of Assemblywoman Genie Ohrenschall, has left the hospital to live with a court-approved guardian.

Ross left her second-floor room at Columbia Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center on Monday after more than a month under police supervision to live with Dr. Fuller Royal, a Las Vegas homeopath.

Ross, whose hospital room didn't have a phone, also will not have access to a phone at Royal's house.

The Clark County Family Court has prohibited contact between Ross and her mother, a two-term Las Vegas Democrat, except for supervised daily visits.

The district attorney's office filed a civil petition last month alleging that Ohrehschall neglected her daughter by seeking alternative medical treatment, including Oriental herbs, for Ross' colitis rather than traditional surgery.

Ohrenschall hoped to avoid surgery so Ross wouldn't have to wear a colostomy bag throughout life.

But Ross was hospitalized on Dec. 27, 1997, after her colon perforated. She underwent surgery on Jan. 1 to remove the colon.

A hospital doctor, concerned that Ross' weight had dropped to below 60 pounds, alerted law enforcement authorities.

Since undergoing surgery, Ross has remained under police supervision and reportedly is being treated with anti-depressants such as Prozac. Her weight is up to 80 pounds.

Royal, who practices alternative medicine, was the last doctor to treat Ross before she was hospitalized.

Royal offered himself as a guardian last month, and Family Court Judge Gerald Hardcastle agreed Monday to the arrangement.

Ohrenschall's attorney, Ted Marshall, said Ross would rather be with her mother, but she'd prefer staying with Royal and his wife than remaining at the hospital.

"I'm sure Katie's ecstatic about it," Marshall said. "She's crawling the (hospital) walls probably."

The guardianship is indefinite, Marshall said, and could last for 1 1/2 years, until Ross is an adult and can decide on her own where to live.

Ross recently wrote a letter to Family Court Judge Fernando Guzman asserting that her mother did not neglect her.

"I think that the only complaint that can legitimately be brought against her is that she spoils me rotten!" the hand-written letter says. "The thought of surgery was horribly terrifying to me, and I wanted to try any alternative possible in order to avoid taking such a drastic step."

Meanwhile, Marshall said he is attempting to strike a deal with the district attorney's office that would allow social services workers to monitor Ross' health if the civil petition is dropped prior to a March 2 court date.

Friends of Ohrenschall waited outside Hardcastle's courtroom on Monday while settlement arrangements were being discussed.

Mikey Bilbray, wife of former Rep. Jim Bilbray, D-Nev., said she offered to serve as Ross' guardian.

Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams and Democratic National Committeewoman Judy Klein also waited outside the courtroom, along with Assemblyman Bob Price, D-Las Vegas, and his wife, Nancy, a university regent and Republican congressional candidate.