INA JANE McELHENY - 4 Months -(2010) Hoosick Falls (NE of Albany) NY

This one was also deleted but a response is there-
http://community.babycenter.com/post/a22289591/thank_you.

Discussion of copying and reporting her posts before they were deleted by the author-
http://community.babycenter.com/post/a22806379/horrible_horrible_horrible?cpg=7&csi=2158149508&pd=0

http://community.babycenter.com/post/a21562925/back_on_the_bf_bandwagon_long







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Posted 02/09/2010

It surprised me, too, that your LC's were
pro-formula. I WISH mine had been! My giant 10lb, 8 oz LO nearly DID
starve because my body was so shocked at the birth experience that my
milk didn't come in for a week! I had nurse after nurse, LC after LC,
manhandling my boobs in the hospital trying to show me how to feed
right. Only ONE of them suggested supplementing with formula. I
thought that was the norm! Sounds like there are all different kinds of
hospitals out there.
Good for you getting things figured out, but I truly wish women who
start out (like me) dedicated to breastfeeding would be informed that
there is NOTHING WRONG WITH FORMULA!! I started out only being able to
produce about 8 oz a day, and now am down to 2 oz, and my baby is doing
fine on mostly formula. It took my OB intervening to pound it in my
head I'm not a failure.
I am so proud of you for sticking to breastfeeding, because it's
HELLA HARD--but don't be afraid to ease up on yourself and supplement. I
have found it buys me even more time with my precious baby! Not so
much washing pump parts and sitting solo on the couch....

http://community.babycenter.com/post/a21785815/parents_choice_formula







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Posted 02/26/2010

We tried switching from Similac to Parents
Choice to save money, but found ourselves feeding our LO so much more of
it because she was never satisfied! Also increased her poops and made
them chunky, as well as increased her spit up. We thought about mixing
them together, or trying the sensitive tummy ones...but ultimately
decided she'll move on to solid foods soon enough and this was just
adding discomfort for not that much savings.

http://community.babycenter.com/post/a17501575/all_bymyself...






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Posted 11/02/2009

The baby may not be "his," but the fact
that he is still with you in this TOUGH stage means that YOU are, in
fact, "his." If he wants to be with you in delivery, please at least
consider his point of view.
I definitely understand wanting to be independent, having a somewhat
tenuous relationship with my BabyDaddy myself; however, don't force
yourself into solitude when there are people there who do want to be
with you for support. Trust me, you will have plenty of aloneness when
you are done with all the pain and screaming and crying, and it might be
nice to have those moments of support from your family to look back on.

http://community.babycenter.com/post/a20219505/how_many_are_still_pregnant?cpg=5&csi=2094115594&pd=0







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Posted 12/18/2009

I've had absolutely no progress, no signs
of impending labor, no NOTHING. I dropped weeks ago, and while I was
working I was certain I would go into labor at any moment. The minute I
stopped, my body just stopped progressing toward labor.
My parents came to visit this week to see "the baby," and I have no
baby to show them. They are acting like babies themselves, certain that
I am holding this kid back to punish them. Ugh.
I am thankful for my BabyDaddy, who reminds me daily that our LO will
arrive when she is ready, right on time. I am also thankful for my
calm and cool doctor, who says I can "tell everyone to shut the hell
up." Yes I was "over" being pregnant weeks ago, but I know the trials
of today will seem like nothing when compared to the lack of sleep;
juggling breast feeding and work; and the need to protect my child that
will soon ensue!

Memorial video/father's website-
http://www.wpmts.com/wereblog


http://community.babycenter.com/post/a21969513/have_you_resumed_your_periods_yet








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Posted 03/18/2010

I am nearly 12 weeks out, stopped
breastfeeding a couple weeks ago, and no period yet. But I did bleed
for a good six weeks after delivery and repair.

http://community.babycenter.com/post/a21993525/is_your_baby_getting_up_at_night_to_eat_still?cpg=6&csi=2128397575&pd=0






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Posted 03/15/2010

My
13 lb 11 week old DD goes to bed in the 11 o'clock hour, and most
nights will sleep through to 7 or 8...or sometimes 8:30. Once or twice a
week she wakes for a feeding at 3 and is up for about 45 minutes.
Usually this is directly related to my own work-related stress level!!
She is now
strictly ff and as we transitioned away from breast milk it seems to
have helped her wind down and sleep through. She is hungry when she
wakes, but not hungry enough to cry! She is the happiest baby ever! I
am so very thankful.
Mom to Ina Jane 12-28-2009

http://community.babycenter.com/post/a21900319/question_for_formula_moms?cpg=2&csi=2126354247&pd=0






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Posted 03/10/2010

I had my heart set on breastfeeding and my
coworkers even got me a really nice pump. But after a traumatic birth
experience, my body didn't produce enough for my giant baby for the
first week, and never really caught up with her need to feed. Going
back to work I wouldn't have been able to get breaks anyway, so I let it
taper off. I've kept trying at least once a day to pump or
hand-express (she eats WAY too fast for actual bf to work for us), but
my boobs don't even hurt anymore so it's pointless. She doesn't seem to
care. The docs have said the stress I put on myself was probably worse
for her than the benefits of bf.

http://community.babycenter.com/post/a21986093/after_1_week_of_work_it_is_as_suspected?cpg=2&csi=2128015464&pd=0






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Posted 03/14/2010

I work full time--50 hours+--and my SO is a
SAHD and "works" from home, but very little. He doesn't contribute
financially, except to save us on childcare. No cleaning gets done,
period, unless I do it...which I don't, because I was never clean to
begin with and frankly I want to spend some time with my baby!
I was pissed about it the first week I went back to work. Then I
realized it's pointless to be mad. It's not going to change. He was a
disgusting bachelor before we got together, and I was a disgusting
bachelorette. The only answer is to try to get a promotion so I can pay
for a housekeeper! Come on, promotion....
Don't be mad. Either learn to live with the mess, or hire someone.
Or, wait for the baby to start crawling and sew some Swiffers onto the
jammies!

Posters note; I don't think there is any doubt he's guilty of abuse over a long period.
TROY — A judge on Monday denied bail to a Hoosick Falls man accused of
murdering his infant daughter, who court documents indicate sustained 18
broken bones in just 4½ months of life.

Joseph McElheny, 31,
will remain in the Rensselaer County Jail under the ruling by County
Cout Judge Andrew Ceresia. McElheny, an Army veteran and most recently a
computer programmer, faces a charge of second-degree murder, among
others, for the May 12 death of his daughter Ina.

The infant was
pronounced dead at a hospital after paramedics rushed to the River
Street home of McElheny and the child’s mother, Melinda Anders, early
that morning. An autopsy later ruled her cause of death to be a ruptured
intestine.

In an interview with State Police investigators the
day of his daughter’s death, McElheny said he provided 90 percent of his
daughter’s care. He denied hurting her, according to documents filed in
Rensselaer County Court.

