Anthony Ball: Michigan; (Shaken baby syndrome case): Bulletin: Ongoing trial "Family testifies in support of murder defendant Ball..."Emergency room doctors, a neurosurgeon and later a pathologist concluded the child died from bleeding and swelling of the brain, which Assistant Calhoun County Prosecutors Karen Pawloski and Tamara Towns have argued was from trauma to the head which could include shaking. But the husband-and-wife defense team of Jeffery and Kymberly Schroder of Portage has said while Athena Ramey died from a head injury, prosecutors have not presented any evidence that Ball was responsible. "There is nothing that shows Mr. Ball did any act that caused her death," Kymberly Schroder argued again to Circuit Judge John Hallacy on Tuesday. "He is sitting here because he was alone with the child, that is it."..."The defense has questioned the science experts have used to explain head trauma in children and a defense expert, Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic, the Oakland County Medical Examiner, is expected to testify for Ball on Wednesday afternoon......... The doctor has been critical of the diagnosis of shaken-baby syndrome and testified earlier this year that the manner of death, or how the child was injured, can't be determined in all cases. "We sometimes have to say, 'I don't know,'" Dragovic said."..."Before testimony began Tuesday, Kymberly Schroder argued for a dismissal of the charges. She said while there was evidence of the cause of death, nothing presented by the prosecution linked her client to the manner of death. "The mere opportunity to commit a crime does not make this defendant guilty of a crime," she said. But Towns argued that the case should go to the jury because testimony showed the child was fine until she was in the exclusive care of Ball that afternoon. "Someone inflicted injury on that child and the defendant was with her the whole time," Towns said. Hallacy agreed, saying the case could proceed because the defendant had custody of the girl and because the doctors said the injury would have produced immediate and pronounced symptoms. The judge said the jury should be allowed to consider the medical testimony and Ball's actions after the child was found unresponsive." Reporter Trace Christenson; Battle Creek Enquirer; December 13, 2006;

"The mother and sister of Anthony Ball said he loved the child he is charged with killing. "She always wanted Anthony," said Julie Miller, Ball's mother, of Athena Ramey. "She was never afraid of him." "I saw a loving relationship," said Ball's sister, Ashley Long. Both woman testified Tuesday as the defense began their case in the felony murder and first-degree child abuse trial of Ball, 30, of Marshall.  He faces life in prison without parole if convicted of both charges in the December 2014 death of the 20-month old daughter of his former girlfriend, Briana Richards. The toddler was pronounced dead Dec. 19, 2014, a day after she was admitted to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. Emergency room doctors, a neurosurgeon and later a pathologist concluded the child died from bleeding and swelling of the brain, which Assistant Calhoun County Prosecutors Karen Pawloski and Tamara Towns have argued was from trauma to the head which could include shaking. But the husband-and-wife defense team of Jeffery and Kymberly Schroder of Portage has said while Athena Ramey died from a head injury, prosecutors have not presented any evidence that Ball was responsible. "There is nothing that shows Mr. Ball did any act that caused her death," Kymberly Schroder argued again to Circuit Judge John Hallacy on Tuesday. "He is sitting here because he was alone with the child, that is it." Ball was charged several weeks after the child's death. Calhoun County Sheriff Department deputies said Ball was caring for the child and his own two young daughters, while Richards was working.  Athena Ramey had an upper respiratory infection for a few days and had seen a doctor and Ball told police he had rocked the child that evening and placed her on a futon while he went to prepare dinner. When he returned to check he found she was not breathing. He decided not to take her to Oaklawn Hospital, which was a few blocks away, but drive about 15 minutes to the adult foster care home where Richards worked. Paramedics were called then and the toddler was taken to the Kalamazoo hospital where doctors determined almost immediately that she was brain-dead. The defense has suggested the injury might be a result of her respiratory illness, several falls or a car-deer accident earlier the same week while the child was in a car seat while riding with her grandfather. A doctor testified he checked the child that day and determined she was not injured. Prosecutors have called doctors who said the injuries to her brain were so severe that the child would have shown immediate symptoms and likely could not walk or talk. The defense has questioned the science experts have used to explain head trauma in children and a defense expert, Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic, the Oakland County Medical Examiner, is expected to testify for Ball on Wednesday afternoon......... The doctor has been critical of the diagnosis of shaken-baby syndrome and testified earlier this year that the manner of death, or how the child was injured, can't be determined in all cases. "We sometimes have to say, 'I don't know,'" Dragovic said......... In their testimony Tuesday, Long and Miller said they never saw Ball mistreat the little girl. "Athena was a member of the family," Long said. She told the jury she never questioned leaving her own children in the care of her brother. Ball's mother, Julie Miller, said she saw Athena a few days before she died. The child was sick, she said, and continued to hold on to her son. "She wanted Anthony," Miller said. "She always wanted Anthony and she was not afraid of him." A third witness for the defense, Lisa Cunkle, said she was a friend of the family and has known Ball all his life. "I never saw him being bad," she said. Cunkle operated a day-care center and sometimes cared for Athena. She said she never noticed any signs of abuse. "Athena called him 'daddy' and and cried when he left her at my house," Cunkle said. Before testimony began Tuesday, Kymberly Schroder argued for a dismissal of the charges. She said while there was evidence of the cause of death, nothing presented by the prosecution linked her client to the manner of death. "The mere opportunity to commit a crime does not make this defendant guilty of a crime," she said. But Towns argued that the case should go to the jury because testimony showed the child was fine until she was in the exclusive care of Ball that afternoon. "Someone inflicted injury on that child and the defendant was with her the whole time," Towns said. Hallacy agreed, saying the case could proceed because the defendant had custody of the girl and because the doctors said the injury would have produced immediate and pronounced symptoms. The judge said the jury should be allowed to consider the medical testimony and Ball's actions after the child was found unresponsive."

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