SBS: Tennessee: Grand jury to consider Dustin McCord shaken baby case

June 22nd, 2011

•  Dustin James McCord, 22, was charged with aggravated child abuse after what police termed was an incident of shaken baby syndrome. A release from the police department said they had been contacted by staff at Erlanger hospital who said “a 5-month-old baby had been brought in suffering from a seizure and exhibiting past and present shaken-baby symptoms.”
  A judge has sent a case to the Hamilton County grand jury in which a 23-year-old man is accused of shaking his girlfriend’s 5-month-old baby, likely causing permanent neurological injuries.

In the courtroom of Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon, witnesses testified Tuesday that defendant Dustin McCord told police he was alone with Jayden Bartholomew for about five minutes on June 4 when the child’s limbs stiffened and his eyes rolled back in his head.
McCord, who said he was bottle-feeding the infant at the time, took the child to Monica Bartholomew, the baby’s mother, who was at the next-door neighbor’s residence. They then called an ambulance.
McCord is being held on a $60,000 bond on an aggravated child abuse or neglect charge.
Dr. Marvin Hall, a physician at Children’s Hospital at Erlanger, testified that, when he examined Jayden, the boy had fresh bleeding behind his eyes, around the brain and spinal cord, indicating that the injuries were, at most, only hours old. The injuries also match common factors connected to “shaken baby syndrome,” he testified.
Hall said he also discovered pools of older blood in the boy’s brain and spinal cord, indicating injuries from days or weeks before.
The boy has since been discharged, but Hall said the child likely will face permanent neurological damage and possible blindness.
Chattanooga police continue to investigate the case.
Monica Bartholomew invoked her constitutional right not to testify in the hearing.
Her attorney, Ryan Hanzelik, explained to Moon that his client was in a “very difficult position” because she wanted to help the investigation but not put herself in a position to face charges.
McCord sat with his attorney, Phillip Duval, in a red Hamilton County Jail uniform and nodded at different points during testimony.
Through his cross-examination of Hall, Duval widened the possible time in which the injuries to Jayden could have happened, noting that the injuries could have occurred before McCord picked up the child.
“Could the baby have been shaken, put in bed and picked up by someone else?” Duval asked.
“Yes,” Hall answered.
Monica Bartholomew had left Jayden with McCord and gone next door about five minutes before the incident, according to testimony.
Assistant District Attorney Charlie Minor called both Hall and Chattanooga police Detective Galen Fugh to testify.
Fugh responded to the call and questioned both McCord and Monica Bartholomew. He said the investigation was still ongoing as to the child’s older injuries.
Moon repeatedly clarified the order of events reported by Fugh reported as well as the doctor’s time frame of possible injuries.
“I think the time windows are very relevant, they may end up being the crux of the case,” Moon told attorneys.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jun/22/chattanooga-grand-jury-consider-shaken-baby-case/

SBS: Tennessee: Dustin McCord charged

 June 21, 2011
A doctor testified Tuesday that a five-month-old baby brought to Children's Hospital June 5, suffered from "shaken baby syndrome." Dr. Martin Hall said Jayden Bartholomew suffered brain damage and likely will have seizures the rest of his life.
A charge of aggravated child abuse was bound to the Grand Jury against Dustin McCord, boyfriend of the child's mother. He remains on $60,000 bond.

It was testified that the child's mother, Monica Bartholomew, had gone next door, leaving McCord with the child. He then told her the child was stiffening up.

Dr. Hall testified that the child "has new and old subdural hematomas, so bleeding around the brain, an associative brain injury. He has retinal hemorrhages, so bleeding behind the eye."  He added, "It would need to be very vigorous shaking so that any individual would recognize it as being harmful."  Dr. Hall said, "I think it's very likely that this child will have neurologic disabilities as a result of his injuries that's likely to be permanent."
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_203819.asp

SBS: Tennessee: Joseph Dowell declared "not guilty" of child abuse

June 10 2011 : Mary Jo Denton

 

Dowell

COOKEVILLE -- A father who was arrested last year for allegedly injuring his 3-month-old daughter went to trial yesterday and was found not guilty.

