Did Bryant Arroyo Kill Baby Jordan Anthony Shenk,
As Alleged by the Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania?

Mohammed Ali Al-Bayati PhD, DABT, DABVT
Toxicologist & Pathologist, Toxi-Health International
150 Bloom Dr. Dixon, CA 95620 Phone: (707) 678-4484 Fax: (707) 678-8505

Table of Contents

Section I. Jordan’s Medical History Prior to His Cardiac Arrest

Jordan Anthony Shenk was born on January 6, 1994 by caesarian section at 41 weeks of gestation. His birth weight was 5 pounds, 15 ounces. He was taken to his doctor for a regular check up several times between 24 January and 12 August 1994. He received several vaccines between 9 January and 20 June 1994, as shown in Table 1. These include hepatitis B, diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis (DTP), polio, and hemophilus B conjugate vaccines [1].

Jordan suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on 25 September 1994 at the age of 8 months and 19 days. His body weight at autopsy was 15 pounds, 10 ounces [2], which was the same as his weight on 12 August 1994 (Table 2). These data suggest that Jordan did not gain any weight during the forty-three-days prior to his cardiac arrest.

However, Jordan was given more than 400 ml of fluid (about one pound) IV following his cardiac arrest on 25 September by the medical staff (Tables 3, 4). Subtracting the weight of fluid given from the weight measured at autopsy gives an actual body weight of 14 pounds and 10 ounces on 25 September, or about one pound less than the weight measured forty-three days earlier. Also, Jordan gained only one pound in the forty-nine-days prior to 12 August 1994 (Table 2). These data indicate that he had serious health problems, especially during the forty-three-days prior to his cardiac arrest.

Jordan’s babysitter and mother reported that Jordan had a cold during the week prior to his cardiac arrest and had a runny nose for most of the week. The babysitter noticed that Jordan’s nose and the part underneath his nose and over his upper lip looked sore. Jordan’s mother also stated that the baby had discharge coming out of his left eye due to infection. Also, Jordan had a reddish-purple area near his left eye as a result of the infection. The mother said that the baby was fussy on the night prior to his cardiac arrest. Furthermore, the baby had a mark (1/8 x 2 inch) on his left jaw and cheek as a result of a burn from an iron. This incident happened by accident at the babysitter's house about two weeks prior to Jordan’s cardiac arrest [3-6].

---

Date	Vaccine Type
1/09/1994	Hepatitis B
2/07/1994	Hepatitis B
3/07/1994	Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis (DTP)
5/23/1994	Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis (DTP) Polio, Hemophilus B conjugate
6/20/1994	Hepatitis B

---

Table 2. Jordan’s weight, height, and head circumference measurements*
Date* Age Weight Height Head Circumference
Month (Inch) Inch

Date	Vaccine Type
1/24/94	0.5 6 lb & 15 Oz 19.50 14.00
3/04/94	10 lb & 4 Oz 21.50 -
5/16/94	4.4 12 lb & 2 Oz 23.25 16.00
6/20/94	5.5 14 lb & 10 Oz 25.00 16.75
6/20/1994	5.5 14 lb & 10 Oz 25.00 16.75
8/12/94	7.3 15 lb, 10 Oz 26.00 17.25
9/25/94 **	8.5 15 lbs. 10 Oz 26.25 18.00

* Jordan was born on January 6, 1994 and his birth weight was 5 pounds and 15 ounces.
** Measurements were obtained at the time of autopsy on September 25, 1994 [2]

---

Section II. Jordan’s Cardiac Arrest and Treatment Received

II-A. Description of events before and
after Bryant found the baby with cardiac arrest

Jordan’s babysitter left Jordan asleep in his crib upstairs at about 11:00 PM on 24 September 1994, after his mother and Bryant arrived home at about 10:30 PM. Jordan’s mother left the house at about 0005 on 25 September leaving Jordan sleeping in his crib and Bryant and her 4-year-old son in the house. Prior to leaving the house, Jordan’s mother checked on him. She saw him sleeping in his bed and did not notice anything unusual [3, 7].

Jordan's mother returned home at about 0200 on 25 September and found her four-year-old son and Bryant on the sofa downstairs. Her son was sleeping and Bryant was a half asleep. At about 0240, Bryant went upstairs to check on Jordan and found him unconscious and lifeless in his crib. He was not breathing. Bryant carried the baby downstairs and yelled to the baby’s mother to call 911. He put the baby on a chair and he did chest compressions [8].

