The death of a baby, who was decapitated at some point during the delivery process at an Atlanta-area hospital, has been ruled a homicide, the local medical examiner announced.
Jessica Ross’ water broke early in the morning of July 9, sending her and her partner racing to Regional Medical Center in Riverdale. According to a lawsuit filed by Ross the following month, her doctor, Tracey St. Julian, “attempted to deliver the baby vaginally using different methods including applying traction to the baby’s head,” but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Hours later, the medical team opted for a C-section, but by then, the fetal monitor was no longer registering a heartbeat.
Ross ultimately delivered the baby’s head vaginally while the body was recovered by way of C-section, according to her lawyer, Roderick Edmond. She named the infant Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr., after his father and her boyfriend, Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr.
The Clayton County Medical Examiner on Tuesday confirmed the baby’s head had been detached, adding that he died from a broken neck. Treveon specifically suffered from “fracture-dislocation with complete transection, upper cervical (C1-C2) spine and spinal cord,” due to “shoulder dystocia, arrest of labor, and fetal entrapment in the birth canal,” according to the news release, obtained by CNN.
The medical examiner noted pregnancy-induced diabetes and premature rupture of membranes were also significant conditions contributing to the infant’s death.
Ross has also accused Regional Medical Center, located some 13 miles south of downtown Atlanta, of attempting to cover up her baby’s decapitation. When the parents requested to hold their child, hospital staff “wrapped the baby up tightly, they propped the baby’s head on top of the blanket to make it appear like the head was attached when it wasn’t,” according to court documents. They also allegedly discouraged the couple from getting an autopsy and instead urged them to have the baby immediately cremated.
The suit, which takes aim at Southern Regional and St. Julian, is seeking an unspecified amount in damages. An police investigation into the matter is ongoing.
