DC Superior Court Judge Jason Park ruled to allow expert testimony describing the infant victim’s extensive trauma in an infanticide case on June 3.
Faneshia Scott, 38, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder of a victim that was especially vulnerable due to age, and seven counts of first-degree cruelty to children. The charges are based on Scott’s alleged involvement in the abuse and fatal beating of her 16-month old daughter, Rhythm Fields, and abuse of her two other children, which occurred on the 5400 block of C Street, SE on March 21, 2017.
During the hearing, the prosecutors insisted that the injuries and abuse inflicted upon Scott’s children was intentional and knowingly carried out.
Scott’s attorney, Steven Kiersh, argued that the victim’s injuries were not disputable, but rather what caused the injuries and if her death was a direct cause of it.
The prosecution introduced expert testimony from a forensic anthropologist. The witness conducted a post-mortem skeletal exam on Fields, and presented the jury with a detailed analysis of the injuries found in Fields’ ribcage.
The expert confirmed that the 23 fractures identified in her examination of the ribcage were inconsistent with standard administration of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), an accidental fall, or normal handling of a child. Further, the witness claimed there were indicators of constriction found in the victim’s ribcage which could have only been inflicted by an adult.
Additionally, the prosecution brought out a witness who is a friend of Scott’s friend. In her testimony, she claimed that Scott had allegedly harmed the victim while in her car on one occasion. When asked by the prosecutors about the event, the witness claimed that Scott was sitting in the backseat and when she heard Scott’s baby crying as Scott yelled, “She bad as s***.”
Scott’s other attorney, Megan Allburn, questioned if the witness was sure that Scott had hit her child, but she remained adamant that there was no other reason for the child to have burst into tears.
Further, the witness recalled hearing about Fields’ death from a mutual friend on the day it happened, noting that the friend sounded upset.
Prosecutors also called on a social worker who, at the time of the incident, investigated Scott’s case. She testified that her responsibility was to assess the potential presence of child neglect and determine the safety of the children in the Scott household.
In her investigation, the witness learned that Scott was not the person regularly taking her children to medical appointments. According to the social worker, Fields’ godmother, who was also the person who found Fields dead on March 21, 2017, was the one taking them.
The witness testified that Scott administered Robitussin to Fields, a medication not generally recommended for toddlers due to potential side effects of agitation, drowsiness, nausea, and in severe cases, seizures.
Prosecutors called on a pediatrician to discuss the alleged presence of child abuse in the case. In her testimony, she explained that Fields experienced blunt force trauma to the head, which caused bleeding inside the head, retinal bleeding, and injury to the tongue caused by biting down from repeated trauma. Other injuries included fractured ribs, bleeding from the pancreas, and bruising.
Such injuries were too severe to be inflicted by another child, the pediatrician claimed.
The witness believed abuse was present given the extent of the victim’s wounds.
Prosecutors also called on an acquaintance of Scott’s, who testified that when she separated from her husband, she moved in with her mother and her teenaged sons to live with Scott, who she identified as Nene.
The acquaintance’s son also testified, noting that he considered Scott’s kids his siblings, and shared a special bond with Fields. While he never witnessed any abuse or neglect of Fields at the apartment, he found Fields with a black eye one day after coming home from school. According to the witness, Scott reasoned that Fields’ older sibling had hit her sister with the blunt end of a toy.
One night, a while before Fields had died, the witness testified, Scott left the apartment at nine p.m. and did not return until the witness needed to leave the apartment to make it to school, leaving the kids alone for an undetermined amount of time.
However, the witness explained that he and his brother were rarely home during the day, and would often return later in the evening due to after school activities.
Due to time constraints, the witness was unable to conclude his testimony.
Parties are slated to reconvene June 4.
