When our child is born, it is usually one of the greatest moments that we have in life. Unfortunately, there are also times when things don’t work out for the best and it could even be the worst.
Jessica Ross is a 20-year-old woman who was expecting the birth of her baby, Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Jr. When she was in labor, they tried a number of methods to deliver the baby, including ‘applying traction to the baby’s head.’
Unfortunately, because of the problem known as shoulder dystocia, the baby became stuck. It is an issue that happens when the shoulders of the baby are stuck in the birth canal.
Dr. Tracy St. Julian worked for a number of hours to try to deliver the baby before a decision was made to perform a cesarean section. They did the C-section, delivering the body of the baby but the head was delivered vaginally.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the doctor did not tell the family about the decapitation when she spoke to them on July 10 at around 5 AM. According to the lawsuit, the hospital also prevented the mother and father from seeking an autopsy.
They said that it was not an option to have a free autopsy and they were trying to put pressure on the couple to cremate the baby instead of sending it to a funeral home.
The parents demanded that they hold their infant but the baby was apparently so tightly covered with a blanket and that they had propped his head on top of his body. They did this to hide the fact that he was decapitated.
When the baby was sent to the funeral home, he reported the decapitation to the family and to the medical examiner. The funeral director said: “I just felt a sense of urgency to say, hey listen, this is not right, this is not right. Never seen it before.
They thought that it was odd that they received the baby and such a condition without the medical examiner delivering it. It would usually come from the police or medical examiner.
“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.”
The parents suffered from “immediate, profound emotional and mental anguish” as a result of the decapitation of their child. According to their attorney, they were very excited about the birth of the first child but their hopes and dreams turned into a nightmare and it was subsequently covered up by the Medical Center.
As of February 6, the Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the incident as a homicide. They said that the cause of death was a “fracture dislocation with complete transection (to the) upper cervical spine and spinal cord.”
They also said that premature rupture of membranes and pregnancy-induced diabetes contributed to his death, adding that it was caused by the actions of another person.
Law enforcement is no longer handling the investigation. The District Attorney’s Office will decide if charges will be filed against the doctor.