People v. Yslas CA5

FACTS

Leticia2 Yslas and defendant took their 10-month-old child Nicholas to Ridgecrest Regional Hospital on April 2, 2010.3 Doctors there determined Nicholas was suffering from severe brain swelling and seizures and had to be transported by helicopter to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. Nicholas underwent extensive treatment for his injuries, including surgery whereby a portion of his skull was removed to allow his brain to swell outside of the cranium. As a result of his injury, Nicholas has profound brain damage. He suffers from cerebral palsy, no longer has the ability to crawl, walk, or swallow, is legally blind, and must be fed through a feeding tube. The central issue at trial was the cause of Nicholas’s injuries. The prosecution’s theory was that defendant was the cause of the injuries, through some sort of rapid acceleration/deceleration force, such as shaking. The defense argued Nicholas was suffering from bacterial meningitis, which caused his brain to swell, resulting in the injuries. Prosecution Case Dr. Katherine Ferguson, Nicholas’s pediatrician, testified she had seen the child routinely before his injury. Nicholas was previously diagnosed with Down…