“I am not rough with my daughter. I
many be a little rougher than others,” he said to State Police
investigators John Deyette and Michael Student. “I don’t coddle her.”

But the child’s mother told police otherwise.

“I
think he caused the injuries, but I don’t want him coerced into saying
that he killed her,” Anders said on May 12 in the presence of
Investigator Gloria Coppola at State Police barracks in Brunswick,
according to court documents.

“I’m not saying I’m absolving him,” she said at another point, according to the filings.

Both parents told investigators that Ina Jane McElheny had been vomiting more than usual in the months leading up to her death.

Joseph
McElheny broke down crying as he explained his daughter’s last days to
investigators, ending with a 911 call at 1 a.m. when he said Ina
appeared bloated and had white splotches on her thighs, the statement
they took indicates.

The investigators told McElheny that his
daughter had 18 broken bones in various stages of healing, and said
something traumatic occurred between a doctor visit on May 6 and the
girl’s death less than a week later.

They said only two people
regularly care for the infant and reminded McElheny that he said he was
the primary care giver, according to the documents.

He reiterated
his innocence and suggested a past accident in which he fell while
holding the baby might have injured her, according to the documents. He
said he did not wish to continue the interview when investigators
suggested he was lying.

He was arrested on Aug. 14 and pleaded
not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, second-degree
manslaughter, three counts of assault and endangering the welfare of a
child.

In paperwork requesting reasonable bail, Rensselaer County
Public Defender Jerome Frost said McElheny has remained cooperative and
would remain in the area of released on bail. He has relatives in
multiple states, Frost wrote, and it would have been “relatively easy”
for him to have fled the area during the investigation had he wished.

McElheny
was born in Lockport in western New York and has lived in Bennington,
Vt., Phoenix and Florida. He served in the U.S. Army from 1998 to 2002,
when he received an honorable discharge.

An 11-year-old daughter McElheny had with another woman lives in South Carolina, according to court documents.

While Anders did not describe any incident of abuse to police, she described McElheny as careless.

“He makes a lot of mistakes. He’s a pothead,” she said.

McElheny
admitted a past drinking problem to investigators, according to the
paperwork, and has a DWI conviction his record. But he said he quit
drinking before Ina was born.

He is now being represented by assistant public defender Greg Cholakis, who could not be reached for comment.

Dave Canfield can be reached at 270-1290 or by e-mail at dcanfield@troyrecord.com.
http://troyrecord.com/articles/2010/08/24/news/doc4c7344de579ab156825358.txt

[quote="kiwimom"]Posters note; I don't think there is any doubt he's guilty of abuse over a long period.


I don't think there is any doubt that SOMEONE is guilty of abuse over a long period. A mother showing signs of severe PPD (and admitting as much both on community boards and the memorial service), working all day and coming home tired and pissed that her husband is about to go pass out for the night, or hasn't done any housework (housewives get BEAT for that sort of thing) or he passes her the baby because he's decided he's off duty... around 3am when the daddy is asleep and the baby is screaming and nothing seems to be working - women lose it. He may have the baby for 8 hours a day while she worked, but what about the other 16 hours a day?!? Where was she?!? According to neighbors, they "kept to themselves and didn't get out much." She was HOME. It only takes a minute to break a bone when you feel alone and angry, when you feel like you haven't been able to or "haven't been allowed to" bond with the baby. Which she complained about repeatedly. I think it will be hard to deny negligence on his part, either way. But who wins if he rots in jail and a few years down the road her next child dies of "mysterious" stomach complications? For me, this is not a matter of loyalty to one side or the other, it's about prevention in the future.

Online Exclusive: Trial opens for man accused of killing infant daughter

Thursday, September 15, 2011

By CECELIA MARTINEZ, news@saratogian.com

http://saratogian.com/articles/2011/09/15/news/doc4e7284008e02e087964412.txt?viewmode=default

TROY – Opening arguments took place Thursday in the trial against Joseph McElheny, a 32-year-old Hoosick Falls man accused of killing his infant daughter in May 2010. Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Kennedy argued that McElheny repeatedly abused 4-month-old Ina McElheny over the course of her short life and failed to seek medical attention for her injuries, while the defense said a hereditary bowel obstruction killed the child and that her nine fractures at the time of her death were the result of rickets.

"That baby knew pain, and someone watching would have seen it," said Kennedy, who throughout her opening argument repeatedly stressed the amount of pain that would have resulted from Ina McElheny’s injuries. Kennedy said that Joseph McElheny issued a fatal blow that caused a tear in the child’s abdomen, leading to peritonitis, an inflammation of the tissue that covers the abdomen and abdominal organs. "This isn’t something that she did by herself," said Kennedy. "This was done to her by someone, and that someone is Joseph McElheny."

On May 12, 2010, the child’s mother, Melinda Anders, called 911 reporting her daughter appeared bloated and had white splotches on her thighs. Paramedics responded to the River Street home she shared with Joseph McElheny and the baby was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The medical examiner’s report said both of her legs, among other bones, were broken at the time of her death — she had as many as nine fractures including six fractured ribs.

Kennedy said, while being interviewed by New York State Police, Joseph McElheny changed his story multiple times and claimed that there had been various accidental incidences that could have resulted in the child’s injuries, but that were a fabrication. "She would have been in so much pain she wouldn't have even been able to cry," said Kennedy. "It would have been more like a whimper."

Defense attorney Greg Cholakis, however, offered a different narrative of two parents that loved and were proud of their child. Cholakis argued that doctors failed to explore other possible explanations for Ina McElheny’s injuries, and said that there is family history of a bowel obstruction called intussusception that occurs in children under 1 year of age.

He also offered an explanation for the infant’s broken bones, saying she had a vitamin D deficiency and rickets, and noting that bones broken this way would not have caused the obvious pain described by the prosecution.

"Science is not an exact science. Doctors disagree, and nobody has a monopoly on the truth," said Cholakis. He also said there were no external signs of trauma or bruising, and that Joseph McElheny and Anders took the baby out in public every day and that people described her as happy and healthy.

Cholakis also said that Joseph McElheny and Anders had to endure interrogation by State Police only hours after the child’s death. "It went from inquisitive, to inquisitional to downright ugly," said Cholakis.

Having your child die under horrific circumstances and then being wrongly accused before you can even comprehend what happened to your child, that’s the worst thing I can think of."

Testimony in the trial will begin Friday at 10 a.m. McElheny is charged with murder with depraved indifference, manslaughter, two counts of assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Medical testimony to be key in Troy trial
Prosecutors say father killed baby; defense cites health conditions
By BOB GARDINIER Staff writer
Updated 10:09 p.m., Thursday, September 15, 2011

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Medical-testimony-to-be-key-in-Troy-trial-2172743.php#ixzz1YGhgt3UD

TROY -- The trial in the murder of a baby girl will be a battle of the medical experts as prosecutors allege Ina Jane McElheny was killed by her father and the defense argues existing medical conditions led to the baby's death.

