STORY: "Whether parents crushed infant's skull subject of new trial hearing," by reporter Tim Chitwood, published by the Ledger Enquirer on January 12, 2015. (Thanks to the Wrongful Convictions Blog for bringing this story to our attention);
GIST: "A former Fort Benning soldier convicted with his wife of crushing their three-day-old infant’s skull in June 2008 is set to have a mid-July hearing on a new-trial motion, with his defense aided by new medical evidence and an attorney from the Wisconsin Innocence Project. After a Columbus jury convicted Albert Omenged Debelbot and Ashley Deone Debelbot of murder in the June 1, 2008 death of daughter McKenzy, then-Superior Court Judge Doug Pullen sentenced them to life in prison on Oct. 29, 2009. But defense attorneys maintain the Debelbots didn’t get a fair trial, and the infant’s death could have resulted from a problematic pregnancy and delivery.........A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner told police the child’s trauma was consistent with her having been slammed against a wall or stomped on the head. The Debelbots denied that. Now Albert Debelbot’s defense team has statements from medical experts who upon reviewing the records believe the infant was born with brain and skull abnormalities that could have led to her death. “The autopsy images show a grossly abnormal skull and brain. Trauma that occurred after McKenzy’s birth cannot explain these abnormalities,” wrote one physician, later adding: “The fracture on the right side of McKenzy’s skull had rounded edges and missing pieces which strongly suggest that the fracture was not acute. In other words, it is likely that it did not happen within hours of McKenzy’s death.”
Though some have questioned whether the newborn could have survived three days with an existing brain hemorrhage, “there is support in the medical literature for infants surviving days after birth with fractured skulls and intracranial bleeding,” the examiner wrote."........Albert Debelbot now is represented not only by Moffett Flournoy, chief public defender for the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit that includes Columbus, but also Carrie Sperling, codirector of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, who has expertise in cases involving alleged head trauma to young children. Sperling is a professor with the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2015/01/12/3511405_whether-infants-skull-crusched.html?rh=1
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
