Death of baby decapitated during delivery at Georgia hospital ruled a homicide: officials
ATLANTA (TND) — The death of a newborn baby who was decapitated during his delivery at a hospital in Georgia has been ruled a homicide, according to the Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The medical examiner's office on Tuesday announced it completed its investigation into the death of Treveon Taylor, Jr.
In a news release obtained by The National Desk, the medical examiner's office said the infant died due to "the actions of another person" in July 2023.
It was shocking," the baby's father said in an interview with CNN. "It gave me chills to know that his head was off his body."The cause of death included what the medical examiner described as a "fracture-dislocation with complete transection" to the upper cervical spine and spinal cord due to shoulder dystocia, arrest of labor, and fetal entrapment in the birth canal.
The release also noted "other significant conditions" that contributed to the death were pregnancy-induced diabetes and the premature rupturing of membranes.
The baby's parents, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr., attended a news conference in August, with their attorneys announcing a lawsuit. They filed the suit against Dr. Tracey St. Julian and Southern Regional Medical Center, where Ross went to deliver her son on July 9, alleging gross negligence, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
According to the suit, the baby got stuck during delivery, but St. Julian delayed a surgical procedure and failed to seek help quickly. Instead, she applied "ridiculously excessive force" on the baby's head and neck to try to deliver it, attorney Roderick Edmond, who is also a physician, said.
Roughly three hours passed before St. Julian took Ross, 20, for a cesarean section, according to the suit. By then, a fetal monitor had stopped registering a heartbeat.
The cesarean section removed the baby's legs and body, but the head was delivered vaginally, according to Edmond.
The couple asked for a C-section earlier, when the baby still could have survived, but were denied, Edmond said.
Southern Regional previously said in statements it could not discuss treatment for particular patients due to privacy laws, but denied the allegations.
A few days after the baby's death, the medical examiner's office was contacted by a Willie Watkins Funeral Home in Riverdale, according to the release. The funeral home asked if "the death of a baby with a detached head had been reported to our office, adding that the infant's family hired a private pathologist to perform an autopsy.
"Watkins mentioned that they called us because they thought it was unusual that our office was not already involved," according to the release. "Chief Investigator Betty Honey was dispatched to Watkins FH to investigate this matter and to examine the baby. Upon completing her field investigation, Chief Honey took jurisdiction over the investigation. She then requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Medical Examiner’s Office to perform another autopsy," which was conducted on July 14.
The medical examiner's office also said it consulted with two OB GYNs, who combined performed nearly 20,000 labor deliveries to determine the baby's death.
The case remains under investigation by the Clayton County Police Department.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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