Joseph McElheny, 32, of 3 River St., Hoosick Falls is on trial for the murder of his four-month-old infant who died from complications from a ruptured bowel and had numerous broken bones in various stages of healing. Prosecutors allege it is a classic case of child abuse.

''He was Mr. Mom,'' defense attorney Gregory Cholakis told jurors in opening arguments Thursday. ''He was always showing off his daughter and actually enjoyed changing her diapers.''

Cholakis said the child died May 12, 2010, from complications from a bowel obstruction that led to a rupture of the small intestine and an infection.

He also said the child had a vitamin D deficiency which led to easily broken bones. The autopsy showed the child had at least nine broken bones.

''With a vitamin D deficiency her bones could break just from normal handling,'' Cholakis said.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Kennedy said the death was a textbook case of child abuse and the ruptured bowel was caused by a punch or kick.

''This baby knew pain,'' Kennedy told jurors. ''The sad part is what killed this little baby was preventable if she got medical care in time. Medical experts will tell you she was likely crying and in pain for hours, her stomach was distended, and she was vomiting, sweating and would have a hard time breathing. The one person who was in a position to get her help watched all this happen and chose to do nothing.''

Prosecutors have said the child may have been abused since shortly after birth by McElheny who worked from home and provided daily care for the child. His wife, Melinda Anders, worked in Bennington, Vt.

McElheny told State Police investigators that he would often throw the infant up in the air and catch her and that may have injured her.

"It would make her laugh,'' McElheny, allegedly told investigators, according to documents on file in Rensselaer County Court.

He faces charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter, assault, and endangering the welfare of a child.

The trial resumes Friday before Judge Andrew Ceresia.

Specialist testifies that abuse killed infant
By BOB GARDINIER Staff writer
Updated 05:30 p.m., Monday, September 19, 2011


TROY -- Despite lengthy cross examination by a defense attorney Monday, a prosecution's medical witness did not waiver from her conclusions that 4-moth-old Ina Jane McElheny died of abuse.
Dr. Barbara Dangman, a pediatric radiologist at Albany Medical Center, testified that the infant was abused by an adult who twisted and yanked her legs, squeezed her torso and fractured ribs, and inflicted a powerful blow that ruptured a bowel, causing her death.
Dangman said the infant had at least nine skeletal fractures that were inflicted at various times going back at least a month before her father, Joseph McElheny, 32, called emergency workers at 1:30 a.m. May 12, 2010 to report the child was unresponsive.
"Her injuries are highly suspect for inflicted injury or abuse," Dangman said after showing X-ray photos to jurors. "Babies' bones are soft and bend so it would have taken quite a lot of force to cause these injuries. The child could not have caused them by accident because she was not even able to crawl yet."
McElheny, of 3 River St., Hoosick Falls, is on trial for the alleged murder of his daughter in what prosecutors describe as a classic case of child abuse.
Defense attorney Gregory Cholakis claims the child was not abused but suffered from rickets, an affliction where low levels of vitamin D cause soft or brittle bones that are easily broken.
"There was a big commotion a couple of years ago about a vaccine that caused bowel obstructions but that particular formula was removed from the market," Dangman said.
Dangman showed jurors X-rays of the infant's legs and her fractures, comparing the images to X-rays fractures in another child that were caused by a vitamin D deficiency. She said they did not match.
Cholakis also suggested that the rib fractures may have been caused by aggressive CPR.
"Those fractures were already in stages of healing, so that would be impossible," Dangman said.
McElheny told police he would throw the child up in the air and catch her because she would laugh. Cholakis suggested that could cause the fractures, but Dangman said that was unlikely.
"Many parents do that and we don't see these types of injuries,'' Dangman said.
The defense contends that the infant had a Rotavirus vaccination and that could have caused the bowel obstruction. Cholakis argued such an obstruction could lead to a hole in the small intestine, causing infection and death.
"There was a big commotion a couple of years ago about a vaccine that caused bowel obstructions but that particular formula was removed from the market," Dangman said.
Prosecutors have said the child may have been abused since shortly after birth. McElheny worked from home and provided daily care for the child while his wife, Melinda Anders, worked in Bennington, Vt., according to documents on file in Rensselaer County Court.
McElheny faces charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter, assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
The trial before Judge Andrew Ceresia continues Tuesday.


Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Specialist-testifies-that-abuse-killed-infant-2178038.php#ixzz1YROkVZvy

Pediatric radiologist 'sees through' defense's allegations in Joseph McElheny trial
Published: Tuesday, September 20, 2011

TROY — Testimony continued Monday in the trial of Joseph McElheny, the Hoosick Falls man accused of killing his 4-month-old daughter last year.

McElheny, 32, is charged with murder with depraved indifference, manslaughter, two counts of assault and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the May 2010 death of Ina Jane McElheny. The prosecution alleges that Ina’s death is the result of long-term abuse at the hands of Joseph McElheny, a theory they reinforced with Monday’s testimony.

The bulk of that testimony came from Barbara Dangman, a pediatric radiologist at Albany Medical Center Hospital and a faculty member at Albany Medical College. Dangman reviewed Ina’s x-rays after she was transferred to the hospital from a facility in Vermont, noticing the child had rib fractures, an abnormally elevated diaphragm and a large pneumoperitoneum, which causes a swelling of the belly when air leaks into the abdominal cavity from the intestines.

Those fractures triggered Dangman to order a complete skeletal survey on the child, which would examine each of her body parts for more fractures. Ina died before the survey could be completed, and it was done as part of the autopsy.

Dangman said the survey revealed several more severe rib fractures on both sides of the child’s rib cage, as well as a fractured left tibia and a fracture above her right kneecap, all in various stages of healing. The baby’s official cause of death, peritonitis caused by a torn bowel, coupled with the fractures, led Dangman to suspect the child was abused, she said.

Ina’s broken front and back ribs — fractured at separate times in sets of three, according to Dangman — are consistent with heavy compression or squeezing, pressure that could have been applied by an adult hand, the doctor said. Her right leg fracture most likely resulted from a deliberate twisting motion, Dangman said, and the left is specific to abuse because the child was not ambulatory at the time of her death.

McElheny’s attorney, Public Defender Greg Cholakis, offered several possible scenarios for Ina’s injuries during his cross-examination, including an adult falling up a flight of chairs while holding the child, tossing the child into the air and catching her too tightly, or pulling her out of a swing or car seat and entangling her legs.

But Dangman said none of those theories made sense, and “there’s nothing else” to blame for the child’s injuries and death except the prosecution’s assertions.

“I believe the greatest likelihood is that this was abuse,” Dangman said.

Cholakis alleged that Ina’s peritonitis was caused by a condition known as intussusception, or the intestine telescoping in on itself, but Dangman said during her testimony that she had never seen a case of that condition causing a punctured bowel. The defense previously stated that Ina’s fractures were a result of her having rickets, another assertion Dangman denied Monday, based on lack of x-ray evidence and her interpretation of a medical study which concluded there is no link between instances of multiple fractures in infants and a deficiency in Vitamin D.

