Defense questions timeline in Washington County baby无毛视频檚 death
Smith Township man accused of killing infant son three years ago
Mike Jones
The defense for Joshua George, who is charged with homicide in the shaking death of his 6-month-old son Oliver three years ago, is questioning the timing of the child’s injuries after the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on the boy testified Monday about the timeline.
Dr. Todd Luckasevic said the boy likely would be immediately showing symptoms from trauma and would have been dead within two hours from “lethal injuries” he suffered from being shaken and suffering a blow to the back of his head that caused a skull fracture.
“When this child sustained these injuries, he’s symptomatic within minutes,” Luckasevic said. “These injuries are painful. He’s going to be fussy, he’s going to be crying.”
Without immediate medical intervention, the child would have died within a couple of hours due to the severity of the injuries, Luckasevic testified. That theory runs counter with the prosecution’s claim that George assaulted the child inside his Smith Township home on the morning of Dec. 30, 2021, and then took Oliver and two siblings to their grandparents nearby to be watched for the day.
During the preliminary hearing in March 2022, Cheska Rotellini testified that George arrived with the children at her home about 8:30 a.m., and Oliver was sleeping but otherwise appeared to be fine. Shortly after, Oliver refused to eat and later vomited, and then bruising began to appear on his left ear. She called 911 and the boy was taken to Weirton (W.Va.) Medical Center for treatment around 11:30 a.m. before eventually being transported to UPMC Children’s hospital in Pittsburgh, where Oliver died Jan. 3.
Luckasevic, who previously worked as an associate pathologist in the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office, performed the autopsy on the child the following day and came to the conclusion about the timing of the child’s injuries. But he has never been asked to testify in the case until Monday, when he spent nearly an hour on the stand during a habeas hearing in the Washington County Courthouse at the request of George’s defense attorney, Stanley Booker. Booker previously raised questions about why the pathologist was not called to testify during a similar hearing on Sept. 26, which is why Judge Valarie Costanzo reopened the record, allowing Luckasevic to be questioned on the stand.
The boy died of blunt force trauma, which Luckasevic said was caused by the skull fracture to the back of his head and subsequent hemorrhaging of the brain.
“A skull fracture is going to cause crying in minutes. Inconsolable. … Nothing is going to make the child stop crying at that point,” Luckasevic said. “This is a lethal injury, so that child is going to be symptomatic way before 10 minutes.”
The grandparents who watched Oliver are not considered suspects and have not been accused by investigators of any wrong-doing in his death.
It’s unclear how Luckasevic’s testimony or his theory on the timing of the child’s injuries could impact George’s trial, which still has yet to be scheduled because of the amount of work involved in the case. George, 33, is charged with homicide, reckless endangerment and three counts of aggravated assault, and he is facing the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder.
As deputies led George from the courtroom wearing shackles and an orange prison jumpsuit, several family members who packed the left side of the gallery behind him offered words of support, saying, “Love you, Josh,” which brought a small smile to his face. He is being held without bond at the Washington County jail while awaiting trial.