A child murder trial that started last week looks ready to conclude tomorrow, following a short but intense defense.
Cammie Kelly of Springfield was charged with aggravated battery and first degree murder following the 2011 death of 11-month-old Kaiden Gullidge of Rochester at the day care Kelly ran out of her home. Kelly’s trial started on Dec. 8, and she waived her right to testify today, instead relying on three expert witnesses for the defense.
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser rested this morning after presenting witnesses last week, allowing John Rogers, Kelly’s defense attorney, to present testimony from three doctors who rebutted the prosecution’s theory of “shaken baby syndrome” and provided an alternative explanation.
Before Rogers offered the witnesses, however, he asked Sangamon County Presiding Judge John Belz to dismiss the case. Belz denied the motion.
Rogers’ first witness was Dr. Julie Mack, a radiologist from Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center who consults in criminal trials. Mack testified that the bleeding and swelling of Kaiden’s brain observed during the autopsy happened between the time he was tested at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield and the time he was tested again at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria the following day.
Mack’s testimony contradicted that of the prosecution’s witnesses, who said the child must have sustained blunt force trauma or violent shaking to cause his brain condition. Instead, Mack attributed the condition to a “thrombosis” or clot in the blood vessels draining the brain. That clot blocked blood flow and caused a spike in pressure, Mack said, adding that inspection of the vessel showed scar tissue from previous clots.
Assistant state’s attorney Jeff Cox cross-examined Mack only briefly, establishing that Mack has presented research papers critical of shaken baby syndrome.
Dr. Shaku Teas, a forensic pathologist from River Forest, Illinois, testified after Mack, saying that she reviewed all of the records in the case and determined that Kaiden had an increased risk of blood clots due to his premature birth and repeated infections, among other factors. Teas said the bruises on Kaiden’s head and leg – which were not noted by several doctors until Kaiden’s autopsy – were minor marks caused by his medical treatment and handling.
Teas also indirectly criticized the work of Dr. Scott Denton, a forensic pathologist who did Kaiden’s autopsy. Teas said Denton cut the child’s brain into small pieces after the autopsy, making it difficult to examine. Denton previously testified that he did so to examine the brain for signs of stroke. Teas said Denton also failed to examine the tissue of Kaiden’s brain covering with a microscope, which would have yielded evidence of previous clots and established that the child had a history of brain bleeding.
Dr. Waney Squier, a neuropathologist from Oxford University Hospitals in England testified in the trial through a prerecorded video deposition. Her testimony reinforced that of Teas and Mack, establishing that the previous scar tissue from Kaiden’s brain covering is likely two to three weeks old, predating his collapse at Kelly’s day care. Cox cross-examined Squier, asking her to address a 2005 research paper that linked shaken baby syndrome with a “triad” of symptoms: bleeding of the brain, swelling of the brain and bleeding of the retinas. Squier said the study’s methodology was flawed, as was its conclusion.
“The triad may be present in some (shaken baby) cases,” she said, “but you can’t flip it and say any cases with the triad are abusive head trauma.”
The defense is expected to rest its case tomorrow. That will leave closing arguments by both sides, followed by jury deliberation and a possible verdict.
Contact Patrick Yeagle at pyeagle@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Dec 10-16, 2015.