Testimony continues today at 10 a.m. in front of Judge Andrew Ceresia.

http://troyrecord.com/articles/2011/09/20/news/doc4e78207e22c65093832012.txt?viewmode=2

TROY -- Four-month-old Ina Jane McElheny
would have screamed in pain every time someone picked her up on and off
for at least a month before her May 2010 death, an expert
said Wednesday.
Dr. Carole Jenny, director of the Child Protection Program at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, R.I,, an internationally known expert in child abuse, testified for the prosecution and told jurors the girl was abused.
The baby's father, Joseph McElheny, 32, of 3 River St., Hoosick Falls, is on trial on murder charges in his child's death.
Jenny
said an autopsy showed the child had at least 17 broken bones all in
different stages of healing. The baby had several broken ribs that
occurred in at least three different episodes of abuse likely caused by
an adult's hands squeezing her torso.
"There would have been distinctive popping sounds you could hear when this happened," Jenny told jurors.
A
specialist in pediatric radiology testified Monday that the infant was
abused over a period of at least a month by an adult. The specialist
said the abuse included twisting or yanking the infant's legs, breaking
them, squeezing her torso, breaking several ribs and inflicting a blow
to the abdominal area, which caused a ruptured bowel that led to
her death.
The parents called EMS at 1:30 a.m. May 12, 2010.
The baby was removed from life support at Albany Medical Center about four hours later.
Defense attorney Gregory Cholakis
claims the child was not abused by the father, but rather had a vitamin
D deficiency and rickets, which caused her bones to break easily.
Cholakis
also claims the baby had received a rotavirus vaccine just before she
died that led to a bowel obstruction, which caused a perforation leading
to her death.
He cited studies to prove this Wednesday, but Jenny
discredited them, at one point saying peer analysis "suggests" the
conclusions are only theoretical.
"But you are saying only suggests?" Cholakis asked.
"I was just being kind," Jenny said.
Jenny
got testy when Cholakis stressed that speculation was an important part
of studying a matter. "Sure, we could speculate that little alien
flying saucers came through an open window and broke the bones,"
Jenny said.
On Tuesday, McElheny cried at the defense table as prosecutors played the 911 tape of the mother's call to emergency responders.
The recording was played for the jury to show how he and his wife, Melinda Anders, dealt with an unresponsive Ina Jane McElheny.
"My
baby's not breathing," Anders is heard saying with a quivering voice.
"She's been tired and lethargic all night. She's not responding."
In
the background, McElheny can be heard yelling "Ina, wake up! Ina, wake
up!'' over and over, and then his wife yells at him: "Don't shake her
like that."
Anders is not on the list of potential witnesses for the prosecution, but may be called by the defense, Cholakis told Judge Andrew Ceresia on Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Doctor-Infant-had-life-of-pain-2181344.php#ixzz1YeRCST2o

Forensic pathologist says Ina McElheny's injuries resulted from blunt force trauma
Published: Friday, September 23, 2011

TROY — Ina McElheny was by all accounts a healthy, happy baby throughout her short life, according to her family physician.

Sherri DeHaas testified for the prosecution Thursday in the trial of Ina’s father, Joseph McElheny, who is accused of killing 4-month-old Ina on May 12, 2010. The child died from an infection of the abdomen caused by a torn bowel, and was found in her autopsy to have 16 broken ribs and fractures in both legs.

DeHaas saw Ina four times from January through May 2010, and said the baby’s growth and development seemed normal for her age and size throughout those visits.

DeHaas said that during every visit, she advised McElheny and Ina’s mother, Melinda Anders, to call her with any questions or concerns, or if the baby appeared ill. Despite reporting during Ina’s four-month check-up that she had had a stomach bug just after her two-month visit, DeHaas said neither parent ever called her office about it.

“I would have advised them to bring her in that day,” DeHaas said.

During an interview with State Police investigators, McElheny offered several possible explanations for the extent of Ina’s injuries, including him falling while holding her going up the stairs, pulling her our of a harness chair, tossing her up in the air and catching her and seeing the family dog step on her. DeHaas said she was never informed about any of those incidents.

DeHaas also indicated that Ina had no broken bones at the time of her birth, but on cross examination, Public Defender Greg Cholakis asked if it was possible for larger babies, such as then-10-pound, 8-ounce Ina, to receive rib fractures. DeHaas said it was uncommon, but possible.

She also admitted that it would be possible for her to have missed broken bones at Ina’s first check-up because the symptoms would have been gone by then, but said that Ina had already received a clean bill of health from the hospital physician.

The defense claimed in its opening statement that Ina suffered from an intestinal condition known as intussusception, which they believe led to the bowel perforation that killed her, and Cholakis asked DeHaas if she ever spoke with Ina’s parents about it, warning of signs and symptoms. DeHaas said no.

Forensic pathologist Jeffrey Hubbard, who performed Ina’s autopsy, said he was called to do so because of the nature of her death, which was “unusual,” and involved potential “foul play.”

Ina’s abdomen was filled with fluid, which pushed up her diaphragm and would have severely inhibited her ability to breathe, Hubbard said. He also uncovered her broken ribs, which microscopic examination revealed to be of varying severity and in at least four different stages of healing, showing “demonstrable damage,” Hubbard said.

Ina’s broken ribs could conceivably have come from CPR, Hubbard said, but based on their age, they could not be from what was performed on her May 12. Assistant District Attorney Christa Book asked Hubbard if Ina could have somehow injured herself, but he ruled out that possibility due to her not yet walking.

The defense’s explanation for how her injuries happened is that Ina suffered from a severe Vitamin D deficiency which caused rickets, a theory that Hubbard said was impossible based on his autopsy. Children with rickets have soft bones, he said, and Ina’s were “absolutely normal.”

As for the claim of intussusception leading to her torn bowel, Hubbard said that in some 40 years of experience, he had never performed an autopsy on a child with intussusception, because the condition is very treatable and “they’re not supposed to die.”

While intussusception can reverse on its own, Hubbard said the defense’s claim that it did so, and still perforated the bowel, was not possible. If the condition were so severe as to cause a tear, it would affect a large portion of the bowel, he said, and in Ina’s case, the affected portion was contained one small area.

“This is not and never was intussusception,” he said. “ … If it was intussusception, it would not look like this.”

Hubbard concluded that the bowel tear was the result of blunt force trauma, specifically a rapid squeezing of the abdomen. Ina’s lack of bruising is consistent with that diagnosis because the abdomen is made up of soft tissue rather than bone, he said, providing less resistance to a swift blow.

The tear would have been immediately and constantly painful to Ina, Hubbard said, and would have taken 12 hours or more to manifest itself into the overwhelming infection and huge distention she had when she died. The tear would have been repairable for at least several hours after it occurred, he said.

