03x08 - Deadly Formula

[bunniefuu]

[ Baby fussing ]

Narrator: 4-month-old

Ryan stallings had spent an

Entire weekend vomiting.

When he also developed breathing

Problems, his mother decided to

Take him to st. Louis children's

Hospital.

[ Baby crying ]

Somewhere along the way,

Patricia stallings made the

Wrong turn and got lost.

It was a mistake she'll regret

For the rest of her life.

Patricia and david stallings had

Been married for about a year

And had recently moved into a

Home overlooking lake wauwanoka,

Just outside of

St. Louis, missouri.

David was a printer.

Patricia worked in a convenience

Store.



Child and had always been

Sickly.

After an entire weekend of

Vomiting and breathing problems,

Patricia decided to take the

Baby to st. Louis children's

Hospital.

During the trip, patricia got

Lost and ended up at the

Emergency room of

Cardinal glennon children's

Hospital instead.

Doctors there performed tests to

Understand what was causing

Ryan's illness.

He was listless, almost

Comatose, and continued to

Vomit.

Nurse, let's get that blood

Right away.

Narrator: he was given a

Complete medical examination,

Including blood and urine tests.

Ryan's blood samples were sent

For testing to an outside,

Independent lab,

The smithkline beecham clinical

Lab in st. Louis.

Gas chromatography on ryan's

Blood sample found the cause of

The child's illness.

It was ethylene glycol

Poisoning.

Ethylene glycol is a colorless,

Sweet-tasting substance found in

Industrial solvents and resins.

It can be fatal in large enough

Doses.

Hospital officials notified both

The sheriff's department and the

Missouri department of family

Services.

I'll take the basement.

Narrator: investigators

Searched the stallings' home.

In the basement, they found two

Containers of antifreeze under

A pool table.

One of the containers was half

Empty, and it listed ethylene

Glycol as the main ingredient.

You cannot form ethylene

Glycol in your body.

The body cannot naturally form

That.

Therefore, it has to be

Ingested.

And when you've got a child

Who's 4 months old, a child who

Is 4 months old doesn't have the

Capability of ingesting

Anything.

Therefore, it had to be

Purposefully ingested.

Narrator: fortunately, ryan's

Condition gradually improved.

When he was released from the

Hospital, he was not returned to

His parents.

Instead, the department of

Family services placed ryan in

Foster care until they completed

Their investigation.

And that investigation revealed

Some troubling information.

They discovered that

Patricia stallings was the

Mother of another child, a



Sister's custody because of

Allegations of child abuse.

He was born out of wedlock.

She was young.

Subsequent to his birth, he was

Taken away from her by the state

When they discovered he was in

The first stages of frostbite

And malnutrition.

Patricia's explanation to me at

The time was the reason he was

In that state was because she

Was in a similar state because

She didn't have any money, any

Place to live.

Narrator: while ryan was in

Foster care, patricia was only

Permitted to visit him once a

Week under the the supervision

Of the department of family

Services, or dfs.

A few days after her sixth

Parental visit, ryan got sick

Once again and was taken to

Cardinal glennon children's

Hospital.

This time, the lab found even

Higher levels of ethylene glycol

In ryan's blood --



Blood serum.

Ryan's blood was also sent to

The toxicology lab at the

University of st. Louis.

They performed another test

Called "mass spectrometry" that

Found the same thing -- ethylene

Glycol in ryan's blood.

Although the baby bottle

Patricia used to feed ryan

During her supervised visit had

Been washed and refilled, tests

On that bottle found trace

Amounts of ethylene glycol.

And prosecutors learned that the

Individual assigned to stand

Guard during patricia's visit

With ryan inexplicably left the

Room for a short time against

Instructions.

Prosecutors suspected that

Patricia had poisoned ryan again

After the supervisor left the

Room.

We went over in detail,

Talking to every person that was

In the room, every movement that

Was in the room, what things

Were brought into the room.

The bottle seized from the

Visit, again, tested positive

For ethylene glycol.

Patricia stallings was arrested

And charged with as*ault.

Is that the ethanol drip?

Yes, it is.

Let's get that in right away.

Narrator: when ryan was

Diagnosed with ethylene glycol

Poisoning, his treatment

Included both fasting and

Ethanol given intravenously to

Counteract the effects of the

Ethylene glycol.

One week later, ryan stallings

Died.

The charge against

Patricia stallings was now

m*rder.

Narrator: when 4-month-old

Ryan stallings died, a social

Worker from cardinal glennon

Children's hospital called

Patricia stallings in prison to

Inform her of her son's death.

I don't care about that.

Put david on the phone.

I want to get out of this

Hellhole.

Narrator: patricia's response

Raised suspicions.

When you put those kinds of

Statements and the reactions

And all the things and the

Circumstantial evidence

Together with the science, it

Only pointed to one person.

Narrator: laboratory tests

Revealed large amounts of

Ethylene glycol in ryan's blood.

Ethylene glycol is the main

Ingredient in antifreeze.

Scientists also found trace

Amounts of ethylene glycol in

The baby bottle

Patricia stallings used to feed

Ryan during her last visit.

