Prime Suspect

0:09This is Cassie Herring, a mother who's lost custody of her newborn baby, sleeping outside so she can breastfeed her infant every few hours. I'm coming. But that's not where this remarkable story begins. Cassie fell in love with Billy Fox, a dad great with kids. It was funny, nice, loving. They became a family, happy, growing. With Cameron, he was a perfect baby. Then, one Friday night, everything changed. It sounded like they hit hard. He let out a gasp of air.

0:45Susan Spencer:He just ran in. He was frightened. I tried to do rescue breathing for him. Billy and Cassie say Cameron's death was a tragic accident. But as Susan Spencer reports, that's not how the doctors see it. Somebody in that family killed this child. Billy is accused. Not a baby killer. Cassie swears he's innocent. And then she's forced to give up her other children. Taking a newborn baby away from its mother is a pretty drastic step. But is it all a tragic mistake? 48 Hours Investigates. Crime Suspect.

1:28I've been a single dad for over four years. Come on Rocky. Get it. I don't go fishing, hunting. That's my hobby. My kids and their friends and, you know, coaching soccer. Good shot Vicki. 33 year old Billy Fox, father of two, soccer coach. One, two, three, go, go, go! To all appearances, an all-around regular guy.

1:57Susan Spencer:Officer Harold, police department. But Billy Fox is about to turn himself in to the police. His mother and girlfriend Cassie look on as police book him in the death of a baby, A charge that could put him in prison for the rest of his life. He has a soccer coach, raised his kids, and it's wrong. It's really wrong.

2:31Cross it! Let's get in!

2:34Susan Spencer:Let's get in! Billy Fox may be one of the last people in Wichita Falls, Texas, you'd ever think would hurt a child. Friends say that when he's not coaching soccer, Billy is a devoted single dad. He has full custody of his kids, Skylar and James. He did everything. He cleaned house, he cooked. My dad was a good cook, though. like he was better at the more cookout kind of stuff. Just a regular dad, he's funny, nice, loving, big time. What attracted me so much to Billy is what a wonderful father he was. Cassie Herring first met Billy in the fall of 2000, a few years after his divorce, when Skyler was 8 and James was 11.

3:22Our first date was Halloween and we took the kids, the neighborhood kids trick-or-treating. Cassie also was raising two kids on her own. Here's the first picture of Peyton and Cameron. Peyton was two years old. Cameron was, he weighed seven pounds, four ounces, perfect complexion. And Cameron, a newborn. Cassie and her husband had split up a few months before his birth. With Cameron, I loved him like he was my own. And he, to me, was, he was a perfect baby. Here's Scott, here's your dad's. In a matter of months, they all were under one roof.

3:58Susan Spencer:Having little brothers, that was fun. I got to teach them to do stuff. Peyton, he just started gradually calling my dad, dad. It felt like life was really kind of getting better to where, like, I got a mom, I got a bigger family kind of thing. It just felt natural. We were on our way to being a great, happy family. But in less than six months, events would shatter this new family.

4:33May 11, 2001. The kids were outside playing basketball and playing in the yard. A Friday, around dinner time, an ordinary evening. Seven-month-old Cameron was playing on the living room floor.

4:54When Billy's son James came inside, Billy asked him to pick up Cameron and bring him to the kitchen. I was folding clothes on the table, on our little kitchen table. And how did you trip? I tripped on my shoelaces. Cameron's head hit the kitchen floor. Concrete covered by a layer of tile. And Cassie was getting frantic because we heard them hit. that it sounded like they hit hard. Fearing that Cameron was badly hurt, they rushed him to the emergency room at United Regional Health Care. When you got to the hospital, what did the doctors tell you? He treated me like I was an idiot. I mean, like there was nothing wrong with him and I knew something was wrong.

5:40I remember his eyes rolled in the back of his head and that really scared me. And he had some phone coming out of his mouth. X-rays showed no skull fractures, and doctors told Cassie her son would be fine, but to bring him back if his condition worsened. Were you satisfied when you left the hospital that it was going to be okay? I felt uneasy, but I believed the doctor. I felt reassured by the doctor.

6:10But the next day, Billy and Cassie both say Cameron just wasn't himself. On Saturday, we went to the Y thinking that he would want to swim and, you know, would be happy in the water because he loved the water. And it was like he didn't even, you know, he didn't even want to do anything. It's like he doesn't even know who we are, like he has amnesia. Did you think about going back to the doctor? I just trusted what the doctor said. I went with the understanding that he said he's going to be a little groggy. One day later, Sunday around 5 o 'clock, Cassie and Schuyler decided to go shopping. When they left, Billy and Peyton were on the couch watching cartoons.

