28-02-2025
State temporarily rests after penultimate witness in Fulbright's trial
MONTAGUE COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL) — An expert in child brain scans representing the second-to-last witness for the prosecution took the stand on the final day of the first week of testimony in the trial of Joshua Thomas Fulbright.
Fulbright is charged with the murder of 2-year-old Scarlette Olivia Newsom after she was hospitalized in Clay County in October 2018 with injuries that authorities said appeared to be a result of abuse. Four days later, the child died after she was taken off life support.
A first attempt to try Fulbright in 2019 ended with a mistrial when a jury could not be seated in Henrietta out of a pool of 80 residents. His second trial in 2022 ended with a mistrial when his defense attorney was picked up on a DWI with a child passenger charge.
PREVIOUS STORY: Texas Ranger, Cook Children's doctor take stand in Fulbright's trial
The third attempt at Fulbright's trial began with jury selection on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. Testimony got underway on Feb. 25 in the 97th Judicial District Courtroom in Montague, with Judge Trish Coleman Byars presiding.
A recap of testimony in Fulbright's trial can be found below:
Day 1 — Testimony begins in third retrial of Joshua FulbrightDay 3 — Texas Ranger, attending pediatrician from Cook Children's testify
The State of Texas is being represented by Katie Boggeman, 97th Judicial District Attorney and lead prosecutor of Fulbright's trial. Fulbright is being represented by Mark Barber, a defense attorney based in Wichita Falls.
Due to the scheduling conflict, counsel for the prosecution and Fulbright's defense agreed that the state would call one of its final two witnesses on Friday, Feb. 28, and then Barber would call several witnesses on behalf of the defense out of order.
Testimony resumed just after 9 a.m. on Feb. 28, with Boggeman calling the state's penultimate witness, Dr. Mahdan Bosemani. Dr. Bosemani testified that he is the attending pediatric neuroradiologist at Cook Children's Hospital and an expert in the field.
Dr. Bosemani testified that he worked with Olivia Newsom when she was admitted to Cook Children's Hospital in October 2018. Slides prepared by Dr. Bosemani that included scans of the child's brain were admitted into evidence and shown to the jury.
Dr. Bosemani testified that a CT scan of the child's head revealed fluid, blood, and swelling around the brain. He showed images from the CT scan to the jury, as well as images from an MRI taken 12 hours after she was admitted to Cook Children's Hospital.
READ MORE: Mother takes the stand in toddler's murder retrial
Dr. Bosemani testified that Olivia Newsom's CT scan showed swelling on both sides of the brain, which is indicative of an excessive amount of force. He testified that the MRI revealed the child had blood behind both of her eyes and was likely comatose.
'The entire brain is injured,' Dr. Bosemani testified. 'There's no normal-looking brain there.'
Dr. Bosemani testified that the scans on the girl's brain were indicative of abusive head trauma. He testified that a slap to the face would not cause the injuries the CT scan and MRI of Olivia Newsom showed. He said it would require 'considerable force' to cause those kinds of injuries.
'When the entire brain is injured, unfortunately, there's nothing left that's salvageable,' Dr. Bosemani said. 'I think the trauma is what actually caused… that injury that creates a downward spiral.'
Dr. Bosemani testified that the child suffered a devastating brain injury and had no chance of survival.
READ MORE: Day 1 of the trial of Joshua Fulbright
Barber cross-examined Dr. Bosemani, who testified that he could not pinpoint when the severe brain injury occurred in Olivia Newsom. He testified that just based on imaging, he cannot give a range of dates for when the traumatic brain injury occurred.
Barber asked Dr. Bosemani about his analysis of the CT scans and MRIs taken of Olivia Newsom's brain and why they differed with the opinions of other pediatric neuroradiologists at Cook Children's Hospital. Dr. Bosemani testified that due to the presence of blood and fluid rather than just blood in the brain, the other doctors were incorrect.
Dr. Bosemani testified that he could not give a specific definition of the severity of the injuries the child suffered to the brain. He testified that a lot of force would have been required, but he could not testify regarding the exact number of blows the child took to the head.
At around 10:47 a.m., Dr. Bosemani was released from the witness stand.
Boggeman, on behalf of the prosecution, rested the state's case on the condition that the defense would not object to the case being reopened on Monday, March 3, when Boggeman said the final witness for the prosecution would be called to testify.
Judge Coleman Byars released the jury so that attorneys for the prosecution and defense could address legal issues regarding a witness Barber intends to call as an expert.
Testimony will resume following a hearing outside the jury's presence, with Barber calling witnesses on Fulbright's 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
