Chief Medical Examiner Testifies In Listro Manslaughter Trial of Foster Child

MANSLAUGHTER TRIAL
Chief Medical Examiner Testifies In Listro Manslaughter Trial

By DAVID OWENS
March 9, 2010



VERNON — - The state's chief medical examiner testified Monday that 7-month-old Michael Brown Jr.'s death in May 2008 of "blunt traumatic head injury" was inconsistent with a 26-inch fall from a bed to the floor.

That's what Suzanne Listro of Mansfield, Michael's foster mother at the time, told state police had happened to the boy. The medical evidence showed something else, Dr. H. Wayne Carver testified at Listro's trial at Superior Court in Rockville. She is charged with first-degree manslaughter and risk of injury to a child.

The boy suffered a subdural hematoma, which caused severe bleeding on the brain, and there were injuries to Michael's optic nerve and retina consistent with being shaken, Carver testified.

"The amount of damage done was more than I would expect from a fall of ... 26 inches," Carver said. Further, had the boy fallen off the bed as described, there would have been evidence of bleeding under the boy's scalp, Carver said. Instead, there was no impact point on the back of his head, the part that Listro told police struck the floor.

Photos taken during the boy's autopsy were shown to Judge William H. Bright Jr., who is hearing the case and will decide Listro's guilt or innocence. Carver, under questioning by prosecutor Elizabeth C. Leaming, used the photos to explain the boy's injuries.

Listro became emotional at times as the courtroom was darkened and the graphic autopsy photos were displayed on a screen.

Under cross-examination by one of Listro's defense lawyers, J. Hubert Santos, Carver said he could not say for sure what caused Michael's injury.

"My opinion is a great deal of physical energy went into this kid's head," Carver said. "I don't know how." Shaken baby syndrome could be the cause of the injuries, as could other trauma, Carver said.

Listro, 44, was a state Department of Children and Families employee at the time of Michael's death. She'd also been certified by the agency as a foster parent. She has since been fired.

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