Albert and Ashley Dedelbot: Georgia: They have returned to court for more testimony on their motion for a new trial in the 2008 death of newborn daughter McKenzy. In court Thursday, a doctor repudiated the defence contention that the newborn baby died from abnormal development in the womb. "The defense is trying to prove that had jurors in the Debelbots’ 2009 trial heard expert testimony offering a different explanation for the child’s death, the couple likely would have been acquitted. The Debelbots’ defense attorneys at that trial did not present any expert witnesses, so jurors heard only the prosecution’s medical experts." Ledger-Enquirer;

STORY: "Doctor: Infant died of head trauma, not deformity or difficult birth," by reporter Tim Chitwood, published by the Ledger-Enquirer on November 5,  2015;

PHOTO CAPTION: "Albert and Ashley Debelbot are back in Judge Art Smith III's seventh-floor Government Center courtroom for more testimony as they seek a new trial in the 2008 death of newborn daughter McKenzy."

GIST:  "In another round of testimony Thursday in new-trial hearings for Albert and Albert Debelbot, the parents sentenced to life in the 2008 death of newborn daughter McKenzy, a prosecution witness continued to insist the baby died of inflicted head trauma rather than abnormal development in the womb aggravated by a difficult delivery. The prosecution expert was Dr. Susan Palasis, a pediatric radiologist and neuroradiologist, who denied defense claims the right side of the infant’s brain developed incompletely. Palasis testified her review of the newborn’s brain scans showed “no congenital abnormality” that would explain the damage to the right hemisphere of McKenzy’s brain. She said she concluded the infant had an injury to the right side of the head that left the tissue there “mushy,” as swelling in the left hemisphere displaced the brain, pushing it to the right. Defense attorneys asked why the baby’s right frontal lobe was not displaced by the swelling from the left side. Palasis replied that an infant’s brain can accommodate some swelling because it is not fully formed, and the injury on the right side could have opened more room for the swelling. The defense also asked why McKenzy’s scalp had no external injuries such as cuts or scratches, if she sustained significant abuse. Palasis said putting a heavy weight on the child’s head could have caused the skull fracture and other injuries and left no external signs. Palasis was the only witness to testify Thursday, the first day of a third round of court hearings in the case. The Debelbots’ defense attorneys over two days in mid-July presented witnesses who testified the child had a malformation of the skull, a congenital abnormality that can go undetected. This condition in addition to a problematic birth at Fort Benning’s Martin Army Hospital could have caused internal bleeding in the brain, they said. In a second round of court hearings on Oct. 15 and 16, prosecutors summoned Palasis to refute the defense evidence from July......... The defense is trying to prove that had jurors in the Debelbots’ 2009 trial heard expert testimony offering a different explanation for the child’s death, the couple likely would have been acquitted. The Debelbots’ defense attorneys at that trial did not present any expert witnesses, so jurors heard only the prosecution’s medical experts.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/crime/article43258623.html