Joseph Erwin Dowell, 27, of West Jackson Street, was indicted by the Putnam grand jury last August following an investigation by Cookeville Police Detective Sgt. Bobby Anderson. He was charged with aggravated child abuse, a Class A felony.
Police said at the time that Dowell's baby daughter was in his care at his home on May 26 when she began having breathing problems. Dowell called 911 and the baby was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Doctors found a possible brain injury and notified police.
The baby was transferred to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville and was treated for injuries described as "consistent" with shaken baby syndrome.
After further investigation by detectives and Department of Children's Services workers, Dowell was indicted.
Yesterday, Deputy District Attorney Tony Craighead and Assistant DA Beth Willis took the case to trial before Judge Leon Burns. Dowell was represented by attorney Rebecca Brady.
According to court clerks, three Vanderbilt physicians testified for the state, all saying that the infant had suffered shaken baby syndrome.
The shaking that causes such injuries had taken place sometime within a 48-hour time span before the baby was brought to the hospital, according to their testimony.
Witnesses for the defense included the baby's mother and grandmother, both of whom said they did not believe that Dowell had hurt the baby.
They pointed to the time span and said Dowell did not have the baby in his care for that whole time, meaning that the injury could have occurred some other way when the baby was with others during that time span.
The two witnesses for the defense also said they still trust Dowell and would have no qualms about leaving the child in his care.
The child has recovered from the injuries, according to testimony.
The jury took the case for deliberation at 4:50 p.m. and returned a not guilty verdict at 6:30 p.m., Circuit Court Clerk Marcia Borys said.

http://www.herald-citizen.com/view/full_story/13140744/article-Father-found-not-guilty-of-child-abuse?instance=latest_articles

SBS: Tennessee: Jacob Vines indicted

John Thompson, NET News Service

March 3rd, 2011 

ELIZABETHTON — The father of an infant who had injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome was arrested Tuesday after being indicted by a Carter County grand jury.

 

Jacob Vines

 

 

Jacob D. Vines, 22, was indicted on a charge of aggravated child abuse. He is scheduled to answer the charge during the next session of Criminal Court.
Investigator Chris Bowers said in an Elizabethton Police Department news release that the incident occurred on Nov. 4, when Vines’ then 1-month-old daughter was transported to Johnson City Medical Center in what was described a "life-threatening event."
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9030254

SBS: Tennessee: Jacob Vines charged

March 1, 2011: Preston Ayres

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. -- On November 4, 2010 the Elizabethton Police Department and the Department of Children's Services began an investigation into allegations of child abuse occurring at a home on Pine Ridge Circle, Elizabethton Tennessee.
A one-month-old female infant had been transported to the Johnson City Medical Center after a life threatening incident.
The initial examination of the infant revealed her to have injuries that are classified as non-accidental trauma.
Later examinations of the infant revealed injuries that are consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
The investigation revealed the father, Jacob D. Vines, was alone with the infant downstairs immediately prior to the life threatening event while the mother was upstairs with another child.
The case was presented to the Carter County Grand Jury on March 1, 2011, who returned a true bill charging Jacob D. Vines with Aggravated Child Abuse.
Vines was arrested the same day and transported to the Carter County Jail.
 Bond was set at $200,000.
http://www.wcyb.com/news/27044023/detail.html

SBS: Tennessee: Steven Grayson

By Nick Kenney

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) -

A Memphis father is charges after police said he shook his three-month-old baby so severely he had to be rushed to LeBonheur Children's Hospital.
Steven Grayson was arrested and charged with one count of aggravated child abuse after he was accused of repeatedly shaking his son.
On December 18, police were called to LeBonheur after being alerted about a possible child abuse case after the three-month-old was diagnosed with a skull fracture and bleeding on his brain.
Police said the baby had been at home inside an apartment complex off of Mill Branch near Shelby Drive.
The three-month-old was initially taken to nearby Methodist South Hospital.  Once there, paramedics rushed him to LeBonheur in critical condition.
On December 23, investigators interviewed Grayson.  According to the affidavit of complaint, he "admitted that he has shaken the three-month-old victim real hard every day since the day after Thanksgiving."
The baby was physically shaken for 22 straight days before finally being taken to the hospital.
Grayson was being held at 201 Poplar on a $100,000 bond.
Grayson has no criminal history or arrest record.  Investigators did not identify his son, so his latest condition is unknown.  According to court records, the baby is alive.

http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13738520

SBS: Tennessee

Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Annamaria Church, left, and Dr. Karla Garcia speak at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital on Tuesday about child abuse. The hospital treated six babies in a week who had traumatic brain injuries from being shaken.

