“According to multiple accounts, there was an indication that the defendant did not take any resuscitative efforts until other personnel came into the room.”
“Why was that important to the autopsy results?”
“It goes to the manner of death,” Dr. Binnie says. “I don’t know how long that infant was in respiratory distress. If the respiratory failure had been alleviated sooner, it’s possible that the cardiac arrest would never have occurred.” He looks at the jury. “Had the defendant acted, it’s possible that none of us would be sitting here.”
“Your witness,” Odette says.
Kennedy rises. “Doctor, was there anything in the police report that indicated there was foul play or intentional trauma to this infant?”
“I already mentioned the bruising to the sternum…”
“Yes, you did. But isn’t it possible that the bruising might also be consistent with vigorous, medically necessary CPR?”
“It is,” he concedes.
“Is it possible that there might be other scenarios—other than foul play—that might have led to the death of this baby?”
“It’s possible.”
Kennedy asks him to review the neonatal screening results she entered into evidence earlier. “Doctor, would you mind taking a look at exhibit forty-two?”
He takes the file and thumbs through it.
“Can you tell the jury what you’re looking at?”
He glances up. “Davis Bauer’s newborn screening results.”
“Did you have access to this information while you were performing your autopsy?”
“I did not.”
“You work at the state lab where these tests were performed, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Can you explain the highlighted section on page one?”
“It’s a test for a fatty acid oxidation disorder called MCADD. The results were abnormal.”
“Meaning what?”
“The state would return these results to the hospital nursery, and the doctor would have been immediately notified.”
“Do infants with MCADD show symptoms from birth?”
“No,” the medical examiner says. “No. That’s one of the reasons the state of Connecticut screens for it.”
“Dr. Binnie,” Kennedy says, “you were aware of the fact that the infant’s mother had gestational diabetes, and that the baby had low blood sugar, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You stated earlier that the diabetes was what caused the hypoglycemia in the newborn, didn’t you?”
“Yes, that was my conclusion at the time of the autopsy.”
“Isn’t it also possible that hypoglycemia might be caused by MCADD?”
He nods. “Yes.”
