The medical examiner documented blunt force trauma and severe malnutrition at autopsy, but the cause of death was undetermined. The legal team hired a neonatal dietitian, who was able to determine that impaired growth only occurred when the infant was in the care of his parents. The dietitian expertise contributed to an analysis of growth and food intake, including the actual, the ideal, and the difference between these parameters. There was sufficient evidence to indicate that the infant had the ability to thrive when given adequate nutrition. Based on this information, the infant suffered malnutrition due to an inadequate intake of formula. The dietitian testified that the infant was "semi-starved" up to 90 days of his life, leading to severe malnutrition that compromised his ability for normal growth and development. The infant had an older sibling whose growth and development were normal, thus negating parental ignorance of normal infant feeding. The conclusion that death was caused by severe malnutrition and neglect was established to the jury's satisfactions by the following evidence: the finding that the infant was only 61.3 percent of expected weight, constituting malnutrition as classified by Waterlow; the 13-19 "days starved" calculated by using the Meade and Brissie math formula; the fact that the infant needed only two 8-oz. bottles of standard infant formula daily for normal growth; and the results of the autopsy report. 2 tables and 10 references