During one week in November, six infants were brought to T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital with traumatic brain injuries after being shaken by a caregiver.
Two of the six babies died from their injuries, all of which were identified as child abuse, said Marisa Moyers, coordinator of Erlanger's Safe and Sound program for injury prevention.
Horrified by the "unprecedented" rash of abuse this holiday season, Moyers and other specialists at Erlanger's pediatric hospital want to get a message to parents that one instant of anger can cause lifelong damage to a child.
"Every single case is heart-wrenching," said Dr. Karla Garcia, T.C. Thompson pediatrician, at a Tuesday news conference focused on preventing child abuse. "The parent or caretaker may lose control for a moment or two, but that's all it takes to cause permanent injuries to a child."
Shaking can lead to traumatic brain injuries, formerly referred to as "shaken-baby syndrome," which can cause permanent blindness, hearing loss, learning disabilities, physical handicaps and death, Garcia said.
Prolonged financial pressures are combining with holiday stress to hit families hard this year, with many parents out of work and facing possible expiration of their jobless benefits, Moyers said.
So far this year, 83 children have come to T.C. Thompson with signs of abuse, from limb fractures to burns to sexual abuse. Officials did not have a figure for 2009 on Tuesday.

NATIONWIDE

* 300 — Babies in the U.S. who die each year from shaking
* 1,200 to 1,400 — Babies injured or killed nationwide from shaking
* 80 — Percentage of shaken babies who survive that suffer permanent disability
Source: National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome

TYPES OF CHILD ABUSE

In 2008, an estimated 772,000 children were victims of maltreatment:
* Neglect — 71.1 percent
* Physical abuse — 16.1 percent
* Sexual abuse — 9.1 percent
* Psychological abuse — 7.3 percent
* Medical neglect — 2.2 percent
* Other (abandonment, congenital drug addiction, etc.) — 9 percent
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children's Bureau

T.C. THOMPSON STATS

2009
* Infant patients who had been shaken -- 12
* Total pediatric abuse cases -- unavailable
2010
* Infant patients who had been shaken -- 13
* Total pediatric abuse cases -- 83
Source: Erlanger Health System

RESOURCES FOR CAREGIVERS

* Tennessee Parent Help Line — 800-356-6767
* Children's Advocacy Center of Hamilton County — 423-266-6918
* National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome — dontshake.org
* Crying awareness site: purplecrying.info

Of them, 13 infants under 6 months old, including the six admitted last month, have had shaking-related injuries, compared to 12 in 2009.
"These are all preventable. This is not something that just happens to children," Moyers said.
The four surviving children with shaking-related injuries have been placed in a safe environment through child protective services, as law enforcement investigates their cases, Garcia said.
Hospital officials — who report signs of abuse to law enforcement, as well as to child protective services — did not know if any arrests had been made in relation to the abuse.
But shaking a baby is a criminal offense, said Sgt. Jerome Halbert, supervisor over family investigations with the Chattanooga Police Department. If there is enough evidence to identify the abuser, police will prosecute in these cases, he said.
Each day, nearly five children die as a result of child abuse, and more than three-quarters are under age 4, according to Childhelp, a national nonprofit focused on preventing child abuse.
Stresses contributing to abuse risk include having multiple young children, single motherhood and problems with drugs or alcohol, Garcia said.
But child abuse transcends economic, social and racial barriers, and anyone can snap in a moment of weakness and escalating frustration, said Annamaria Church, medical director of Erlanger's child protection team.
"It's all levels of society," she said.
Extended crying jags, common among children between 2 weeks and 4 months old, can trigger an exhausted parent to violence, Erlanger officials said.
Some babies wail for up to five hours, regardless of parents' efforts to soothe them, Moyers said.
"[Parents] just don't know what to do, where to go, and they go over the edge for that brief period of time," Moyers said. "Often they're so regretful, but the damage is already done."
An infant crying is the No. 1 trigger for shaking a baby, and shaken-baby syndrome is the leading cause of death in child abuse cases under 6 months, she said.
Shaking kills 300 babies a year, according to the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome.
The key is recognizing the trigger and seeking help before losing control, experts say.
Put the baby in its crib and walk away, Garcia said. Call your pediatrician, a friend or the Tennessee Parent Help Line, she said.
"It takes a village to keep these kids safe. If you have friends that have children, then you be there for them, too. It's not easy raising kids in today's society," Moyers said.
Even if a parent has already harmed their child, getting the child treatment can help prevent long-term damage, Garcia said.
"Don't wait because of fear or embarrassment to get your child help," she said.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/dec/08/one-moment-of-anger/