NCJ Number
212928
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 51 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2006 Pages: 127-130
Date Published
January 2006
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper describes two cases in which resuscitation injuries to children complicated the interpretation of premortem trauma and natural disease in the children, leading to unwarranted arrests and charges against the children's caregivers.
Abstract
In the first case, two pathologists and a pediatric pulmonologist independently reviewed the death investigation and autopsy at the request of the defense attorney. This produced strong evidence that the deceased child's liver and spleen lacerations and the intra-abdominal blood were due to resuscitation efforts, not abuse. The cause of death was ultimately determined to be acute and chronic asthma, which explained the child's frequent complaints of abdominal pain and the rapid onset of rigor after death. Upon receiving this diagnostic report, the prosecutor dropped the State's first-degree murder charges against the boyfriend of the child's mother. In the second case, injuries to the child included lip lacerations, cutaneous contusions, rib fracture, retroperitoneal hemorrhage, and laceration of the spleen with intra-abdominal hemorrhage. These conditions were accompanied by an unexplained head injury. Other than the head injury, the other trauma were eventually linked to resuscitation efforts performed on the child in the emergency room. The head injury, which apparently caused the child's death, was determined to be an accident that resulted from the child's jumping up and down on his bed and falling to the floor, perhaps followed by his brother falling on his head. In this case, the mother's boyfriend was indicted for capital murder; however, after hearing the defense's alternate explanations for the child's injuries, the jury acquitted the defendant. 7 figures and 15 references