Copy of the Expert Witness Report: Medical-Forensic Analysis of Maltreatment in the Case of Elijah Vue

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Elijah Vue, a three-year-old male, between January and February 2024. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the patterns of abuse, neglect, and psychological harm documented in the case materials to determine if they meet the clinical definition of torture. My opinions are formulated to a reasonable degree of medical certainty and are based solely on the evidentiary materials reviewed for this analysis. This report will begin by establishing a clinical timeline of the victim's experience before deconstructing the events into distinct patterns of maltreatment.

2.1 Statement of Qualifications

I am a board-certified child abuse pediatrician affiliated with the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. My professional practice is dedicated to the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of all forms of child maltreatment. My expertise includes the medical assessment of physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and the complex patterns of psychological and physical harm that constitute child torture. I have extensive experience reviewing digital evidence, investigative reports, and medical findings to provide expert opinions in legal and child protection proceedings.

2.2 Materials Reviewed

My analysis and the opinions expressed herein are based on a comprehensive review of the following case materials:

• Criminal Complaints filed in State of Wisconsin v. Jesse Vang and State of Wisconsin v. Katrina Baur.

• Digital Forensic Reports, including the analysis of over 15,000 recovered text messages, deleted photographs, and videos from the defendants' electronic devices.

• Cell Phone Location Data and Google Maps Activity Reports for both defendants.

• Surveillance Footage Analysis, including video from Ross Auto Service and the St. Vincent de Paul donation center.

• Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory Reports, including DNA analysis of a suitcase and blanket.

• Biological Anthropology Report by Dr. Jordan Karsten regarding the examination of skeletal remains.

• Investigative reports and interview transcripts from the Two Rivers Police Department and the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office.

3.0 Clinical Narrative of Maltreatment (February 12 - February 20, 2024)

Establishing a clinical timeline is a critical step in a medical-forensic evaluation of child abuse. This chronology synthesizes disparate data points—including digital communications, surveillance footage, and forensic findings—into a coherent narrative of the victim's experience. A timeline is essential for understanding the systematic, escalating, and deliberate nature of the abuse, distinguishing it from isolated incidents of poor judgment or reactive violence. The following narrative reconstructs the final eight days of Elijah Vue's life based on the available evidence.

February 12: Elijah Vue is delivered by his mother, Katrina Baur, to the care of Jesse Vang in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. The stated purpose of this arrangement is a disciplinary "boot camp."

February 14: Cell phone data places Ms. Baur at Mr. Vang's apartment in the early morning. At 3:13 a.m., she uses her phone to take a photograph of Elijah. The image depicts the child with a blindfold over his eyes and visible bruising on his jaw, neck, and upper arm. At 4:12 a.m., approximately one hour later, she deletes this photograph from her device.

February 16: The last confirmed public sighting of Elijah Vue occurs. Surveillance footage from Ross Auto Service captures the child in the presence of Jesse Vang.

February 17-18: Digital communications document an escalation of maltreatment. On February 17, Mr. Vang texts Ms. Baur that he forced Elijah into a cold shower as punishment for soiling his diaper, noting the child was "clean but scared." On February 18, a text exchange documents their shared intent, with Mr. Vang stating he is making Elijah "respect" him and Ms. Baur clarifying that she wants the child to "fear" him.

February 19: Mr. Vang's activities on this date are consistent with the concealment of a death and the construction of a false alibi. He borrows a 1997 Nissan Altima. His phone's Google Maps data shows him zooming in on a remote area near Kristy Bob Lane. That evening, he constructs a false alibi by streaming a movie on Netflix while surveillance cameras track the borrowed vehicle. At 7:06 p.m., he is recorded at the St. Vincent de Paul donation center, where he disposes of a suitcase. Forensic analysis later confirms the presence of Elijah Vue's DNA inside this suitcase.

February 20: At 10:59 a.m., Jesse Vang calls 911 to report Elijah Vue missing. Immediately following this call, while Mr. Vang is still on the line with dispatch, Ms. Baur sends him a series of Facebook messages coaching him on what to tell police, including the specific instruction: "Say you guys were taking a nap and he left."

This sequence of events provides the narrative framework for a detailed medical analysis of the patterns of maltreatment they represent.

4.0 Medical and Forensic Analysis of Maltreatment Patterns

This section deconstructs the clinical narrative into distinct patterns of maltreatment. Each pattern is evaluated through a medical-forensic lens, citing specific evidence from the case materials. The convergence of these patterns forms the foundation for my expert opinion that Elijah Vue was subjected to systematic torture.

4.1 Pattern 1: Forced Position Holding and Sleep Deprivation

The practice of forcing Elijah to stand for periods of "one to three hours" in a "praying position" constitutes a form of physical abuse known as forced stress positioning. For a three-year-old child, prolonged static muscle contraction causes significant physiological distress, including ischemic pain from reduced blood flow to weight-bearing muscles and severe discomfort from lactic acidosis. Psychologically, this method is designed to inflict suffering and induce compliance through exhaustion and helplessness.

