He was charged with murdering his baby on the word of one coroner. Facing a life sentence, he sought a second opinion.

The Washington Post, February 5, 2022: He was charged with murdering his baby on the word of one coroner. Facing a life sentence, he sought a second opinion.

“The body of Jayce Jamison Fitzhugh, 7 months old, 17 pounds, two days dead, lay on a steel table.

“Dorothy Dean, a forensic pathologist in the local coroner’s office, began her autopsy. She noted that the boy’s body was well developed and nourished. Light brown hair, thin and short. Blue eyes. Nose and ears: perfectly normal.

“Then she looked inside his head and saw a thin skull fracture.

“As she examined it, she concluded that someone had assaulted the baby; it was a homicide. She told detectives the injury occurred shortly before the baby stopped breathing, so they quickly focused on Joshua Mounts, the boy’s father, who had called 911. Mounts was the only person caring for his son in the hours before the ambulance arrived.”

Additional reading:

ABC News, July 6, 2022: Medical examiners impacted by relationships with police, study finds

The Wallstreet Journal, June 16, 2022: The Debate Over Shaken Baby Syndrome

The Guardian, June 9, 2022: Sudden infant death syndrome: will parents finally get answers?