ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 3

A Killing of Baby Doe
Harris, LS
Emeritus Professor of Pathology, School of Medicine, East Carolina University, NC

(Received 6 March 1997; accepted 11 April 1997)

Abstract

An anencephalic infant died in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit six hours after birth. Eighteen months later, in a discussion of intrusive federal “Baby Doe” regulations with co-workers at the hospital, a registered nurse mentioned that he had found a way to avoid these provisions, and that he had in fact done so on one occasion by killing this particular infant. A co-worker related his story to police, and the “wheels of justice” were set into motion. I describe the chronology of events and the pathologic findings in this case of infanticide, purportedly committed “with mercyaforethought.”

Keywords:
forensic science, infanticide, neonaticide, Baby Doe, euthanasia

Paper ID: JFS14282J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS14282J
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