Key Medical Evidence Turned Over in Shaken-Baby Syndrome Case

Key Medical Evidence Turned Over in Shaken-Baby Syndrome Case

Medill Justice Project sought records for a year


Medical records obtained by The Medill Justice Project.

By Alison Flowers
The Medill Justice Project
Published: April 30, 2013


The Medill Justice Project has obtained thousands of pages of medical records, including copies of CT scans and MRIs of an infant’s head, which the attorney for a Chicago-area day care worker says undermines her first-degree murder conviction.

At Jennifer Del Prete’s 2004-2005 trial, an emergency room physician testified the infant’s brain bleed—also known as a subdural hematoma—likely was up to a week old when she was brought to the hospital. The defense’s expert medical witness testified then the brain bleed was as many as 10 days old.

The newly-released medical records indicate the infant’s brain bleed was older—at a minimum 14 days—which could mean the bleeding could have started before Del Prete began caring for the infant at a Romeoville, Ill., home day care, according to her attorney, Patrick W. Blegen.

“We think the medical records, when combined with the testimony, are very significant because they show that the chronic subdural hematoma was at least two weeks old and likely older than that,” Blegen said. “The critical error was that the people who testified at the original trial at state court said that the chronic subdural hematoma [brain bleed] was seven to 10 days old.”

Read the full story here.

The Jennifer Del Prete Case

The Jennifer Del Prete Case



How a murder case hinged on expert witnesses


Medill Justice Project investigation of shaken-baby syndrome case raises questions about the role of expert testimony
By Christina Assi, Rebecca Cohen, Anika Dutta, Stephanie Fuerte and Alex Hampl
The Medill Justice Project
Published: March 19, 2013
  • Read the investigative story here.
  • Read about new medical theories in the case here.
  • View the public documents obtained for the investigation here.
  • Watch a video featuring Del Prete’s daughter Tia here.

The Pamela Jacobazzi Case

The Pamela Jacobazzi Case



For the first time, The Medill Justice Project records an on-camera prison interview


Jacobazzi tells her side of the story to student journalists

By Shiraz Ahmed, Sherry Jiao, Pavithra Mohan and Amanda Oppold
The Medill Justice Project
Published: March 19, 2013
  • Read more about the Pamela Jacobazzi case here.
  • View the public documents obtained for the investigation here.
  • View a photo gallery of The Medill Justice Project’s investigation here.

Attorney Says Newly Discovered Evidence ‘Undercuts’ Conclusion About Infant’s Death

Attorney Says Newly Discovered Evidence ‘Undercuts’ Conclusion About Infant’s Death

Evidence dug up by Medill Justice Project probe of day care worker’s murder conviction

By Alec Klein
The Medill Justice Project
Published: March 25, 2013

The attorney for Jennifer Del Prete, a day care worker convicted of murder, said authorities failed to turn over “favorable evidence” to the prisoner, potentially violating her constitutional right to a fair trial.

In a motion filed in federal court, attorney Patrick W. Blegen cited a nearly decade-old police record, which he had not come across until it was published less than a week ago by Northwestern University’s Medill Justice Project.

Blegen, representing Del Prete in a recent hearing in U.S. District Court in Chicago, said in his filing that authorities had not furnished this document; it was a police detective’s letter to the prosecution’s expert medical witness in which the detective expressed concerns that the forensic pathologist who conducted the infant’s autopsy questioned whether the child was a victim of what is known as shaken-baby syndrome or abusive head trauma.

Charles B. Pelkie, director of public affairs for the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, said in an interview for this article, “These are serious issues raised in the federal filing, and it’s taken very seriously by our office.” He said his office has ordered the case file from storage. “We’ll have to take a look at it and comb through it,” he said.

Read the full story here.

Federal Judge Opens Infant’s Records in Response to Medill Justice Project

Federal Judge Opens Infant’s Records in Response to Medill Justice Project

Students seeking medical documents in shaken-baby syndrome case investigation

The Medill Justice Project is investigating the 2005 murder conviction of Jennifer Del Prete. She maintains her innocence. (Photo courtesy of Illinois Department of Corrections)


By Alison Flowers
The Medill Justice Project

Published: Feb. 12, 2013


The Medill Justice Project has won a six-month battle for records in federal court after a judge granted access to brain scans of an infant whose death the organization is investigating as part of a former Chicago-area day care worker’s first-degree murder conviction.


