Death of baby decapitated during delivery at Georgia hospital ruled a homicide
8 February 2024, 14:49 | Updated: 8 February 2024, 14:51
The death of a baby that was decapitated while being delivered has been ruled as a homicide.
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The baby boy, named Treveon Taylor Jr, died in July last year as a direct result of the "actions of another person", the state of Georgia’s medical examiner’s office said.
The immediate cause of death was a fracture of cervical vertebrae in the spine - known as a broken neck.
Parents Jessica Ross and Trevon Isaiah Taylor Sr sued the hospital in Riverdale, Georgia, and the doctor who delivered their son in 2023.
They accused staff of propping the baby’s head back on the body and wrapping it in a blanket to cover up the decapitation.
The hospital denied any wrongdoing.
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The parents have claimed that the doctor was from a private practice and not employed by the hospital.
They claimed Dr Tracey St Julian applied excessive force to the baby while trying to pull him out.
Dr St. Julian is accused of failing to seek help quickly and delaying a C-section. She allegedly applied "ridiculously excessive force" on the baby's head and neck.
Ms Ross ended up having a C-section to deliver the baby’s legs and body, but the head was delivered vaginally, according to the parent’s lawyer Dr Roderick Edmond.
“We just want justice for our son,” Mr Taylor said at a press conference on Wednesday in Atlanta.
“They lied to us, they ain’t let us touch him, we didn’t like it.”
Last year, Dr Edmond said at a news conference: "They wrapped the baby tightly in a blanket, propped the baby’s head up on a blanket."
He said they were “basically making it look like there was no decapitation”.
