It was the best news ever for Chris and Keshia Turner of East Tennessee. After two and a half years battling Child Protective Services, their children were coming home.
On Friday, June 24, 2017, Keshia posted the happy news on Facebook:
When Health Impact News first spoke with the Turners more than two years ago, their oldest son Brayden had been taken from them by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) after doctors discovered that her son had multiple fractures in various stages of healing. Keshia was accused of Shaken Baby Syndrome and abuse.
See original story:
Baby Found with Broken Bones – Parents Assumed Guilty of Abuse and Lose Custody
Keshia told us that she believed that her son Brayden was coming home eventually. Her faith in God was what kept her going, she said, and she trusted that God would one day bring good out of all that they were going through.
Then, she gave birth to Carson in September 2015. Because DCS had an ongoing case against Keshia, her 4 day old baby was seized by DCS and placed with his brother.
See story:
Tennessee Children with Brittle Bones Suffer in State Care as Mom Charged with SBS
Through it all, the Turners fought hard to get their children back. When we first spoke with the couple more than 2 years ago, they knew that there had to be some kind of medical explanation for Brayden’s broken bones and symptoms. However, once a doctor accused the parents of abuse, they said that the doctors stopped looking for answers.
But Keshia did not stop looking. She knew that there had to be answers that the doctors had missed.
The Turner family at a visit in 2016. Photo source: Reunite the Turners Facebook page.
Experts Testify: Rickets, Not Abuse Responsible for Broken Bones
According to medical experts Dr. David Ayoub, radiologist, and Dr. John Galaznik, pediatrician, what the doctors at Vanderbilt hospital missed was evidence that Brayden suffered from infantile rickets and osteopenia of prematurity.
In June of 2016, a juvenile court judge decided that DCS was justified in accusing Keshia Turner of “severe child abuse” and found her guilty.
Last week, their case was heard by a different judge in a circuit court. It was basically a whole new trial, and Judge Amy V. Hollars heard testimony from the DCS side as well as almost 10 hours of medical testimony from the Turners’ medical experts, Dr. Ayoub and Dr. Galaznik.
The experts explained that there is a great deal of research demonstrating that there are often medical reasons for injuries that mimic abuse, and that there are specific indicators of such that many doctors miss.
The science behind “Shaken Baby Syndrome” and multiple broken bones in children is far from “settled science,” and many innocent parents have lost their children and others have been imprisoned when doctors have failed to consider new research and literature or to perform adequate testing to rule out other medical causes for the injuries.
Judges across the country are re-trying convictions of Shaken Baby Syndrome where only one side of the evidence was presented in court, and where the accused did not have an opportunity to present other medical evidence that can cause broken bones apart from abuse or “shaking.” See:
Attorneys Being Trained to Fight Bogus Child Abuse Charges used in Medical Kidnappings
University of Michigan Law School Awarded $250K to Learn How to Defend Shaken Baby Syndrome Cases
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Opens the Legal Door to Retry All Shaken Baby Syndrome Convictions
Dr. Ayoub and Dr. Galaznik were able to present the court with their findings, based on Brayden’s x-rays and his medical history. They demonstrated that there was ample evidence that he had medical conditions that caused his broken bones, and they asserted that this was not a case of abuse.
After a week of testimony, the family was called into court at 2 pm on Friday, June 24, to hear the judge’s verdict.
Attorney Connie Reguli said before the ruling that she knew that the truth was on the family’s side. However, too many families have lamented to us that the truth often appears to be irrelevant in DCS/CPS cases. No one knew what to expect, but the family remained hopeful.
A joyful Keshia is reunited with her baby Carson. Photo provided by the family.
The judge’s ruling was music to their ears. The family won the case, and their children were to be returned to their parents. There was to be no gradual reunification process; they were ordered to be returned immediately.
Keshia’s attorney Connie Reguli said of the case:
Judge Amy V. Hollars found the expert witnesses very persuasive in describing metabolic bone disease.
Their long nightmare is over, and now the healing and restoration process can begin.
Here ya go…here’s your kids back. We’re all done experimenting on them. If they seem a bit out of it and it looks like they’re not thinking quite right and their motor skills are a bit slow, it just means the mind control drugs we gave them haven’t worn off completely. Some of these side effects may be permanent.
Best way to hurt someone from whom you have stolen everything is to give them back something broken.