According to the New York Post, Woodward’s trial was polarizing in both the U.S. and the U.K. While audiences in the U.S. thought she had undoubtedly shaken baby Matthew, her home country believed that she was innocent. That being said, Crime + Investigation UK writes that prosecutors presented Woodward as a neglectful and disgruntled teen. Even so, Woodward vehemently denied any wrongdoing during her cross examination. The Sun reports that the prosecution brought in experts and used brain scans to prove that she had in fact shaken Matthew. One such expert, Dr. Patrick Barnes, stated that Matthew’s injuries were a “classic model” of shaken baby syndrome.
However, not everyone agreed with this conclusion. Per “60 Minutes Australia,” Dr. Gerald Feigin, the medical examiner who performed Matthew’s autopsy, argued that he child had not suffered from shaken baby syndrome. Instead, he believed that “Matthew Eappen had something struck against his head or his head was struck against something forcibly enough to kill him.” Nevertheless, Feigin added that Woodward had still inflicted this harm on the infant.
On the other hand, Crime + Investigation UK explains that other experts surmised that Matthew’s brain had been injured weeks before Woodward had found him unresponsive. Dr. Ron Uscinski, an expert from Woodward’s defense, added that it was “clinically impossible” that she had caused the injuries that ultimately killed Matthew (via “60 Minutes Australia”). He went on to say that a lack of external trauma proved that Woodward had not abused the infant.