Officer John Wettlafer was the first responder to arrive at the house. He arrived at 0254 and saw Jordan was on a kitchen chair and that Bryant was doing CPR. Wettlafer put the baby on the floor and continued CPR [5, 8, 9]. Table 3 contains a list of events and times concerning Jordan’s cardiac arrest incident.

II-B Examination of Jordan by the paramedics and treatment given

At 0256 on 25 September, two paramedics arrived at the scene and saw officer John Wettlafer performing CPR on Jordan. One of the paramedics took over the CPR. The baby was lifeless, asystolic, and without respiration and pulse. He was unresponsive to all stimuli. His lips were cyanotic and his left eye was reddened and cyanotic.

The paramedics intubated the child and placed an intraosseous line (IO) in his upper tibia on the right leg. Initially, epinephrine was administered down the endotracheal tube and then epinephrine was administered via the IO line [5, 6, 10]. Treatments given to the baby by the paramedics and in the hospital are listed in Table 4.

The paramedics examined Jordan and observed eleven brownish/purplish circular marks on his lower chest and upper abdomen, which were approximately 1/8 of an inch in diameter. Jordan’s mother stated that she observed some bruising on the chest wall resulting from Bryant’s attempts to perform CPR. The baby was transported by ambulance to Lancaster General Hospital at 0311 (Table 3). The paramedics also performed CPR on their way to the hospital but were unable to revive the baby [5, 6].

---

Table 3. Timetable of events occurring prior
to Jordan’s cardiac arrest until the time of the autopsy

Date	Time	Description of Events
9/24/1994	2300	Jordan’s babysitter left Jordan sleeping in his bed after his mother and Bryant arrived home
9/25/1994	0005	Jordan’s mother left home leaving the baby sleeping in his bed and Bryant in the apartment watching her 4-year-old son 0200 Jordan’s mother returned home
9/25/1994	0240	Bryant checked Jordan in his bed and found him lifeless and not breathing.
9/25/1994	0245	Jordan’s mother called 911 asking for help
9/25/1994	0248	Emergency Teams left the station
9/25/1994	0254	Officer John Wettlafer arrived at the scene
9/25/1994	0256	Emergency Teams arrived at the scene
9/25/1994	0311	Jordan was transported to the hospital by an ambulance
9/25/1994	0315	Jordan arrived at the hospital
9/25/1994	0340	Jordan was pronounced dead in the hospital
9/25/1994	0800	Dr. Wayne K. Ross started the autopsy on Jordan’s body

---

Table 4. Treatment given to Jordan
on 25 September following his cardiac arrest

Time	Treatment
0258-0340	10% O2
0305	2 cc 1/1000 epinephrine given via ET
0311	1.0 cc atropine
0312	1.0 cc 1/10,000 epinephrine intraosseous ( I.O) 1.0 cc atropine 1.0 cc 1/10,000 epinephrine (I.O)
0258-0315	150 ml of fluid IV
0315 to 0340	repeated doses of adrenaline (I.O) atropine, sodium bicarbonate, 250 ml of fluid IV

---

II-C Examination of Jordan at the
Lancaster General Hospital and treatment given

Jordan was examined in the hospital by the emergency physician and appeared lifeless. The baby was intubated and bagged via air bag valve mask. He had full and equal bilateral breath sounds on both sides. His pupils were dilated and unreactive to light. CPR was also performed in the hospital [6].

The emergency physician observed an erythematous mark (1/2 x 5 cm) on the baby’s left cheek. This was a burn mark caused by an iron about two weeks prior to the baby’s cardiac arrest as stated by Jordan’s mother. Furthermore, the physician noted annular bruises on the lower anterior chest wall and upper abdominal wall. These bruises were about a half centimeter (1/5 inch) in diameter and of various sizes, some smaller than others. Jordan’s mother stated that these bruises were from attempts by Bryant to do CPR. The physician did not see any obvious deformity to the extremities and other injuries on the baby’s body [6].

The treatment given to Jordan in the hospital consisted of CPR, bag valve aeration of the lungs through the endotracheal tube, adrenaline, bicarbonate, atropine, and IV fluid (Table 4). Repeated doses of adrenaline were given at increasing strength through the intraosseous line, with no response. The total IV fluid given to the baby by the paramedics and the hospital was 400 ml. Bicarbonate was also administered as well as atropine, but despite all these medications, the baby remained asystolic. Resuscitative efforts were stopped, and the baby was pronounced dead at 0340 on 25 September 1994. The medical examiner performed an autopsy on Jordan at about 0800 on 25 September 1994.