Forensic Psychology Expert Testifies In Death of Two Year Old

Forensic psychiatry expert Dr. Moira Artigues testified last week in defense of Antonio Glennwood Byrd, 26, who is charged with first-degree murder in the July 2, 2007, death of his girlfriend's daughter. The charge came after Mr. Byrd took 2-year-old Miracle McLean to the Anderson Creek Fire Station around 7:15 that morning saying the child had drowned in the tub shortly after he arrived home from work at 7.  The defense expert, a general and forensic psychiatrist from Cary, NC, also says Byrd's mild mental retardation caused him to mistake the child's condition before her death as "normal" and maintains there was not enough time between the infliction of the injuries and death to tie Mr. Byrd to the crime, a point now largely discredited by prior testimony.

Prosecutors Davis Weddle and Teresa Postell allege Mr. Byrd beat the child so badly she died of internal bleeding from blunt force trauma to the abdomen. The autopsy also revealed blunt force trauma to the head and revealed the child was recovering from a broken shoulder.

Excerpted from DailyRecord.com.