Three months later, while still

In prison awaiting trial,

Patricia stallings learned some

Surprising news.

She was pregnant.

During her pregnancy, patricia

Became friends with prison guard

Patty matthews.

She was very depressed most

Of the time.

She'd been through a lot, and it

Was just an amazing emotional

Strain that she was going

Through.

Narrator: five months after

Ryan's death, patricia stallings

Gave birth to

David stallings jr. In a

Hospital near the prison.

Patricia and david nicknamed him

Dj.

When dj was just a few weeks

Old, he had an episode of

Vomiting, seizures, and

Breathing problems while in

Foster care.

Dj was rushed to st. Louis

Children's hospital.

Ironically, it was the hospital

Patricia planned to take ryan to

Before she got lost.

Doctors diagnosed dj with a very

Rare metabolic disorder called

Methymalonic acidemia, or mma,

Which inhibits the body's

Ability to process food,

Especially proteins.

It also produces toxins in the

Blood.

To prosecutors, it was a

Startling development.

They wondered if ryan stallings

Might have died of the same

Disease instead of ethylene

Glycol poisoning.

We went back to square one,

Met again with all the doctors,

And said, "look, something's not

Right here."

As a matter of fact, released

Her from custody at that point

On a recognizance bond, which

Is unheard of in a m*rder case.

Narrator: but the

Prosecution's medical experts

Did not belive that ryan died of

Mma.

His blood had been tested at two

Independent laboratories.

Both found ethylene glycol in

Ryan's system.

And the autopsy revealed calcium

Oxalate crystals in ryan's

Brain, consistent with ethylene

Glycol poisoning.

Tests on ryan's baby bottle also

Found trace amounts of ethylene

Glycol.

Everyone was saying there was

Ethylene glycol in the body.

Tests from different

Laboratories showed that.

And everyone agreed that if

There's ethylene glycol in the

Body, it wasn't mma that k*lled

The child.

Narrator: so the m*rder case

Against patricia stallings went

To trial.

Prosecutors were seeking the

Death penalty.

Despite the genetic illness

Diagnosed in dj,

Patricia stallings' defense

Attorney could not produce one

Medical expert to testify that

It was mma and not antifreeze

Poisoning that caused ryan's

Death.

I put on my witnesses.

All of them said ethylene

Glycol.

All of them said it had to be

Ingested.

All the evidence pointed

Toward patty stallings.

If somebody fed the baby

Antifreeze, it must have been

Her.

Narrator: the jury also heard

What patricia stallings said to

The social worker when informed

Of ryan's death.

Patricia stallings was found

Guilty of m*rder in the first

Degree and was sentenced to life

In prison without possibility of

Parole.

Her husband, david, collapsed in

Shock after hearing the verdict

And was rushed to the hospital.

She was just devastated.

She was very upset.

She was crying.

We talked for a little while.

There wasn't a whole lot of

Comfort I could offer her at

That point.

Narrator: although the jury

Had reached its verdict beyond a

Reasonable doubt, two local

Scientists had doubts of their

Own.

Narrator: although

Patricia stallings was found

Guilty of the poisoning death of

Her son ryan with antifreeze,

Not everyone was convinced.

Dr. William sly and

Dr. James shoemaker wondered

Whether the lab tests done by

Their colleagues and by the

Smithkline beecham lab were

Accurate.

It was only when I found out

That no one had really

Thoroughly explored the science

Behind the ethylene glycol

Testing that I became convinced

That I had to do it myself.

Narrator: first,

Dr. Shoemaker turned his

Attention to the

Gas chromatography used to test

Ryan's blood.

In gas chromatography, the

Sample is vaporized and sent

Down a tube with an inert gas.

Each compound settles in the

Tube at a different rate, which

Is called the "retention time."

Those retention times are then

Charted on a graph.

A reference library of retention

Times is then consulted in order

To identify any compounds found

In the blood.

Medical experts who testified

Against patricia stallings said

That the peak on the graph of

Ryan's blood serum appeared at a

Retention time that matched that

Of ethylene glycol.

Dr. Shoemaker retested ryan's

Blood samples and analyzed the

Retention times.

He didn't find ethylene glycol.

He found something else.

There was a compound that was

Very highly elevated in the

Serum -- a compound called

Propionic acid that comes off

Very close, but not identically,

With ethylene glycol, and he and

I speculated that that might be

The basis of a misidentification

That led to the incorrect

Diagnosis of ethylene glycol

Poisoning.

Narrator: propionic acid is

Often produced in patients who

Have mma, the rare genetic

Illness diagnosed in ryan's

Brother dj.

The only difference between

Propionic acid and ethylene

Glycol is a few carbon atoms.

To find out if other labs were

Capable of misreading propionic

Acid as ethylene glycol,

Dr. Shoemaker sent blood samples

Spiked with propionic acid to

Seven different laboratories.

Sure enough, three out of the

Seven laboratories that we

Tested came back with positive

Results for ethylene glycol when

We knew the only thing in those

Samples was propionic acid.

Narrator: when dr. Shoemaker

Examined the graphs shown to the

Jury during patricia stallings'

Trial -- one showing the

Ethylene glycol found in ryan's

Blood and next to it a graph of

A known sample of ethylene

Glycol, he discovered a huge

Mistake.