Based on his findings, Hubbard said, he had no conclusion other than to declare Ina’s manner of death a homicide.

Cholakis will begin his cross-examination of Hubbard this morning at 10 a.m.


http://troyrecord.com/articles/2011/09/23/news/doc4e7c22d69cf9d202698480.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Forensic pathologist Jeffrey Hubbard maintains that Ina McElheny's death was a homicide
Published: Saturday, September 24, 2011

By Cecelia Martinez
The Record

TROY — The defense is expected to start calling its witnesses Monday in the murder trial of Joseph McElheny, who is accused of killing his 4-month-old daughter, Ina. Cross-examination of Jeffrey Hubbard, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on the infant, lasted all day Friday. The prosecution is expected to rest Monday morning when the trial resumes.

Much of the cross-examination by defense attorney Greg Cholakis echoed Hubbard’s direct testimony from Thursday, with Cholakis focusing not only on aspects of the autopsy he performed on the infant but also on the possible dating of the fractures she sustained throughout her short life and what may have caused them. Hubbard, at the time of the autopsy and on the stand, declared Ina McElheny’s cause of death as bowel infection caused by an intestinal tear, and classified the death a homicide.

Ina McElheny died on May 12, 2010, after her mother, Melinda Anders, called 911 reporting the infant appeared bloated and had white splotches on her thighs. Joseph McElheny, 32, was arrested by New York State Police and indicted on multiple charges, including murder with depraved indifference, manslaughter, assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Hubbard testified that the infant died from peritonitis from a bowel perforation caused from a fatal blow, and at times gave graphic testimony about the condition of the child’s abdomen and her multiple fractures, including broken ribs and legs. The defense has argued that Ina McElheny suffered from rickets caused by a vitamin D deficiency and a bowel obstruction called intussusception, which could have led to the peritonitis — an infection in the lining covering the abdominal organs.

Hubbard, however, testified otherwise, saying that despite family history of intestinal problems, including intussusception, the infant died from the rupture in her intestines, and that the bones appeared to be of normal strength during the autopsy.

“That would be extremely interesting, but doesn’t change the findings in Ina’s case,” said Hubbard, referring to the child’s medical family history.

The trial was interrupted for more than an hour when, at around 11 a.m., a juror requested a break. Upon returning from break, the public and reporters were barred from the courtroom as jurors were reportedly interviewed regarding an issue raised by one juror about comments made by another juror. Details of the issue were not made public, but after a lengthy waiting period the courtroom was opened and no jurors were dismissed.

Several members of McElheny’s family watched in the courtroom Friday as testimony took place. After the jury broke for the day, Judge Andrew Ceresia said that testimony would resume at 9:30 a.m. Monday, and that the defense should have witnesses ready to take the stand, despite the prosecution not yet resting.

“I’m 99.9 percent sure we’re going to come in Monday morning and say the prosecution rests,” said Assistant District Attorney Christa Book, adding that there was the possibility of them calling another witness. Book also said that they would be willing to call a witness out of order so that the defense could move forward with its case.

Ceresia also advised the jury that testimony in the trial could be finished as early as next Friday. McElheny faces 25 years to life for the charges.

http://troyrecord.com/articles/2011/09/24/news/doc4e7d71766087f462067584.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Forensic pathologist: Bowel obstruction led to Ina McElheny's death
Published: Monday, September 26, 2011

TROY — A forensic pathologist who has consulted on numerous famous murder cases was the first witness called to testify for the defense Monday in the trial of Joseph McElheny, the Hoosick Falls man accused of killing his 4-month-old daughter in May 2010.

The defense began presenting its case after a week of testimony from the prosecution, which claims that Ina McElheny was repeatedly abused by her father and died as a result of blunt force trauma to her abdomen, which caused her bowel to tear and led to a fatal infection.

But Cyril Wecht, who has consulted with attorneys working on the Chandra Levy and Laci Peterson cases and examined autopsy records from President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, said Ina had intussusception, a bowel obstruction which he said led to the tear that caused the infant’s death.

While a specific origin for the condition is often hard to pinpoint, Wecht testified that in some cases intussusception is caused by underlying conditions such as bowel problems, and also cited one Japanese study that showed a hereditary link gives children a predisposition for the condition. The defense had previously argued that Ina had a family history of inflammatory bowel disease, and Wecht testified Monday that one of Ina’s paternal aunts had intussusception as an infant.

Wecht also said that while intussusception has several so-called classic symptoms — such as general distress, vomiting, whimpering and diarrhea — those can vary greatly, and manifest themselves differently in each patient. It is possible for the condition to reverse itself without medical intervention, he said, and it can also occur more than once in a patient, though he admitted that that would be rare.

Addressing the blunt force trauma theory, Wecht said he disagreed with that determination because there was no evidence of trauma on Ina’s skin, tissue or muscles. Though there have been cases of blunt force trauma that have left no trace, he said, the small, precise location of Ina’s bowel tear was inconsistent with that type of pressure. If the trauma was as severe as the prosecution claimed, it would have spread across the abdominal cavity and affected more organs than just the small intestine, he said.

“It just doesn’t make any sense to me in this case,” Wecht said.

On cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Kennedy asked Wecht if he had ever performed autopsies on children who died from a bowel perforation caused by intussusception. Wecht said he had done two, both in the 1960s, noting that the condition is much less likely to be fatal today because it is usually caught and corrected.

Kennedy also grilled Wecht about his definition of “reasonable degree of medical certainty,” asking him to explain how sure he was that Ina had intussusception. Wecht said more than 50 percent probability was his own definition of reasonable certainty, and which meant the theory had “a greater likelihood than not” of being true.

He denied to speculate on the origin of Ina’s 18 bone fractures, uncovered in her autopsy and the prosecution’s primary example of alleged abuse, saying he does not express such opinion when performing his own autopsies.

Also testifying Monday was Stephanie Hewson, who worked with both McElheny and Ina’s mother, Melinda Anders, at Staples in Bennington, Vt. Hewson said she had seen the baby in the store about six times after she was born, and came in close contact with her during two of those visits.

Hewson testified that McElheny and Anders were “totally excited” about Ina, and that the baby appeared “content” and “inquisitive.” She said she told McElheny that Ina looked strong because she was sitting up at such a young age, and said that McElheny was “very happy … (and) couldn’t wait to show her off to everybody.

“He was very loving, very patient, very proud,” Hewson said.

