12/02/2025
"A mother of three spent 11 years in prison for killing a baby she never harmed. That’s what happens when widely held beliefs based on junk science lead to the convictions of innocent people." - Filmmakers (and cousins) Meryl Goldsmith and Susan Goldsmith.
We’ll be launching season 2 of Fractured soon, but before we do, today we have published a special bonus episode featuring extracts from a US documentary called The Syndrome. It’s a film that challenges the scientific validity of Shaken Baby syndrome and highlights the impact of wrongful convictions on families, featuring a group of doctors who consider the diagnosis to be junk science. It also reveals the history and politics behind Shaken Baby Syndrome in the US, drawing parallels with the discredited Satanic ritual abuse panic of the 80s and 90s.
Sign up to DELVE+ to get early access to new episodes and listen to all three seasons of our award-winning The Boy in the Water podcast, Season 1 of Fractured, the explosive Powder Keg and Satanic Panic: Peter Ellis, the Creche Case & Me, all ad-free. Presented by investigations editor Melanie Reid. Discover more at Newsroom.co.nz and search for Melanie Reid Investigates on Facebook and Instagram.
