QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The district attorney said the deal isn’t an exoneration, but it was the right thing to do. Pinsley says he’s still in contact with dozens of families across the country who feel they too were wronged by Esernio-Jenssen."
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Pinsley had a pathologist review the case, who believed the baby died of a stroke and refuted all of Esernio-Jenssen’s testimony. Wolfe agreed to plead no contest to third-degree murder, with time served, in a deal signed off by the Lehigh County district attorney, who said Esernio-Jenssen’s testimony was flawed. “I want to live. So I did what I had to do to live and see my dad, he’s in not good health. The other part is no contest is not admitting guilt, which I’ve been claiming my innocence,” Wolfe said of signing the deal."
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STORY: "'It's surreal': Lehigh Co. man freed after 9 years in prison over flawed testimony on infant death," by Anchor/Reporter Bo Koltnow, published by 69 News, on November 14, 2025.
GIST: "A Lehigh County man is free after serving nine years in prison. His initial verdict was vacated over flawed testimony from an expert witness about the death of his infant daughter.
Matt Wolfe, who turns 41 next week, walked out of prison Sunday. He had been serving a 20- to 40-year sentence for the 2013 death of his daughter.
He was convicted by a jury largely due to testimony from Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen, who later became the subject of an investigation into her qualifications after many families said she falsely accused them of child abuse.
The man who led that charge is the one who helped Wolfe get out of prison.
“Nice to meet you. Mark Pinsley,” said Pinsley at the front door of Wolfe.
It was the first face-to-face meeting between the Lehigh County controller and Wolfe. After nine years, Wolfe is out of prison in large part because of Pinsley.
“It’s surreal. You know, one moment I was facing 20 to 40 years, and the next it was discharge. And I just, I want to say I was prepared, and I thought I could overcome these boundaries a lot faster than what I’ve been, and it’s just becoming slow,” Wolfe said about his first five days free.
In 2017, Wolfe was convicted for the 2013 death of his infant daughter, Quinn, in Whitehall Township. The conviction was based largely on expert testimony by Esernio-Jenssen, who said the baby died from abusive head trauma.
Wolfe’s expert witness didn’t show at trial.
He was set to serve 20 to 40 years before Wolfe’s father, Bob, contacted Pinsley, who in 2023 led an investigation questioning Esernio-Jenssen’s qualifications.
“To me, it was about justice. 100% about justice. I read the transcript, and I’m like, there’s no way they should have found him guilty,” Pinsley said.
Pinsley had a pathologist review the case, who believed the baby died of a stroke and refuted all of Esernio-Jenssen’s testimony. Wolfe agreed to plead no contest to third-degree murder, with time served, in a deal signed off by the Lehigh County district attorney, who said Esernio-Jenssen’s testimony was flawed.
“I want to live. So I did what I had to do to live and see my dad, he’s in not good health. The other part is no contest is not admitting guilt, which I’ve been claiming my innocence,” Wolfe said of signing the deal.
Wolfe, a welder by trade, now faces a future where “felon” is marked on job applications and whispers persist about his past.
“Everything that was said in trial about me and what people maybe hearsay just wasn’t true. I love my daughter, I miss her, and to this day, I still can’t understand how those things happened to her,” he said.
“I am certainly more disappointed in it than I have been ever, and I don’t necessarily believe that Matt’s gotten justice. I think real justice would be for him to go through a trial, be exonerated and have that ability to do so,” Pinsley added.
“What are your goals in life? What do you now want to accomplish that venture out?” 69 News reporter Bo Koltnow asked Wolfe.
“I had nine years to ponder. What would I do when I do get released? What age will I be? You know, parole for me would have been 52. And right now, I have big question marks all over. I just, I just don’t know — day by day, day by day, hour by hour, you know, it’s scary. I know I’m going to hear a lot of no’s,” he said.
Wolfe is serving two years of parole. He said money was a big reason why he didn’t want a new trial. His dad said legal bills have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and they don’t have money for a new trial.
He added this was the fastest way to be free but knows he has an uphill climb, having to mark “felon” for the rest of his life.
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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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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