What's Next in Disturbing Case of Baby Decapitated During Birth?

An attorney for the baby's family said he plans to depose everyone in the room during the botched delivery

Months after the parents of a baby who was decapitated during birth filed a fraud and negligence lawsuit, no depositions have been conducted to reveal further details on the tragedy, according to the family's attorneys, but that could soon change.

Jessica Ross went into labor on July 9, 2023 and her delivery began early on the morning of July 10 at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Ga. During the delivery, the shoulder of the baby became stuck in the vaginal canal, causing a medical emergency known as shoulder dystocia.

The newborn, Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr., died during delivery, and was decapitated in the process. The incident received renewed attention Tuesday when the Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that the cause of death was homicide, the result of a severed upper cervical spine.

Though it is possible criminal charges could result from the incident, the cause of death being listed as homicide does not necessarily indicate a crime has been committed, but instead means a person’s actions caused the death.

At a press conference Wednesday, aired by Atlanta News First, the family’s attorneys Roderick Edmond and Cory Lynch told reporters that the medical examiner’s ruling backed up their claim that the baby died from a broken neck, caused by “excessive traction” applied by the attending physician dealing with the shoulder dystocia.

Related: Parents Whose Baby Was Decapitated During Birth Didn't Know What Happened to Child for 3 Days: Lawyer (Exclusive)

Speaking Wednesday, Edmond alleged that since the filing of the complaint, the hospital has been uncooperative and that his legal team has not yet been able to depose individuals involved in the birth of the baby.

“We have not taken one deposition in this case,” Edmond said. “Not because we haven’t asked, but because there’s been pushback by the defense.”

Edmond also noted that in the past week, his team had a conversation with the defense and expects depositions to begin soon.

“We’re going to depose everybody who was in the room,” he said. “All the nurses, all the scrub techs, everybody, to find out, essentially, what the hell happened.”

Edmond, also a doctor who formerly practiced medicine, claimed proper protocols were not followed after the discovery of shoulder dystocia.

According to the complaint, which was reviewed by PEOPLE, the couple alleges that Ross was not informed that her baby had been decapitated until July 13, after she had been released from the hospital.

“They were unaware, they were told that the baby didn’t make it,” Lynch tells PEOPLE. “They were not told of the condition of the body.”

In a claim made at Wednesday's press conference, Edmond said when the couple asked to see their baby after being told he had died, they were shown, through a glass window, the tightly wrapped baby, with the head seemingly propped on top.

Brian Byars, the director of the Clayton County Medical Examiner's Office, confirms that his office was shown a picture of a swaddled baby.

"We were given a picture of the baby wrapped in a swaddle," Byars tells PEOPLE. "It looked like they presented a very healthy, very good looking, beautiful child."

Related: 'They Lied to Us': Family Who Lost Baby to Decapitation During Birth Says Hospital Pushed for Cremation

The medical examiner’s office noted in a press release that the Clayton County Police Department has opened an investigation into the baby’s death, but currently no criminal charges have been filed.

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Edmond and Lynch declined to opine on whether criminal charges were appropriate in this case.

Treveon Sr. and Ross both appeared at the press conference Wednesday, and the former spoke publicly for the first time.

After the death was ruled a homicide, Southern Regional Medical Center told CNN it could not comment due to the pending litigation.

"We just want justice for our son,” he said. Referring to the hospital staff, the baby's father claimed,, “They lied to us.”

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