Hopes low for poisoned family

Three members of a Delaware family poisoned by pesticide while they vacationed in the U.S. Virgin Islands will likely never recover from their paralyzing illness, the island's governor said last week.

Kenneth Mapp told reporters Tuesday that the prognosis was poor for Steve Esmond, 49, and his two sons, who breathed toxic methyl bromide while staying in a villa on the island of St. John. "The doctors do not expect any significant recovery from their present condition," Mapp told the Virgin Islands Daily News.

Esmond, his wife, Theresa Devine, and their teenage sons, became seriously ill after neurotoxin was sprayed in a condominium under the one in which they were staying. Mapp said Devine's condition was improving, but Esmond has severe paralysis.

The oldest son, Ryan, is paralyzed from the neck down, and Sean Esmond is "in and out of a coma" and has no feelings in his limbs, Mapp said.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the case.