One woman testified how the treatment cured her.
Read more: Local, Crime
MARQUETTE --
The defense rested its case Thursday in the trial of a U.P. man accused of selling a type of milk as a cancer cure.The attorneys produced a string of witnesses who testified that William Schroeder--a former Wisconsin dairy farmer--had cured a family member's cancer. They all claimed to be friends of the defendant or business acquaintances, describing him as an honest man.
A woman also took the stand to testify how Schroeder's treatment cured her leukemia when doctors told her she had a four percent chance of survival.
Then the defense put Schroeder on the stand. He described the treatment he learned from a fellow farmer. It involves infusing the udder of a pregnant cow with the blood of the cancer patient.
The theory is that the cow will develop antibodies to that cancer and pass them through the milk she first produces after birth--called the colostrum.
But on cross examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Lochner questioned what scientific evidence Schroeder had to prove his treatment worked. The defendant cited a company who patented the process to produce a bovine antibiotic as well as his own personal experience. Schroeder said he didn't think he ever made any guarantees about its efficacy.
However, Lochner pointed out Schroeder told an undercover agent that what was in the colostrum was targeted to the specific person to kill the cancer.
Lochner asked Schroeder whether it would be reasonable for someone to infer that means it was a cure. Schroeder said yes.
Lochner also questioned Schroeder as to why--if he thought he wasn't doing anything wrong--he told the undercover agent that the operation was "hush-hush" and not to tell doctors. Schroeder claimed he said that because he didn't want more people calling him, asking for the treatment.
Closing arguments start Friday morning at 9 a.m.
