PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In her trial in 2016, the prosecution called Dr. Randall Schlievert, the director of the Child Abuse Program, as a witness who testified shaken baby syndrome is characterized by a constellation of injuries. Schlievert said he examined the child and the injuries weren’t consistent with the height of the fall from the couch and there were early injuries which most likely occurred while he was in the care of Thoss. The defense called Dr. Marcus DeGraw, director of the Child Protection Team at St. John Providence Children’s Hospital in Detroit, to counter Schlievert’s testimony. DeGraw said the child’s injuries were possible from the fall off the couch and could have been made worst from a prior brain injury. He testified there was no way of telling the age of the older injuries and whose care the child was in when it occurred. He also criticized Schlievert for pointing to Thoss as a possible perpetrator of the infant’s injuries because it’s a doctor’s job to discover how and when an injury occurred not to guess who did it. When reviewing her appeal, the appellate court found DeGraw’s expert testimony more believable than Schlievert’s. They agreed with Thoss that there was enough reasonable doubt in the case that a guilty verdict shouldn’t have been returned.""
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STORY: "Court overturns Clyde babysitter's conviction," by reporter Michael Harrington, published by the Sandusky Register on October 5, 2018.
GIST: "A state court ruled a Clyde babysitter deserved a new trial after she
was convicted of felonious assault when the infant in her care suffered
injuries consistent with shaken-baby syndrome.
Sandusky County Judge John Dewey sentenced Chantal Thoss, 38, to eight years in prison in 2016 after she was convicted by a jury of harming a 5-month-old infant. She appealed and argued the manifest evidence was against her conviction. The sixth district court of appeals overturned her conviction and ruled she deserved a new trial. “We do not reach this result lightly, and we do not go so far as to proclaim (Thoss’) innocence,” appellate Judge Mark Pietrykowski wrote in the court’s decision. But Pietrykowski said there was enough doubt and evidence to lead the judges to the conclusion the “jury lost its way and committed a manifest miscarriage of justice.” Thoss was charged with felonious assault and child endangerment in 2014 after an infant she was watching suffered brain hemorrhages from a fall. In December 2014, Clyde police responded to a call about an injured infant. Thoss claimed the child became injured when he rolled off the couch when she left him alone for a minute. The infant was taken to a Toledo hospital where it was found he had both old and new brain bleeds, which were consistent with shaken-baby syndrome. Thoss denied she intentionally harmed the child but said when she saw him on the ground crying she instinctively picked him up which caused his head to snap back. She denied ever shaking him. The police officers who were the first to arrive on scene reported they didn’t see any signs of physical abuse. In her trial in 2016, the prosecution called Dr. Randall Schlievert, the director of the Child Abuse Program, as a witness who testified shaken baby syndrome is characterized by a constellation of injuries. Schlievert said he examined the child and the injuries weren’t consistent with the height of the fall from the couch and there were early injuries which most likely occurred while he was in the care of Thoss. The defense called Dr. Marcus DeGraw, director of the Child Protection Team at St. John Providence Children’s Hospital in Detroit, to counter Schlievert’s testimony. DeGraw said the child’s injuries were possible from the fall off the couch and could have been made worst from a prior brain injury. He testified there was no way of telling the age of the older injuries and whose care the child was in when it occurred. He also criticized Schlievert for pointing to Thoss as a possible perpetrator of the infant’s injuries because it’s a doctor’s job to discover how and when an injury occurred not to guess who did it. When reviewing her appeal, the appellate court found DeGraw’s expert testimony more believable than Schlievert’s. They agreed with Thoss that there was enough reasonable doubt in the case that a guilty verdict shouldn’t have been returned."
The entire story can be read at:
Sandusky County Judge John Dewey sentenced Chantal Thoss, 38, to eight years in prison in 2016 after she was convicted by a jury of harming a 5-month-old infant. She appealed and argued the manifest evidence was against her conviction. The sixth district court of appeals overturned her conviction and ruled she deserved a new trial. “We do not reach this result lightly, and we do not go so far as to proclaim (Thoss’) innocence,” appellate Judge Mark Pietrykowski wrote in the court’s decision. But Pietrykowski said there was enough doubt and evidence to lead the judges to the conclusion the “jury lost its way and committed a manifest miscarriage of justice.” Thoss was charged with felonious assault and child endangerment in 2014 after an infant she was watching suffered brain hemorrhages from a fall. In December 2014, Clyde police responded to a call about an injured infant. Thoss claimed the child became injured when he rolled off the couch when she left him alone for a minute. The infant was taken to a Toledo hospital where it was found he had both old and new brain bleeds, which were consistent with shaken-baby syndrome. Thoss denied she intentionally harmed the child but said when she saw him on the ground crying she instinctively picked him up which caused his head to snap back. She denied ever shaking him. The police officers who were the first to arrive on scene reported they didn’t see any signs of physical abuse. In her trial in 2016, the prosecution called Dr. Randall Schlievert, the director of the Child Abuse Program, as a witness who testified shaken baby syndrome is characterized by a constellation of injuries. Schlievert said he examined the child and the injuries weren’t consistent with the height of the fall from the couch and there were early injuries which most likely occurred while he was in the care of Thoss. The defense called Dr. Marcus DeGraw, director of the Child Protection Team at St. John Providence Children’s Hospital in Detroit, to counter Schlievert’s testimony. DeGraw said the child’s injuries were possible from the fall off the couch and could have been made worst from a prior brain injury. He testified there was no way of telling the age of the older injuries and whose care the child was in when it occurred. He also criticized Schlievert for pointing to Thoss as a possible perpetrator of the infant’s injuries because it’s a doctor’s job to discover how and when an injury occurred not to guess who did it. When reviewing her appeal, the appellate court found DeGraw’s expert testimony more believable than Schlievert’s. They agreed with Thoss that there was enough reasonable doubt in the case that a guilty verdict shouldn’t have been returned."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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/
