Death of baby decapitated during birth ruled a homicide, medical examiner says
ATLANTA (WANF/Gray News) - The death of a baby who wound up decapitated during birth at a Georgia hospital has now been ruled a homicide, the medical examiner’s office announced.
The Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday that newborn Treveon Taylor Jr.’s cause of death was a “fracture dislocation with complete transection (to the) upper cervical spine and spinal cord.” His death was caused by shoulder dystocia, arrest of labor and fetal entrapment in the birth canal.
It also said pregnancy-induced diabetes and premature rupture of membranes contributed to his death.
The medical examiner’s office said Treveon’s death was caused by the “actions of another person.”
The newborn’s mother, 20 year-old Jessica Ross, went into labor at Southern Regional Medical Center on July 9 and reported experiencing complications during the birthing process.
According to a lawsuit filed on behalf of the newborn’s parents in August, the baby’s shoulders got stuck in the vaginal canal, at which point a doctor allegedly performed a cesarean section too late and applied “excessive tension” on the baby’s head, causing it to detach from the body.
The lawsuit claims the doctor did not tell the mother and father what had happened. Instead, hospital staff allegedly refused to let them hold the baby after death, the lawsuit claims. They showed the parents Treveon wrapped tightly in a blanket with his head propped on top, a statement said. It also says staff pressured the couple to cremate the remains and told them an autopsy wasn’t warranted.
The family alleges they were not made aware of the decapitation until they received a concerning phone call from the Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home.
“I just felt a sense of urgency to say, ‘Hey, listen, this is not right. Never seen it before,’” said Sylvania Watkins, the funeral home’s general manager, in August.
Watkins found it peculiar to receive a decapitated baby from a hospital and not the medical examiner’s office or law enforcement.
“With the body and the head being detached, we should have retrieved this body from the coroner’s office. When that did not happen, that’s when I said we need to reach out and back up and do it right,” Watkins said.
The medical examiner’s office was alerted to the dead infant’s condition by the funeral home, launching an investigation into the matter shortly after.
In August, Southern Regional shared the following statement, adding that they were not able to discuss details surrounding the birth due to HIPAA laws:
Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event. Our prayers also remain with the dedicated team of physicians, nurses and staff at Southern Regional Medical Center who cared for this patient. As our deepest sympathies remain with the family, Southern Regional Medical Center denies the allegations of wrongdoing in the Complaint referencing the hospital. Due to patient privacy laws and HIPAA, we are unable to discuss the care and treatment of specific patients, but we can state this unfortunate infant death occurred in utero prior to the delivery and decapitation. The hospital voluntarily reported the death to the Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office and is cooperating with all investigations. Since this matter is in litigation, we cannot provide additional statements.
The medical examiner’s office said it will be up to the district attorney whether formal charges relating to the homicide investigation will be filed.
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