Opinion ID: 4241419
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Fero's Newly Discovered Evidence

Text: Fero's new evidence undermines that expert testimony. Fero's two postconviction experts. Dr. Patrick Barnes and Dr. Janice Ophoven, describe new scientific studies and medical research that they believe prove the State's shaken baby theory was wrong and show that Fero is probably innocent. According to Fero's postconviction experts, these new studies and this new research disprove two critical assumptions underlying the State's shaken baby theory:(1)that a substantial amount offorce was required to produce Brynn's head injuries and(2)that this force would have been so violent that Brynn's injuries would probably have manifested immediately with no intervening period of lucidity. The State also suggested that Fero might have swung Brynn into a wall like a baseball bat, 5B VRP (Mar. 17, 2003) at 154, but it is unlikely the jury believed this. This theory was completely refuted by the State's own experts who said it was impossible for Brynn's head injuries to have been caused by blunt force impact without cracking her skull or shattering her facial bones, neither of which occurred. 2 VRP (Mar. 11, 2003) at 22425 (Dr. Lukschu); VRP (Mar. 13, 2003) at 46, 48(Dr. Grewe), 34(Dr. Bennett). 12 In re Pers. Restraint ofFero (Heidi Charlene), No. 92975-1 (Gordon McCloud, J., dissenting) Dr. Barnes is a pediatric neuroradiologist with 35 years of practice and teaching experience. Barnes Decl. at 1 (included as an exhibit in Opening Br. in Supp. of Pers. Restraint Pet.). He is an expert in diagnosing possible child abuse. Id. at 1-2. Dr. Barnes explains that until about 2004 (the year after Fero's trial), he and virtually everyone else in the medical community—including the State's experts—believed that retinal hemorrhages, brain bleeding, and brain swelling were conclusive signs of child abuse by intentional shaking even though there was no scientific evidence to support that diagnosis. Id. at 4-8. That theory. Dr. Barnes explains, has since been refuted by actual scientific evidence. Id. at 5-6. For that reason. Dr. Barnes concludes, the State's theories on those points are no longer regarded as credible by many doctors in the medical community. Id. In fact, according to Dr. Barnes, research in biomechanics, neuropathology, and ophthalmology, coupled with advances in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) technology over the past decade, have led medical experts to believe that subdural and retinal hemorrhages can be caused by far less force than previously assumed. Id. at 10-19. Indeed, one study shows that even a relatively small impact following an unresolved head injury occurring days to weeks previously could cause subdural hemorrhaging in a child. Id. at 19 (citing R. Cantu & A. Gean, Second-Impact 13 In re Pers. Restraint ofFero (Heidi Charlene), No. 92975-1 (Gordon McCloud, J., dissenting) Syndrome and a Small Subdural Hematoma: An Uncommon Catastrophic Result of Repetitive Head Injury with a Characteristic Imaging Appearance, 27 J. Neurotrauma 2557(2010)). Fero's other expert is Dr. Ophoven, a specialist in anatomic and forensic pathology and an expert in shaken baby syndrome. Ophoven Deck at 1 (included as an exhibit in Opening Br. in Supp. of Pers. Restraint Pet.). Dr. Ophoven agrees with Dr. Barnes that new medical evidence .. . directly contradicts the positions of the prosecution's experts at trial and explains that this new evidence is so compelling that the positions taken by the State's experts at trial are no longer generally accepted within the medical community. Id. at 11. According to Dr. Ophoven, most experts now accept that a broad range of phenomena, including accidental falls from a very short height, could cause injuries like Brynn's. Id. at 4. And because the force required to cause such injuries is far less than previously assumed,[a] child is more than capable of causing such injuries. Id. If Dr. Barnes and Dr. Ophoven are correct, these studies would have changed everything about Fero's trial. These studies show that Brynn's injuries could have been caused accidentally by Kaed's aggressive play. They also establish to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that Brynn's injuries were probably inflicted 14 In re Pers. Restraint ofFero (Heidi Charlene), No,92975-1 (Gordon McCloud, J., dissenting) before Brynn arrived at Fero's home and were only aggravated later that night by Kaed when he climbed into Brynn's playpen and banged her head against the wall. Ophoven Decl. at 3, 9-10; Barnes Decl. at 26-27. Thus, this new evidence, if true, completely undermines the State's theory that Fero was the only person who could have hurt Brynn and shows that there are at least four others who could have harmed her: the brother, Kaed; the father, Ackley; the mother, Franck; and Fero's fiance, who was home with Brynn when she was first dropped off.