Testimony continues this morning at 9 a.m. in front of Judge Andrew Ceresia.

http://troyrecord.com/articles/2011/09/26/news/doc4e81334115ce4500812574.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Father cries relating daughter's last night
"We can't just let her die," accused Hoosick Falls man says on stand
By BOB GARDINIER Staff writer
Updated 09:56 p.m., Wednesday, September 28, 2011

TROY -- The Hoosick Falls father accused of murdering his 4-month-old daughter broke down crying on the witness stand Wednesday when he was asked about being bedside the night his daughter died in an emergency room.
"Sometimes I was on my knees on the floor crying and others I was leaning over her talking to her and trying to get a response," Joseph McElheny, 32, said as bouts of sobbing caused long pauses in his responses to questions from his attorney Gregory Cholakis.
"Then the doctor told us she was not going to make it and I refused to believe that and asked for another doctor and I said 'We can't just let her die,' " McElheny said. "It was so horrible and I felt lost and I did not know what to do."
McElheny of 3 River St., a stay-at-home father, is on trial before Rensselaer County Judge Andrew Ceresia for murder, manslaughter and assault in the death of Ina Jane McElheny.
McElheny and his wife, Melinda Anders, had their baby removed from life support shortly after she arrived at Albany Medical Center Hospital unresponsive and with a belly severely bloated from infection on May 12, 2010.
The father said he was stunned when investigators later that day told him at the State Police Brunswick Barracks that an autopsy showed that Ina Jane had 18 broken bones.
"I thought he was lying but then thought, 'why would he do something like that?'." McElheny said.
"Did you hurt your baby?" Cholakis asked.
"I would never intentionally hurt anyone," McElheny shot back.
He then answered "no" to each of a series of quick questions asking if he twisted his daughter's legs, struck her in the stomach, squeezed her torso or kicked the child.
On cross-examination from Assistant District Attorney Christa Book, McElheny often got testy and went into protracted explanations and corrections of police statements attributed to him and Book's questions.
Book's cross-examination will continue Thursday.
During questioning by Cholakis, the defendant said he was concerned during Ina Jane's birth, which was difficult because of the baby's position and her weight of more than 10 pounds. He said the doctor seemed angry a Caesarean had not been scheduled.
"It was very hard for Melinda because she took nothing for the pain,'' McElheny said. "The birth was like surgery during the Civil War."
McElheny said the child was happy and strong but began to show signs of illness the day before her death.
"She vomited, emptied her stomach in my lap and that concerned me," McElheny said. "She never did that before."
The jury began Monday to hear expert testimony that McElheny did not inflict the injuries that caused the death of his daughter but that she died of inherited congenital bowel abnormalities. The experts also contended that the 17 skeletal fractures found during the autopsy were not caused by abuse but by low vitamin D levels and a condition called rickets that weakened the baby's bones to the point that normal handling would have broken them.
Prosecution experts testified the baby's skeletal fractures were inflicted at various times by abuse from an adult. They said a sharp blow or kick to the infant's abdomen ruptured her bowel, which caused an infection that led to the infant's death.


Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Father-cries-relating-daughter-s-last-night-2192610.php#ixzz1ZLFmhhM8

Joseph McElheny denies ADA Christa Book's claims during cross-examination
Published: Friday, September 30, 2011


TROY — Joseph McElheny, the Hoosick Falls man accused of killing his 4-month-old daughter, Ina, in May 2010, continued his testimony in his own defense under cross-examination Thursday, arguing with Assistant District Attorney Christa Book about statements he made to State Police investigators, among other details.

McElheny was terse and defensive as he responded to Book’s questions, telling her numerous times that testimony from a State Police investigator, who recounted his interview with McElheny the day Ina died, was either incomplete or incorrect. When Book asked him if he told police that he had previously squeezed Ina’s belly to get gas out, McElheny denied uttering those words.

Book also insinuated that McElheny did not get enough alone time or adult interaction, since he spent all day alone with Ina and had no close friends or family nearby, alluding to the potential frustration that might cause. McElheny said he enjoyed caring for his daughter, and in response to Book’s suggestion that the rapid changes of entering a relationship and becoming a father led to stress, said he was happy.

“Moving on in life and developing a family is what I strove for,” he said.

When Ina was just over 2 months old, she developed a stomach bug that manifested itself with vomiting, fever and lethargy. Book asked McElheny why he and Anders never called the family doctor, and he said he had talked to his mother, a registered nurse, about Ina’s symptoms and decided there was no need.

“I don’t think any of us were afraid of the symptoms,” McElheny said during redirect. “Children get sick. Her symptoms didn’t really seem severe.”

Ina was killed by an infected abdominal cavity, caused by a ruptured bowel that investigators believe was the result of blunt force trauma. Her autopsy uncovered 18 broken bones, including 16 fractured ribs in various stages of healing and fractures in both her legs.

According to State Police testimony, McElheny had told them that he might sometimes be rougher than his then-girlfriend and Ina’s mother, Melinda Anders, with the baby. McElheny disputed that version, saying that he was trying to describe his and Anders’ different parenting styles, and that Melinda was “extremely gentle” with Ina and “wary.”

“I think I had more confidence,” he said. “ … Melinda certainly coddled Ina.”

At the end of her cross-examination, Book confronted McElheny with accusations about his alleged abuse.

“You watched Ina suffer all day on May 11,” she said. “You waited until Ina was no longer breathing until you called 911.”

“Prior to that, I didn’t believe there was a reason to call,” McElheny said.

“Ina was injured on May 11 under your care,” Book continued. “She was injured before that.”

McElheny flatly denied those claims.

Several of McElheny’s former co-workers took the stand Thursday afternoon, all offering up similar versions of previous testimony from other colleagues. Witnesses said McElheny frequently brought Ina into work, and appeared to be a proud father who was “very careful (with) the baby.”

Ina was “a perfect little child” and “happy as can be,” one witness said, and “she was really pleasant and didn’t fuss at all.”

McElheny’s sister, Susan Sherwood, also testified, and said that McElheny had set up a webcam with a live feed of Ina’s crib so that people could watch the baby online. Sherwood never met her niece, she said, but saw her once or twice a week through the webcam.

She spoke with her brother often during Ina’s life, she said, talking about their children and milestones in Ina’s development.

“He was very happy,” Sherwood recalled. “He loved to talk about being a parent, for hours and hours and hours.”

Sherwood also testified that she had inflammatory bowel disease, which previous medical expert witnesses have testified to being a hereditary condition, which has been linked to Vitamin D deficiency. Sherwood said she did suffer from a significant Vitamin D deficiency, which now requires her to take supplements.

Previous witnesses also claim that Ina had a Vitamin D deficiency which manifested into rickets, weakening her bones and making her more susceptible to fractures under normal handling. Under cross-examination from Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Kennedy, Sherwood said she never suffered from fractures as a result of her deficiency.

Anders will take the stand this morning, and is expected to wrap up the defense’s testimony. Closing statements are tentatively slated for Monday. Judge Andrew Ceresia is presiding.


http://troyrecord.com/articles/2011/09/30/news/doc4e85564159e17906997460.txt?viewmode=fullstory

‘He enjoyed spending time with Ina more than anything’ Melinda Anders McElheny, baby’s mom, testifies
Published: Saturday, October 01, 2011

TROY — As the mother of his dead daughter recounted the final moments the couple had with their 4-month-old, Ina, defendant Joseph McElheny put his head in his hands and started to cry.

