CLAYTON COUNTY, GA – The parents of a newborn have called for justice after the child was decapitated during delivery, and the death was ruled a homicide by the Clayton County, Georgia Medical Examiner’s Office. This shocking incident has been blamed on the hospital staff’s alleged misconduct and attempts to hide the decapitation.
Dr. Roderick Edmond, the family’s attorney, called attention to the hospital’s alleged effort to pressure the parents into cremating the baby to destroy evidence. He emphasized the severity of their alleged deception regarding the availability of a free autopsy.
“Homicide”, in this case, implies the death resulted from another person’s actions, per the medical examiner’s office. The immediate cause of death was declared to be a fracture-dislocation with complete transection of the upper cervical spine and spinal cord.
The infant’s distraught mother, Jessica Ross, broke into tears during the Wednesday press conference when prompted to comment. The bereaved father, Treveon Taylor, Sr, expressed their heartbreaking plea– “We just want justice for our son.”
Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Georgia, was where the couple had gone on July 9, 2023, for their son’s birth. During the attempted vaginal delivery, the baby’s shoulders got trapped, a fetal emergency called shoulder dystocia. This led to prolonged labor without delivery– a situation that remained unchanged for three hours, as per a lawsuit filed by the parents in August 2023.
Edmond explained that strict protocols lay down specific requirements for tackling shoulder dystocia, involving the alerting of all hospital staff for additional perspectives and putting of fundal pressure by the nurses. He contends that these protocols were not adhered to in the incident.
The family’s legal complaint states that the obstetrician applied excessive force to the infant’s head and neck during the attempted vaginal delivery, and the nurses failed to follow hospital procedures, thus causing the baby’s death.
Three hours into the unsuccessful vaginal delivery, the obstetrician decided to perform a Cesarean section. The outcome was horrifying- the body was delivered through Cesarean section, the head was delivered vaginally, and the baby was dead. The death is attributed to the excessive force used by the obstetrician during the attempted vaginal delivery, reveals the lawsuit.
Edmond alleges that the parents were not informed about the decapitation. He claims that the medical staff attempted to persuade the parents to cremate the body and falsely communicated the non-availability of a free county autopsy. Furthermore, he reports that the parents were only allowed a distorted view of their son – seen through a looking glass, the baby was wrapped in a blanket with the head propped on the body to conceal the decapitation.
It was only three days after delivery that the parents discovered the decapitation. A funeral home obtaining the baby’s body informed the county medical examiner’s office, told Cory Lynch, another family lawyer.
Southern Regional Medical Center commented only to express condolences for the family and hospital staff impacted by this tragic event, remaining tight-lipped about the complications due to ongoing litigation.
An investigation into the case has been launched by the Clayton County Police Department, which declined to discuss specifics of open investigations. The Clayton County District Attorney’s Office also confirmed waiting for an investigative file and charges to be sent to their office.