Expert: Girl severely underweight at death
BY AMBER HUNT
A year before she died, Shylae Thomas, though disabled, had the trademarks of a healthy child: bright skin, vibrant eyes and full cheeks.
By the time she died, her eyes and cheeks were sunken, her ribs jutted from her body and bed sores had worn through her scant muscle tissue to the bone.
That is how forensic pathologist Allecia Wilson of the Genesee County Medical Examiner's Office described the 9-year-old, whose body was found shoved in a plastic tote inside a storage bin near Flint.
"She was severely underweight," Wilson testified today in Flint's 68th District Court during the second day of a preliminary exam that began in June.
Shylae's aunt and caregiver, Lorrie Thomas, faces charges of second-degree murder, second-degree child abuse and welfare fraud in the death. She sat through much of today's hearing shaking her head in disagreement with the prosecution's four witnesses.
Judge Tracy Collier-Nix again delayed deciding if Thomas would face trial on the charges. The matter will return to court Oct. 13, she said, to give her time to review Thomas' interview with police.
At issue is whether Flint police should have continued interviewing Thomas after she mentioned the possible need for an attorney.
Lorrie Thomas has remained in jail since her arrest five months ago. Her niece's body was discovered April after authorities began to doubt Thomas' claim that her quadriplegic niece was in Virginia with a relative. Authorities believe Shylae died March 8, a day before she bought the plastic tote on sale at Meijer. Two days later, she rented the storage unit where Shylae's body ultimately was found, testified Sgt. Mitch Brown.
Wilson said she ruled Shylae's death a homicide by medical neglect. The girl weighed just 33 pounds, she said, was severely dehydrated and had bed sores on her left hip, her left leg and her right knee. According to other witnesses, Shylae had weighed about 70 pounds from about ages 6 to 8.
Shylae lost oxygen to her brain in infancy and suffered severe brain damage that left her paralyzed and caused ongoing brain degeneration, Wilson said. She wasn't able to speak and relied entirely on her caregiver, authorities said.
Brown, who is handling the case, testified that in the weeks after her arrest, Thomas said in a taped phone conversation from jail that the police were stupid and that she meant to bury Shylae's body.
She cashed at least one $3,300 welfare check -- meant to pay for the girl's care -- after Shylae died, Brown said.
A school teacher who had worked with Shylae for several years said the girl wasn't able to communicate beyond crying in discomfort, but Shylae seemed to be in good health until Lorrie Thomas quit bringing her to school in November 2007.
When shown pictures of Shylae from the autopsy, teacher Carrie Springer said the girl had lost considerable weight.
While Springer knew Shylae in life, Wilson had encountered her only in death. The girl's height may have been stunted by malnutrition, and she had her baby and adult teeth still in her mouth, which Wilson said was a sign of neglect.
Asked if any average person would have known Shylae needed medical help just by looking at her, Wilson quickly replied yes.