During testimony Friday, Melinda Anders McElheny gave her recollection of her entire whirlwind relationship with McElheny, the pregnancy which followed just one month after they officially started dating, the birth of their baby, the months of bonding with Ina, and the days leading up to the death of their daughter, who died from an infected abdominal cavity and whose autopsy found 18 broken bones and 16 fractured ribs.

A calm and matter-of-fact McElheny said that the defendant was “overjoyed” and “more excited than she expected” when they found out in April 2009 that she was pregnant. They had confessed they had feelings for one another in late 2008, but decided not to act on them. Their romantic relationship became official in March 2009, but they did not tell their co-workers, a tight-knit group, she explained.

She described the hospital delivery as “horrifying,” “terrifying” and being in “excruciating pain” since she was dilated, but the baby was not in the proper position. Her blood pressure during the procedure was also going “sky high,” she said, as the doctors tried a suction method to get the baby out and then resorted to literally cutting her, which worked albeit was very painful, and required at least two procedures to repair the damage.

McElheny remembered a nurse exclaiming about her baby, “My God, she’s huge,” as Ina was finally delivered.

The defendant smiled as McElheny also remembered the birth of their baby.

Little Ina, however, had some problems from the beginning. Her parents felt she was spitting up a lot not long after she was born and they put her on a liquid form of Zantac for a few weeks. Soon after, she seemed normal again and enjoyed going to McElheny’s workplace to be held by new people.

“She was a friendly baby when she was being held. She had a pleasant expression on her face,” she said.

Then McElheny said she noticed some discrepancies whenever Ina would get vaccination shots, since she didn’t seem like herself afterward. In March, not long after her monthly check up, she became gas-y, constipated, and would spit up more than usual. She also had less energy and napped more. They spoke with the defendant’s mother, a registered nurse, and eventually figured out that it was likely something she drank that did not quite sit well with her. And Ina went back to her normal self.

“Joe seemed like he enjoyed spending time with Ina more than anything,” she said.

As McElheny remembered Ina’s last doctor’s visit on May 6, 2010, she visibly started to become less composed, though it was a usual visit with more vaccinations. She then told the courtroom about May 10, the last full day Ina was alive.

The baby had an unusual bowel movement that morning. Then she remembered laying the baby in bed with Joe as she left for work, where she later found out that her pay at Staples might be changed from salary to hourly and she was worried about getting a pay cut. When she called the defendant that day, he was not as worried about it, she said.

McElheny said she felt uneasy, and hoped she had not exposed the baby to the flu, since she was “tired looking” and “clammy.” After just falling asleep around 12:30 a.m. on May 11, she was awoken by the defendant saying they would have to take Ina to the hospital. She recalled the baby’s belly already being rounded and that she saw the defendant shaking the baby and told him not to hold her like that.

As McElheny recalled giving her baby CPR with the defendant, she started to cry on the witness stand. Her baby, who looked almost dead in their home, was taken to the hospital where doctors told the couple, after some time of providing medical attention, that there was nothing they could do and that she would pass away.

It was at this point in questioning that the defendant also started to silently sob.

Judge Andrew Ceresia has granted a continuance for the trial on Tuesday morning so that the defense may call an expert radiologist from out of state to testify that Ina may have had fractured bones since birth. It is unclear if the expert will be able to make it on Tuesday but the testimony of Melinda Anders McElheny will continue Monday at 9:30 a.m.

Defense attorney Greg Cholakis also said he plans to introduce possibly hundreds of photos and videos to demonstrate that the family was not hiding anything with their baby and therefore was not abusing her. Ceresia and the prosecution made it clear that each photo would need a foundation as evidence.

http://troyrecord.com/articles/2011/10/01/news/doc4e86a6448cd98180062729.txt?viewmode=fullstory

New photo, video evidence entered in McElheny trial
Published: Tuesday, October 04, 2011

By Katie Nowak Roberts
The Record

TROY — In a day of disjointed testimony Monday, Melinda McElheny, wife of accused murderer Joseph McElheny, continued her recounting of events after the death of her 4-month-old daughter Ina last year.

Public Defender Greg Cholakis continued his direct questioning of Melinda McElheny, having her describe her interview with State Police investigators on May 12, 2010, the day Ina died.

McElheny said investigators asked her about any occasions where Ina may have been injured, and she said she offered them several instances her husband had related to her, in addition to one where she saw him after he fell with the baby.

“They kept pointing back to each of these incidents as something going on at home, that Joe was making up stories to cover up hurting Ina,” McElheny said.

Cholakis asked her opinion of those accusations.

“I thought they were off-base,” she replied. “ … They asked if Joe hurt her. I told them that I could not imagine that to be true.”

After Joseph McElheny was arrested in August 2010, Melinda McElheny said she was approached by the prosecution to meet with them, a request she declined.

“It has been my experience that any conversations I have with police investigators, my words have not been accurately portrayed,” she said.

Before the arrest, McElheny said that she and Joseph McElheny learned they were expecting another child together, and got married.

Their second daughter, Murphy, was born in April, but Melinda McElheny said that the baby was taken away from her at the hospital by the Vermont Department of Children and Families the next day.

McElheny is currently involved in a case in Vermont Family Court over custody of her daughter, the result of which hinges out the outcome of her husband’s trial, she said. Vermont officials have concluded their investigation and indicated there is no risk for the baby to be with her, McElheny said, but that the only way for her to regain custody would be if Joseph McElheny were found guilty during his trial and remained in prison.

The day Ina died, McElheny said investigators seized several computers from her home, including ones containing approximately 1,450 photos and 237 videos taken of the child before she died.

McElheny provided backed-up copies of those photos and videos to the defense, which Cholakis spent a large portion of Monday attempting to admit into evidence.

Cholakis singled out close to 100 photographs and 40 videos for McElheny to identify, which depict Ina on about half of the days of her 4-and-a-half-month-long life.

Many show the baby in only a diaper or naked in the bathtub, others playing with toys, sitting in a chair referenced during previous testimony, rolling over, standing with support of one of her parents and pulling her legs up to her chest.

McElheny said her husband took the majority of the pictures and the videos, but she was present while many of them were filmed, and she filmed some herself. The photos and videos show Ina with both her parents, as well as several family members and friends.

Cholakis and Assistant District Attorneys Christa Book and Elizabeth Kennedy spent several hours debating the merits and relevance of each item, and Judge Andrew Ceresia deemed some to be admissible as evidence.

They have not yet been published to the jury, a process that is expected to take some time.

McElheny testified earlier Monday that there was never a day in Ina’s life where she didn’t see, hold, feed or change her. At the end of his direct questioning, Cholakis asked if Joseph McElheny ever prevented her from seeing or touching the baby, taking her out into public or having people come visit the baby, or talked her out of calling the doctor if the baby was ill. McElheny denied each claim.

“Prior to May 11, did you ever have any reason to believe anything was wrong with your child?” Cholakis asked.

“No,” McElheny replied.