Since last March, Medill undergraduate students in a class supported by The Medill Justice Project have been probing a 2002 case in which Jennifer Del Prete in Romeoville, Ill., was accused of violently shaking a 3 ½-month-old infant, causing fatal head injuries in what is known as shaken-baby syndrome. Del Prete, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2005, maintains her innocence. Given advances in medicine and science over the past decade, the detailed medical images, including MRIs and CT scans, may provide new insight into how the infant died. Read the full story here.

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  • The Jennifer Del Prete Case

    How a murder case hinged on expert witnesses.
  • The Jennifer Del Prete Case

    Medical experts offer new theories about an infant’s cause of death.
  • The Jennifer Del Prete Case

    Watch The Medill Justice Project's first on-camera interview with Del Prete in prison.
  • The Jennifer Del Prete Case

    Read public documents that Medill students obtained for their investigation. 
  • The Pamela Jacobazzi Case

    Watch The Medill Justice Project's first on-camera interview with Jacobazzi in prison.
  • The Pamela Jacobazzi Case

    In the Medill Innocence Project's first investigation of a shaken-baby syndrome case, journalism students reexamine a nearly 20-year-old murder conviction.
  • Images from a Murder Investigation

    Take a look behind the scenes of the Medill Innocence Project's investigation of Pamela Jacobazzi's conviction.
  • Documents: The Pamela Jacobazzi Case

    Read public documents and citations of medical and scientific studies that Medill students obtained for their investigation.
  • News on Shaken-Baby Syndrome

    The Medill Justice Project probes a national criminal-justice issue.
  • Collateral Damage: The Ariel Gomez Case

    For the first time in the Medill Innocence Project’s 13-year history, students tell the story of the victim’s wife and family. The inmate’s wife also is featured.
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    Students track down an elusive co-defendant who disputes Ariel Gomez’s claims of innocence.
  • Finding Paul Yalda: The Ariel Gomez Case

    A six-month pursuit of a key eyewitness ends in Arizona.
  • Crime Scene Revisited: The Ariel Gomez Case

    Track events of the night of the crime. Hear from experts and former lawyers on the case.
  • Behind B18: The Ariel Gomez Case

    See students in action at the Medill Innocence Project office and out in the field.
  • Images from a Murder Investigation

    Go behind the scenes as students probe the Ariel Gomez case.
  • Documents: The Ariel Gomez Case

    Read the thousands of pages of public documents Medill students obtained for their investigation.
  • The Donald Watkins Case

    A physical injury, never brought up at trial, raises questions about his ability to have committed the crime.
Federal Innocence Hearing Reopened After Medill Justice Project Uncovers New Evidence

Federal Innocence Hearing Reopened After Medill Justice Project Uncovers New Evidence

Rare decision in Chicago-area day care worker’s shaken-baby syndrome murder case

By Alison Flowers
The Medill Justice Project
Published: April 24, 2013

Jennifer Del Prete was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2005. (Department of Corrections)

In a rare move, a federal judge in Chicago is reopening a hearing to examine an imprisoned day care worker’s claim that she is innocent of murder, in light of new evidence recently uncovered by The Medill Justice Project.


Read the full story here.
Chicago-Area Day Care Owner Seeks Clemency from Governor

Chicago-Area Day Care Owner Seeks Clemency from Governor

Prisoner’s attorney cites Medill Justice Project revelatory findings


By Alison Flowers
The Medill Justice Project
Published: April 25, 2013

Pamela Jacobazzi was sentenced to 32 years in prison in 1999. (Department of Corrections)

A Chicago-area day care owner who says she is wrongfully imprisoned for an infant’s death has filed a clemency petition with the governor, citing medical experts and revelatory findings from a recent Medill Justice Project investigation that raises questions about her conviction.

Read the full story here.