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Ferguson trial to continue Tuesday
Posted: 11.16.2009 at 11:25 AM
Joel Allen

Joel brings more than 20 years experience to WPDE NewsChannel 15.

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More medial experts took the stand Monday, in the defense of the Ohio man on trial for homicide by child abuse. Miles Ferguson is charged with causing the death of his five week old daughter by shaking her while the family was vacationing in Myrtle Beach in 2007.

Last week prosecutors presented medical experts who worked on Mylee Ferguson. She was taken to the hospital, and an autopsy was performed after she died.

Now it's the defenses turn to present their own experts.

Prosecutors are trying to prove that Mylee's brain injuries could only have come from a violent shaking.

But Monday morning, a neurosurgeon who reviewed the autopsy results told the jury the bleeding found on Mylee's brain could have come from a difficult birth.

He said she also may have had a condition called Meningoencephalitis, an inflammation of the brain.

Other experts called by the defense included a psychiatrist who examined Miles Ferguson and found he no propensity for violence or aggression.

But prosecutors got those witnesses to testify they had been paid thousands of dollars by the defense to provide those opinions, and that they had done the same thing in dozens of other trials, always providing paid testimony for the defense.

The defense is also expected to bring several character witnesses to the stand, and Ferguson is still expected to testify in his own defense.

Defense testimony continues Tuesday.

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(3:15pm) More medical testimony in homicide by child abuse case

After an afternoon break, jurors in the Miles Ferguson trial will hear more medical testimony.

Ferguson is the Ohio man accused of homicide by child abuse in the 2007 death of his 5 week old daughter. The child died while Ferguson and his wife were vacationing in Myrtle Beach.

Monday morning, a neurosurgeon took the stand and said the bleeding on the brain suffered by 5 week old Mylee was consistent with a birth injury. The neurosurgeon contradicted medical testimony given last week by a prosecution witness that the bleeding on the brain seen in the autopsy was a result of shaken baby syndrome.

Monday afternoon the court expects the defense to call more medical experts including a psychiatrist who interviewed Ferguson, an ophthalmologist, and an ER technician who will talk about techniques used in the emergency room the day Mylee was brought in.

Although Miles Ferguson has been sworn in, it is still unclear if he will take the stand in his own defense.

NewsChannel 15 has a crew in the courtroom. Stay with CarolinaLive.com for updates throughout the day. We'll have a full report tonight on NewsChannel 15 at 6.

To leave a comment, scroll down and click on "post a comment."

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Earlier story on carolinalive.com -

(11:25am) Defense continues presenting case in Ferguson trial

Monday morning jurors heard more medical testimony in the case of Miles Ferguson, an Ohio man accused of homicide by child abuse in the 2007 death of his 5 week old daughter. The child died while Ferguson and his wife were vacationing in Myrtle Beach.

A neurosurgeon took the stand and said the bleeding on the brain suffered by 5 week old Mylee was consistent with a birth injury. The neurosurgeon contradicted medical testimony given last week by a prosecution witness that the bleeding on the brain seen in the autopsy was a result of shaken baby syndrome.

Although Miles Ferguson has been sworn in, it is still unclear if he will take the stand in his own defense.

NewsChannel 15 has a crew in the courtroom. Stay with CarolinaLive.com for updates throughout the day. We'll have a full report tonight on NewsChannel 15 at 6.

To leave a comment, scroll down and click on "post a comment."

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