“Did you ever have any reason to believe Joe was hurting your child?” Cholakis continued.

“No,” McElheny said.

The defense will call medical expert Patrick Barnes to testify via video conference this morning. The prosecution will cross-examine McElheny afterward.

http://troyrecord.com/articles/2011/10/04/news/doc4e8a866f0ec65382434242.txt

Infant taken from couple in baby death case
Defendant's wife says authorities took child after she was born in April
By BOB GARDINIER Staff writer
Updated 10:19 p.m., Monday, October 3, 2011



TROY -- The wife of a man accused of killing their infant testified Monday that authorities took custody of a second child from the couple after she was born in April.

The investigation of the 2010 death of 4-month-old Ina Jane McElheny prompted Vermont authorities to take custody of the child born this year. Melinda Anders McElheny said authorities told her she would get the child back if her husband, Joseph McElheny, was convicted.

The father testified last week that he has never seen his younger daughter.

The May 2010 death of Ina Jane in the family's Hoosick Falls home drew media coverage, but the existence of the second child was not made public until Monday's testimony.

Anders McElheny was called to the witness stand by her husband's public defender, Gregory Cholakis. She began testifying on Friday and returned to the stand on Monday.

Cholakis asked her if she and her husband had a second child.

"Yes, a daughter named Murphy,'' Anders McElheny said. ''She was born in Bennington in April and two days later the Vermont Department of Children and Families came to the hospital with an order to take custody of her while this case is going on.''

Anders McElheny said the department acted on the orders of New York State Child Protective Services and the Rensselaer County district attorney's office.

The mother said she was informed that a grand jury investigated her possible involvement in the criminal case.

''I was then told that I had not been indicted,'' Anders McElheny said.

A grand jury indicted Joseph McElheny, 32, on second-degree murder charges about three months after Ina Jane died.

Anders McElheny testified that she refused to cooperate with the prosecution because she does not believe her husband killed the child.

The day's court action started with Cholakis asking Judge Andrew Ceresia to allow him to show the jury 1,400 photographs and 234 videos that McElheny and his wife took of the infant.

Ceresia denied the request to enter all the photos and videos, limiting the defense to one photo per day of the child's life.

The sides spent the better part of Monday arguing admissibility of the photos and videos, and the prosecution has yet to get the chance to cross examine the mother.

Cholakis wants to use the photos to show the jury that the child looked healthy and that the parents had nothing to hide.

The judge ruled Monday that a defense expert, pediatric radiologist Dr. Patrick Barnes, can testify by video teleconference. Barnes, a member of the child-abuse-protection team at Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., is often asked by defense attorneys to review medical scans in child abuse cases.

Prosecutors contend the baby had 18 broken bones inflicted over several weeks and a perforated bowel caused by a sharp blow.

Defense experts testified the child had a vitamin D deficiency, which caused weak bones, and a congenital bowel condition that caused a blockage, which led to the perforation.

Reach Bob Gardinier at 454-5696 or bgardinier@timesunion.com.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Infant-taken-from-couple-in-baby-death-case-2200043.php#ixzz1ZqcJHkm1

Pediatric radiologist says that Ina McElheny most likely suffered from congenital rickets
Published: Wednesday, October 05, 2011


By Katie Nowak Roberts
The Record

TROY — A pediatric radiologist with extensive child abuse experience testified Tuesday in the trial of Joseph McElheny, the Hoosick Falls man accused of murdering his 4-month-old daughter Ina in May 2010.

Patrick Barnes, a member of the Northern California Child Abuse Task Force and the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Team, said Tuesday that he believes Ina, who had 18 broken bones uncovered during her autopsy, most likely suffered from congenital rickets, which led to her injuries. Barnes has published extensively on “mimics” of child abuse — conditions that look like abuse but are not — as well as birth injuries, and said both are factors in Ina’s case.

Ina’s congenital rickets developed in the womb due to a lack of Vitamin D coming from her mother, Melinda, during the last trimester of pregnancy, Barnes said. There is a large difference between congenital and classic rickets, he said, with the former condition manifesting itself in the abnormal growth of bones, and the latter showing no real bone change until a child is 6 months or older.

Citing an article he co-published in 2008, Barnes said rickets, which had become less common over the last few decades, “is back,” calling it “a national and international epidemic.” Today, it’s expected that doctors will check first for bone disorders when presented with a case of multiple fractures and suspected abuse, Barnes said, and no testing of the sort was done on Ina, either pre- or postmortem.

Pointing to specific spots on Ina’s x-rays, including on her ribs, hips, legs, ankles, forearms and wrists, Barnes said that the thick, fuzzy, bright white bone formation found there is indicative of healing found with congenital rickets. Bones that are significantly bowed, such as those found in her forearms and legs, are also consistent with the condition, he said.

Fractures to bones weakened due to congenital rickets can be caused by normal handling, Barnes said, including when parents hold a child’s arms and make them stand, and during diaper changing. Stress put on rib bones when a parent picks them up could cause rib fractures, he said.

The most likely cause of Ina’s rib fractures was her “traumatic” birth, Barnes said, which involved difficulty moving through the birth canal. The dating of those fractures on her hospital x-rays before her death and the autopsy x-rays after are inconsistent, he said, and could very likely have originated at birth.

On cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Kennedy indicated that Barnes’ theories about congenital rickets have not been widely accepted by the medical community and were unsubstantiated by facts, a notion he vehemently denied. During a heated exchange where Kennedy brought up several criticisms of his work, she asked if other medical professionals believed congenital rickets exists.

“We can’t go on belief, we have to go on science,” Barnes replied.

Kennedy also asked if he could definitively prove if Ina had rickets, which the doctor admitted he could not due to a lack of testing.

“But you can’t prove abuse, either,” he said.

Melinda McElheny also took the stand Tuesday, continuing her testimony under cross-examination from Assistant District Attorney Christa Book.

McElheny said she was concerned with Joseph McElheny’s lack of earnings from his home computer business, and unhappy with his inability to contribute financially. Melinda McElheny also said that when Joseph McElheny first moved in with her, there were many things she didn’t know about him, and she was unsure about their relationship, telling State Police investigators the night Ina died that she “did not trust (him) with (her) heart.”

Melinda McElheny said her husband was “directing Ina’s care” for most of the child’s life, and spent every day alone with the baby while McElheny was at work. On May 11, the day before Ina died, McElheny said she saw the baby in the morning before work and she seemed to be tired, but fine. McElheny said she later called her husband from work to tell him she may be getting a pay decrease.

When she came home for lunch afterward, she learned Ina had vomited, and said the child appeared pale and less energetic. Later, when she returned for the night, McElheny said Ina seemed less sick than before, but that she never saw her spark back up.

The baby was in her crib and covered in a blanket when she arrived home, McElheny said.

Testimony continues this morning in front of Judge Andrew Ceresia.

http://troyrecord.com/articles/2011/10/05/news/doc4e8bf90301566692810695.txt?viewmode=fullstory