Father acquitted in shaken baby case

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - A jury in Fairfax County has acquitted a 39-year-old father of murdering his infant son after a defense expert raised doubts about the validity of shaken baby syndrome.

Prosecutors said that Elmer J. Midence (Mih-DENN-say) violently shook his 8-month-old son last year at their Springfield home, causing injuries that resulted in the baby's death.

Midence testified that he dropped the boy after slipping and falling out of the shower. A defense expert who is a well-known skeptic of shaken baby syndrome testified that shaking a baby cannot by itself result in fatal injuries.

Fairfax County prosecutors brought a similar case earlier this year and the defense also questioned shaken baby syndrome's validity. But in that case the jury convicted a daycare provider of child abuse.