Nanny on Trial
In 1997, British au pair Louise Woodward was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death 8-month-old Matthew Eappen in Massachusetts. A judge later reduced the charge to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced the nanny, then 19, to time served and sent her home to England.

The highly-publicized trial brought a spotlight to "shaken baby syndrome" like no other case before it.

Shaken Baby Syndrome
On Feb. 4, 1997, Louise Woodward, who had been hired in November 1996 by Sunil and Deborah Eappen to care for their sons, frantically called police to report that baby Matthew was having trouble breathing. When paramedics arrived, they found Matthew's eyes were bulging, a possible sign of "shaken baby syndrome."

An autopsy revealed that in addition to his fractured skull, young Matthew was also suffering from a month-old wrist fracture. Prosecutors say that Woodward admitted to shaking Matthew and to dropping him on the floor and tossing him on a bed. State medical examiners say Matthew hit the floor with the "force equivalent to a fall from a second-story window." The baby spent four days on life support before dying on Feb. 9.

Woodward was imprisoned without bond after the incident. Supporters of Woodward in both Massachusetts and her homeland of Britain had argued that the nanny should not be kept in a state women's prison with hardened criminals because she is only a teenager and was foreign to this country. Woodward supporters claimed she did not understand the U.S. justice system and should have been given the opportunity to be released on bail from prison. Prosecutors countered by saying that Woodward would likely flee from Massachusetts if freed on bail.

The defense recruited Barry Scheck, the forensics expert who helped O.J. Simpson's defense team during his trial, to help Louise Woodward's defense arguments. Scheck argued that Woodward's mishandling of the baby did not cause his death. Instead, he argued, a pre-existing medical condition may have killed Matthew. Reportedly, the defense asked for DNA tests on Matthew in an apparent attempt to find genetic disorders that could have affected his bone strength and development or could have caused brain hemorrhages.