Melvin L. Morse is seen in an undated file photo provided by the Delaware State Police. Morse, 58, of Georgetown, Del., and his wife, Pauline Morse, were arrested Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 by Delaware State Police and charged with recklessly endangering their two daughters, including the use of a form of discipline that police say the man called “waterboarding.” Morse says he is being persecuted by authorities because of a 2009 doctor abuse scandal in the state. Dr. Melvin Morse tells The Associated Press that he is the victim of what he called hysteria following the prosecution of pediatrician Earl Bradley. Bradley is serving 14 life sentences for abusing scores of his young patients over more than a decade. (AP Photo/Delaware State Police, File)RANDALL CHASE
DOVER, Del. (AP) – To many people, Dr. Melvin Morse was a brilliant pediatrician at a renowned children’s hospital and a best-selling author who parlayed his research on near-death experiences into appearances on “Larry King Live” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
Away from the spotlight, however, Morse was tormented by personal and financial problems and, according to court records, wrestled with depression, substance abuse and even suicidal thoughts. His latest trouble involves allegations of waterboarding his 11-year-old stepdaughter, using the simulated drowning technique to bring her to “a possible near-death state,” police have said.
Based on his work involving children’s near-death experiences, police suggested he may have been experimenting on her.
Morse, 58, was accused in July of grabbing his daughter by the ankle and dragging her across a gravel driveway. When police did a follow-up interview last week, the girl said Morse had held her face under running water at least four times since 2009, using faucets in the kitchen, bathroom sink and bathtub. Her mother, Pauline Morse, witnessed some of the waterboarding but did nothing to stop it, police said.