PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Investigators allege Bowie severely injured the child while the two were alone together for about an hour and 40 minutes on the night of Sept. 6. Bowie's attorney, Farley Holt, has put up a defense that Dante was the victim of weeks of abuse and neglect by his mother, Leah Mullinix, and others. The boy’s condition worsened, which culminated in him choking on a cookie that Bowie gave him while they were in a car together, according to Holt’s version of events. Evidence showed Bowie drove Dante to York Hospital and pulled him from the front seat of his car, limp and not breathing. He joined Leah Mullinix at the entrance while she was already at the facility, and they carried the toddler into the emergency department. Doctors and medical staff intubated the boy and restarted his breathing. He was flown later that night to Hershey Medical Center, where he died nine days later."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Fowler also concluded Dante was a victim of ongoing child abuse. “This was an individual who had been subject to what we would commonly call child abuse for an extended period of time,” he said. He pointed to a broken arm the child experienced that possibly happened at least two weeks before his hospitalization but went unreported or diagnosed."
STORY: Medical expert disagrees with autopsy, says Dante Mullinex accidentally choked, by Reporter Aimee Ambrose, published by The York Dispatch, on December 12, 2022. (Courts reporter. Aimee joins the York Dispatch after covering courts and public safety with The Goshen News in Indiana.)
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GIST: "Dante Mullinix choked accidentally, which cut off his oxygen supply and caused his brain to swell, according to a competing medical opinion of the 2-year-old boy’s death.
Dr. David Fowler, a consultant and Maryland's retired state medical examiner, testified for the defense Monday as the trial of Tyree Bowie headed into its second week.
“This child died because of brain swelling due to a hypoxic event secondary to choking,” Fowler said, as he gave his opinion based on his review of records and documents from the investigation.
Of course, Fowler — perhaps best known for testifying on behalf of convicted ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd — is at the center of his own controversy. And the prosecution in the Mullinix case wasted no time in pointing that out Monday.
Fowler's testimony disagreed with the autopsy finding in 2018 by Dr. Wayne Ross, forensic pathologist in Dauphin County, that Dante died from traumatic brain injury along with strangulation and suffocation.
Bowie, 43, is charged with murder and child endangerment in connection with Dante Mullinix’s death in September 2018.
Investigators allege Bowie severely injured the child while the two were alone together for about an hour and 40 minutes on the night of Sept. 6.
Bowie's attorney, Farley Holt, has put up a defense that Dante was the victim of weeks of abuse and neglect by his mother, Leah Mullinix, and others.
The boy’s condition worsened, which culminated in him choking on a cookie that Bowie gave him while they were in a car together, according to Holt’s version of events.
Evidence showed Bowie drove Dante to York Hospital and pulled him from the front seat of his car, limp and not breathing. He joined Leah Mullinix at the entrance while she was already at the facility, and they carried the toddler into the emergency department.
Doctors and medical staff intubated the boy and restarted his breathing. He was flown later that night to Hershey Medical Center, where he died nine days later.
Series of bruises: Evidence of bruising was documented on Dante’s body, especially just under his jaw, while he was at York Hospital. Those injuries joined a series of other older bruises that were seen on him days earlier along with an inflamed genital infection, which turned out to be herpes.
Fowler told the jury that in his review of case materials, he ruled out suffocation and strangulation as causes that cut off oxygen flow to the boy’s brain — the resulting swelling from the brain injury ultimately led to its failure and death.
On suffocation, Fowler said he didn’t see associated evidence that indicated forced smothering, such as bruising inside Dante’s mouth or a tearing of the tissue that connects the upper lip to the gums — a situation he said occurs when a person resists suffocation to breathe.
He also said he didn’t see injuries to the neck muscles or to the thyroid gland and voice box that would indicate strangulation, such as a hand wrapped around the throat to constrict the airway. Fowler did acknowledge swelling was documented close to Dante’s vocal chords when he was intubated.
Ruling those out, he said choking seemed the more likely cause, pointing out that harder objects obstructing the airway from the inside can causes bruising, abrasions and swelling.
He noted harder objects for children can include things like swallowing Legos and coins.
Fowler said he thought bruising along Dante’s spinal column could have been caused by hyperextension or hyperflexion of his neck, such as if it was pulled back hard enough.
Theory: Holt proposed a theory that the night the child was with Bowie, Dante slipped while getting out of the back seat of the car and banged his chin on the door jamb.
Fowler said that could have been sufficient enough force to cause a strikingly visible injury under Dante’s chin and that it could have had the potential to cause subdural bleeding in his brain.
“But that didn’t kill him, did it?” Holt asked.
“Nope,” Fowler replied.
Under the prosecution's cross-examination, Fowler acknowledged at least one of the bruise marks under Dante’s jaw could have potentially been a thumb print, as if someone had gripped the boy’s throat with their right hand hard enough to leave marks.
Fowler also acknowledged another curved impression could have been a fingernail, but he pointed out that that would be an abrasion and not a bruise.
He admitted he’s the only medical expert involved with the case to suggest choking as a cause of death, refuting findings by not only Ross but also Dr. Lori Frasier, a child abuse pediatric specialist at Hershey Medical Center.
“Until today, would you agree with me you’re the first medical professional to opine that choking was a factor in the cause of Dante Mullinix’s death, correct?” First Assistant District Attorney Tim Barker asked.
“With the information you’ve presented to me, yes,” Fowler replied.
Injury was 'massive': Frasier testified last week to the conclusion that Dante died from a fatal brain injury that resulted from trauma and lack of oxygen. She insisted the injury had to have happened that night.
“His brain injury was massive; it was diffuse,” Frasier said last week. “They don’t walk, talk, get in and out of cars, look at things in store. It is not possible.”
Fowler also said that as Dante’s brain swelled, it pushed down on critical hind-brain areas in the back of his head, causing further damage. He suggested the nine days he was on a respirator at Hershey Medical Center, using the term “ventilator brain,” contributed to helping liquefy his brain.
Fowler also concluded Dante was a victim of ongoing child abuse.
“This was an individual who had been subject to what we would commonly call child abuse for an extended period of time,” he said.
He pointed to a broken arm the child experienced that possibly happened at least two weeks before his hospitalization but went unreported or diagnosed.
Testimony fuels review: Fowler’s testimony came as the state of Maryland plans to review about 100 autopsies of people who died in police custody.
The move came amid concerns over his testimony in defense of Chauvin during his trial in the murder of George Floyd from May 2020.
Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter counts in April 2021, the same month Fowler said he prepared his report in Dante’s death.
The new review was called for as medical experts raised concerns that Fowler’s testimony for the defense in the Chauvin case deviated from standard medical practice in assessing cause of death and classifying the manner of Floyd’s death as “undetermined” rather than “homicide.”
Fowler’s testimony Monday also came a little out of turn in the trial. The prosecution has not yet rested its case but allowed Holt to call Fowler to the stand due to scheduling issues."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resurce. 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/
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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