This physical stress was compounded by systematic sleep deprivation. A text message from Mr. Vang on January 26 explicitly states, "I won't let him sleep he's very tired," and was accompanied by a video depicting the child struggling to remain upright while his head bobbed with exhaustion. Sleep deprivation in young children impairs cognitive function, emotional regulation, and physical health. Clinically, its use as a punitive tool is a recognized torture technique intended to break an individual's physical and psychological resistance.

4.2 Pattern 2: Temperature Abuse and Terrorizing

The documented use of cold showers as punishment is a form of temperature abuse. A text message from February 17 details Mr. Vang forcing Elijah into a cold shower, noting the child was "clean but scared." For a small child, forced exposure to cold water can induce a state of shock, risk hypothermia, and cause significant physiological distress.

This act goes beyond physical abuse into the realm of terrorizing. The evidence indicates Mr. Vang was aware that Elijah had a particular fear of cold water. Weaponizing a child's specific fear as a punitive measure is a deliberate act of psychological cruelty designed to create a state of sustained terror and anxiety.

4.3 Pattern 3: Physical Trauma and Chronic Abuse

The forensic evidence establishes a clear pattern of both acute and chronic physical violence.

1. Acute Injury: The deleted photograph from February 14 is critical evidence of acute, non-accidental trauma. The image documents visible bruising on Elijah's jaw, neck, and upper arm. From a medical perspective, the location and pattern of these bruises are consistent with forceful gripping, grabbing, or shaking—actions that are hallmarks of physical child abuse, not accidental injury.

2. Chronic Injury: The biological anthropology report documents a healed fracture on the right zygomatic process (cheekbone). This injury would have required "significant blunt force trauma" to inflict. Its healed state provides definitive medical evidence that Elijah was the victim of a prior, severe act of physical violence that occurred weeks or months before his death. This finding establishes that the abuse during his final "boot camp" was not an isolated event but part of a chronic, ongoing pattern of severe violence.

4.4 Pattern 4: Severe Neglect

The evidence documents deliberate and severe neglect intended to cause discomfort as part of the punitive regimen. Mr. Vang's admission to changing Elijah's diaper only once per day demonstrates a conscious disregard for the child's basic needs. From a medical standpoint, this practice places a child at high risk for severe diaper dermatitis, painful skin breakdown, and secondary bacterial or yeast infections. This form of neglect is not a failure of resources or knowledge but a deliberate infliction of discomfort and humiliation.

4.5 Pattern 5: Psychological Maltreatment and Isolation

The digital communications reveal a systematic campaign of psychological abuse characterized by several distinct methods:

• Isolation: Elijah was deliberately isolated from his primary attachment figure, his mother, as a condition of the "boot camp." This separation is profoundly distressing for a child of this age.

• Dehumanization: The caregivers used dehumanizing language, such as referring to Elijah's punishment as being in "baby prison." This terminology reflects a mindset that strips the child of his humanity, making it easier to inflict cruelty.

• Emotional Cruelty: Ms. Baur's repeated laughing responses to evidence of her son's suffering (e.g., "Lmfao," "He looks traumatized LMAO") are medically significant. They demonstrate not just passive acceptance but active sanctioning and shared satisfaction in the child's distress. This emotional cruelty from a primary caregiver is a profound form of psychological abuse.

These patterns did not occur in isolation but formed a synergistic system of torture; sleep deprivation and forced positioning degraded the child's physical resistance, making him more susceptible to the psychological terror of temperature abuse and isolation, all while chronic neglect and physical violence created a state of constant suffering.

5.0 Summary of Medical-Forensic Opinions and Conclusion (Elijah Vue)

Based on my review of the available evidence and to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, I have formed the following medical-forensic opinions regarding the maltreatment of Elijah Vue.

1. Opinion on the Nature of Maltreatment (Elijah Vue) The documented pattern of maltreatment—combining forced stress positioning, sleep deprivation, temperature abuse, terrorizing, physical violence, severe neglect, and profound psychological cruelty—does not represent discipline. This systematic, multifaceted, and escalating campaign of abuse, inflicted over a prolonged period with the intent to cause suffering, meets the clinical definition of child torture.

2. Opinion on Chronicity The finding of a healed zygomatic fracture provides definitive medical evidence that Elijah Vue was a victim of severe, non-accidental physical violence for a period extending weeks or months prior to the events of February 2024. This establishes that his death occurred within the context of a chronic and severe pattern of abuse, not as the result of a single disciplinary action gone wrong.

3. Opinion on Shared Culpability From a medical and behavioral standpoint, the digital communications demonstrate that Katrina Baur was not a passive or deceived parent. She was an active participant who delivered her child to the abuser, remotely monitored the abuse, sanctioned the methods used, encouraged the escalation of fear, and exhibited paratelic arousal, or satisfaction, in response to her son's documented suffering, a clinical indicator of active participation in the abusive dynamic.

4. Opinion on Consciousness of Guilt Elijah Vue The caregivers' actions demonstrate a clear awareness that their conduct was wrongful and had resulted in severe harm or the death of the child. These clinical indicators of consciousness of guilt include: the deliberate deletion of an incriminating photograph of injuries (Feb 14); the creation of a false digital alibi (Feb 19); the disposal of physical evidence linking them to the child (Feb 19); and the immediate, real-time coaching of a false narrative to provide to law enforcement after the 911 call (Feb 20). Elijah Vue Case