But the tragic thing is that

No one bothered to actually

Superimpose the two, like this.

And when you look at it very

Closely and line up the

Injection point here and the

Internal standard here, the two

Peaks are actually quite

Different.

And if you move them up here so

You can see, they don't come out

At the same time at all.

Their retention times are

Actually very different.

Narrator: dr. Shoemaker

Suspected that ryan stallings

Died of mma and had not been

Poisoned with ethylene glycol.

But dr. Shoemaker was a junior

Member of the faculty at the

Time and knew that his

Conclusions would be challenged

By experts.

When prosecutors learned about

These new test results, they

Were stunned.

Was it possible that

Patricia stallings had been

Convicted of a m*rder that never

Happened?

Narrator: the stallings hired

Attorney robert ritter to handle

Their appeal.

He immediately requested a new

Trial, arguing that

Patricia stallings' first lawyer

Had not mounted a proper

Scientific defense.

After several hours of

Discussion, I came away

Convinced that patty did not

Poison her child and that a

Horrible injustice had resulted

Here.

Narrator: when prosecutors

Heard the new test results from

St. Louis university, even they

Agreed that this new medical

Information raised serious

Questions.

Once we were aware that there

Were actually doctors out there

Prepared to say that -- that

Obviously didn't testify at

Trial -- may have made a

Difference at the trial.

And we agreed to a new trial and

We didn't have to do that.

Narrator: but prosecutors had

Two independent laboratories

That found ethylene glycol in

Ryan's blood.

Traces of ethylene glycol were

Found in the baby bottle.

And the autopsy report found

Oxalate crystals in ryan's

Brain -- a finding consistent

With ethylene glycol poisoning.

To sort through the scientific

Inconsistencies, prosecutors

Sought an outside expert.

At yale university, they found

Dr. Piero rinaldo, one of the

World's leading experts in

Metabolic diseases.

He reviewed the scientific data

That formed the basis for the

Case against patricia stallings.

I received all the raw

Material, all the data from the

Labs where the tests were done.

That was really the exceptional

Moment for me in this story

Because I couldn't believe how

Low was the quality of the

Analytical work done in the

Commercial lab.

Narrator: dr. Rinaldo called

The lab reports "garbage."

He agreed with drs. Shoemaker

And sly that the gas

Chromatography peak shown to

The jury as that of ethylene

Glycol was not ethylene glycol

At all and did not match the

Graph depicting the known sample

Of ethylene glycol.

The retention time of the

Peak in question was 33 seconds

Later, which in gas

Chromatography, is an enormous

Difference.

It's really huge.

Narrator: and when

Dr. Rinaldo reviewed the

Mass spectrometry results, he

Found a similar error.

The spike in ryan's blood

Identified as ethylene glycol

Did not match the known sample.

That really blew me away,

Especially in a case, obviously,

With legal implications, it must

Be a perfect match.

This was not even close.

It was, again, absolutely

Strikingly obvious evidence that

There was no match.

Narrator: dr. Rinaldo

Immediately presented his

Findings to prosecutor

George mcelroy.

The next day, mcelroy held a

News conference.

The state of missouri is

Dismissing all pending charges

Against patricia stallings based

Upon the death of her child

Ryan, and I'm satisfied, I'm

Convinced that

Patricia stallings did not

Poison her child.

Narrator: dr. Rinaldo

Believes that ryan stallings

Died of mma, the same genetic

Illness his brother dj was born

With.

Is that the ethanol drip?

Yes, it is.

Let's get that in right away.

Narrator: he also believes

That the inaccurate lab reports

Led doctors to administer the

Wrong treatment -- the ethanol

Drip, which possibly contributed

To ryan's death.

The ethanol drip was also the

Suspected cause of the

Calcium oxalate crystals found

During ryan's autopsy and not

Ethylene glycol.

Scientists also suspect that the

Process of washing ryan's baby

Bottle caused the false readings

Of ethylene glycol when the

Bottle was tested.

The conviction of

Patricia stallings had been a

Mistake.

Oh, wow.

If dj hadn't been born,

Patty stallings would be in jail

For the rest of her life without

Parole, and no one would ever

Have raised a second question.

I think dj's birth is what saved

Her because the first child's

Diagnosis would never have been

Made.

I can understand a person

Who's been through all that she

Went through finding an apology

Pretty lacking, but as I told

Her, I had a job to do, I had

The evidence before me that I

Felt gave me no choice.

Narrator: patricia stallings

Filed lawsuits against the

Hospitals, doctors, and

Laboratories that had

Misdiagnosed ryan.

All were settled before going to

Trial.

Their son dj, who by being born

With mma led scientists to the

Real k*ller of his brother ryan,

Is managing his disease with a

Special diet and other

Treatments.

It is strange that such a

Small mistake on paper could

Make such a huge change in the

Lives of people, but in this

Case, you can see that a few

Millimeters of difference in

Where a peak appeared on a sheet

Of paper made all the difference

In a woman's life.

The science was the strongest

Evidence and was what ultimately

Convicted her, but it was also

What ultimately freed her.