SBS: Deborah Parlock trial: other evidence

Bob Kasarda June 16, 2011

A Porter County jury acquitted a Liberty Township woman in the death of a 6-month-old boy who attended her day care.

Jurors deliberated for about two and a half hours Thursday before clearing Deborah Parlock, 56, of the felony charge of battery resulting in the death of a person younger than 14.
Earlier in the day, a doctor testifying on behalf of the defense disagreed with two other physicians that Chesterton resident Nicholas Munden died of child abuse.
Dr. Philip Deaton, a retired neurosurgeon from North Carolina, said medical records indicate the boy died of natural causes brought on by an unusually large amount of fluid built up in his head.
The pressure in his head led to bleeding, seizures, interruptions in breathing and brain damage resulting in his death, Deaton said.
"It's a little bit, almost of a time bomb situation," he said of Munden's condition.
Parlock, who did not take the stand in her own defense, said she found the boy unresponsive Sept. 19, 2008, at her home day care center. She consistently has denied doing anything wrong.
Parlock could have faced between 20 and 50 years behind bars.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matthew Frost challenged Deaton's conclusion by questioning his credentials and the fact he did not examine the boy, talk to the boy's doctors or review all the medical records.
"In this case you can't rule out that abuse happened," Frost said, unable to steer Deaton from his conclusion.
Prosecutors put two doctors on the stand this week. They testified Munden suffered head trauma brought on by child abuse.
Deaton said while the type of head swelling experienced by Munden can cure itself by the time the child is about 2, it needs to be monitored closely up to that time to prevent complications.
He downplayed the retinal bleeding the other doctors pointed to as a sign of abuse and said the type of bleeding inside the child's skull occurs in as many as 40 percent of births. He said the bleeding in this case could date back well beyond the boy's first stay at Parlock's day care center.
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/duneland/article_0278df17-38d7-5133-ae67-27823a16fe70.html

SBS: Deborah Parlock trial: earlier evidence

By Bob Kasarda : June 13 2011

Jessica Munden said just a couple of days after her son began staying at a Liberty Township day care center operated by Deborah Parlock on Aug. 11, 2008, the infant began projectile vomiting.

The problem worsened to the point that Nicholas Munden was hospitalized locally and in Chicago.
Nicholas recovered, was taken back to Parlock's and all went well until Sept. 19, 2008, when they boy was rushed to the hospital with trouble breathing.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matthew Frost told jurors Monday that evidence this week will show Nicholas later died at the age of 6 months as a result of being abused by Parlock.
Parlock, 56, who periodically cried as Jessica testified, is charged with a Class A felony of battery resulting in the death of a person younger than 14. She faces between 20 and 50 years behind bars if convicted.
Defense attorney John Vouga told jurors the evidence will show Nicholas, of Chesterton, died of natural causes that began well before he began staying with Parlock and that could have been prevented with proper medical care.

The boy suffered from acid reflux, a head that was swelling "off the charts" from fluids, and he would arch back and scream.
"There was something going wrong with this little guy," Vouga said.
Munden testified Nicholas did not wake up as easy as usual on that last morning he was taken to day care.
Parlock found Nicholas unresponsive at her house on the day in question, Vouga said. She then performed CPR on the boy.
While the boy had bleeding behind his eyes, he did not have a single mark on his body or fracture to support a theory he was shaken or otherwise battered, Vouga said.
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/duneland/article_4f7bcb8b-791b-598f-9529-462decd5dcc8.html

SBS: Deborah Parlock, day care provider, found not guilty

James D. Wolf Jr.  June 16, 2011

Parlock, Deborah 2011 Deborah Parlock for PCNANNY Photo provided to the Post-Tribune ptmet

A Porter County jury took about two hours Thursday to find a former home day-care provider not guilty of abusing a 6-month-old, leading to his death.

Deborah R. Parlock, 56, of Chesterton faced a 20- to 50-year sentence if jurors had found her guilty of felony battery resulting in the death of a person less than 14 years of age.

Defense attorneys John Vouga and Nick Barnes had argued that the death of Nicholas B. Munden was a result of his poor health.

“I never doubted Debbie’s innocence since the day she walked into my office,” Vouga said after the verdict was announced. “From the minute she called 911, she has told the truth about what happened.”

He said her story never changed, that the child was fine the morning of Sept. 19, 2008, then made odd noises and began having trouble breathing — no accidents happened.

The infant went into a coma and never came out, dying 10 days later when his parents decided to shut off life support at University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital.

An autopsy showed the boy had blood on both sides of his brain and in his retinas, which can indicate shaken baby syndrome.

“This case comes down to medical testimony,” Deputy Prosecutor Matthew Frost said in closing argument.

During the unusually long 45-minute closing arguments, Frost and Vouga tried to discredit the others’ expert witnesses.

Frost said Vouga’s experts had not dealt directly with the child, just reports, and their theories were based on adult cases.

The Comer’s doctors unanimously said it was abuse, he said.

Vouga agreed the case was about medical testimony, and his medical experts said many of the child’s symptoms before the incident — excessive sleeping, an unusual cry and severe vomiting — were signs of fluid on the brain that could have led to his death.

“It also boiled down to the police not doing their job. They did not interview a single parent,” Vouga said.

One parent testified Wednesday that she called to ask Porter County Sheriff’s detectives to interview her 4-year-old.

Vouga also said during closing that the prosecution argued Parlock shook the baby and threw him on the floor, but the boy had no bruises or broken bones.

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/porter/5998408-418/jury-clears-sitter-in-babys-death.html