The Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office has released a timeline related to the alleged decapitation of an infant during delivery at Southern Regional Medical Center and an alleged subsequent coverup last month.
According to Clayton County Medical Examiner Bryan Byars, “Our office currently has an active investigation in reference to the infant death of Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Jr who was decapitated during childbirth in an Atlanta area hospital. This is an active investigation which limits our ability to comment, but below are some details that we hope will bring some clarity to this incident. We will provide a more detailed accounting at the conclusion of our investigation.”
The parents have filed suit in Clayton County Superior Court against Southern Regional Medical Center, Dr. Tracey L. St. Julian, and Premier Women’s OB/GYN, LLC, and six John and Jane Doe nurses. A source told The Clayton Crescent Wednesday that the incident did not come to the attention of law enforcement for several days—and that a local funeral home broke the news to the bereaved parents.
Jessica Ross, 20, went into labor the morning of July 9 and, along with her partner, Treveon Taylor, sought medical care at Southern Regional for the birth of their son, Treveon Taylor, Jr. Almost eleven hours into labor, the baby’s shoulder got stuck, and St. Julian allegedly made several unsuccessful attempts to pull the baby out, including by the head. After the baby’s shoulder got stuck, attorneys for the parents say, St. Julian performed an emergency C-section. After 22 minutes, she allegedly removed the infant’s body from the mother’s uterus, then his head from her vagina. When St. Julian spoke with the parents after 5 a.m., she allegedly did not tell them about the decapitation.
According to the source and the couple’s attorney, the baby’s head allegedly was separated from his body during the attempted vaginal delivery, and the couple had repeatedly asked for a C-section for Ross, who is petite.
The boy’s body allegedly was reassembled, wrapped in a blanket, and placed in an incubator for the parents to view. When they asked to hold their son—not uncommon when a baby is stillborn or dies—the source said, allegedly the hospital refused, saying it was against policy.
When the parents asked for an autopsy, the hospital allegedly said it could not do one for free. The hospital also allegedly offered to cremate the body. The parents refused, preferring to go to Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home for burial. Finally, on July 13, the funeral home called the medical examiner to report the body’s condition:
“The Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office was notified by Willie A. Watkins Funeral
Home in Riverdale, GA of a deceased infant that they had in their care that had been reported as decapitated during childbirth,” Byars wrote in a press release Thursday. “They informed us that the family had a private autopsy performed but because of the trauma injuries and circumstances involved, they wanted to make sure it was reported to our office. We are grateful for their call, because the incident had not yet been reported to us.”
At that point, CCMEO’s chief investigator, Betty Honey, contacted the GBI’s chief medical examiner for a pediatric forensic autopsy and the Clayton County Police Department, which opened an investigation. After the autopsy, CCMEO also “notified the Georgia Composite Medical Board of the incident and requested that they also investigate three doctor’s roles in this incident,” Byars wrote. “We are currently in the process of notifying the Georgia Secretary of State Office Board of Nursing of the incident and will request that they also investigate the nursing staff’s role in this incident.”
Byars praised Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home for having reported the incident: “Our Office would like to first thank the staff at Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home in Riverdale, GA for their bravery in bringing this incident to our attention. We would also like to thank the Clayton County Police Department, GBI Medical Examiner’s Office and Georgia Composite Medical Board.”
The Clayton Crescent has asked the GBI for more information and to confirm who has custody of the infant’s body at this time.
A check of the Georgia Composite Medical Board’s website did not return a Georgia medical license for St. Julian. Repeated attempts to reach someone at GCMB for confirmation of St, Julian’s license status were unsuccessful. We have asked However, a document listing all doctors’ self-reported medical malpractice insurance coverage shows St. Julian was insured on April 24, and that her coverage was good through April 30, 2025:
The suit, which was filed in Clayton County State Court, did not indicate any counsel of record for St. Julian, Premier Women’s OB/GYN, or SRMC as of press time.
According to her bio on Premier Women’s website, St. Julian is a board-certified OB/GYN who has been practicing in metro Atlanta since 2005 and earned her M.D. from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1992, the same year she received an Army commission. St. Julian served a 4-year OB/GYN residency at the National Capitol Uniformed Services at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, at both the Washington, DC and Bethesda, MD locations. After her residency, St. Julian was assigned to Ft. Bragg’s Womack Army Medical Center in 2000. St. Julian’s bio also notes that she is “a certified robotic surgeon, specializing in the treatment of uterine fibroids and abnormal uterine bleeding.”
Befor she became a doctor, St. Julian earned a bachelor of science in biology with a chemistry minor at Prairie View A&M University, then worked as a lab tech for Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