6:58Cameron was asleep in his crib. Cameron woke up, so I went back there and got Cameron out of his crib, made Cameron a bottle, and tried to feed it to him. And then, says Billy, within seconds, Cameron began to have a seizure. He took about two sips, and his hands started twitching, and he let out a gasp of air like he was choking. And so I just immediately picked him up. Billy rushed the baby to a neighbor, a nurse who lived right down the street. Why didn't you call 911? want. Because he wasn't breathing and I knew that I had a registered nurse four houses down.

7:43Susan Spencer:He just ran in. He was frightened. He was scared to death. Tammy Edwards was getting ready for work. I took the baby from him and I laid him down over here on the couch and I tried to do rescue breathing for him. And she couldn't get his airway, he couldn't get air to his airway. Each breath that I could not get in, I just looked at him and I said, Billy, this is not good. When he went limp, I didn't know. I just, I'll probably never have another feeling like that in my entire life. And I just looked at him and told him to call 911. An ambulance arrived within minutes and sped Cameron to the hospital.

8:38I was in shock. I was terrified. Cassie raced to the emergency room, only to discover that Cameron was about to be flown to Fort Worth, Texas. By the time she and Billy got there to Cooks County Hospital, there was little hope. I think that was like the last time, I guess, I mean, I knew something was really, really bad. Cameron Herring, not yet eight months old, died the next day. It's like the more the time goes on, the more I think, I don't have my baby. I don't have my child and he doesn't have his mommy. But how did Cameron really die? Somebody shook this child very violently. I just don't see it that way.

9:32The medical experts weigh in. Billy Fox is the prime suspect. I'm not a baby killer. Is he telling all he knows?

10:02I mean I remember sitting in the emergency room and everything collapsed. Cassie Herring is sure her son's death is a result of a fall Friday night when his head struck the kitchen floor. I mean, I remember I kept telling everybody, you just don't understand. It's from Friday night. It's from Friday night. No, it's not an accidental sort of thing. It's, I'm angry. I'm shaking. But neurologist Jeffrey McLaughlin and several other doctors who examined Cameron are convinced that the baby's fatal injury had nothing to do with his fall on Friday. Having been dropped two days before doesn't give you the picture that we saw that morning in the intensive care unit.

10:45They kept telling us somebody did this, somebody did something to him, and we kept saying, you don't understand, you know, he hit his head Friday night. In fact, police and social workers began their investigation before Cameron even was pronounced dead. It was like their mind had already been made up. No matter what she told the hospital doctors, Cassie says, they insisted. Cameron's death was no accident. Medical examiner Dr. Mark Krause agrees. Somebody in that family killed this child. To me, the evidence is clear and convincing. After completing his autopsy on seven-month-old Cameron, Krause thinks he can pinpoint how and when Cameron died.

11:30He died from a bloodhead injury that was inflicted on the early Sunday afternoon. Whoever was around him at the moment he became unconscious is the person you should be looking at. And who was the last person with Cameron on Sunday before his fatal seizure? Anyone that knows me knows I would never hurt a child. Billy Fox. In December of 2001, Billy Fox was charged with injury to a child. Maximum sentence, life in prison. What they're going on is an autopsy report that labels this as a homicide. All right, fine. Billy hired defense lawyer Bob Estrada. Anyone just come on down? It's already been a hard, grueling road for them.

12:17On top of having a baby die, then the accusing finger's been pointed to them. Billy and his lawyer are up against the medical examiner's report. A damning document. An injury to the part of the brain that you describe causes... Immediate unconsciousness, no regaining of consciousness. Dr. Krause says Cameron's brain injury was so severe, the baby would have been unconscious just seconds after it occurred.

12:50Instantly? Yes, ma 'am. Not 10 minutes? Not 15 minutes? No. Therefore, says Dr. Kraus, that brain injury could not have happened on Friday. Because Cameron never would have survived for two more days. If that part of your brain is injured, you are not walking, you're not talking. I mean, you say someone did this. What do you think someone did? Most likely propelled the child into a relatively soft surface, a padded flooring, couch cushion, mattress, kind of over the shoulder motion, like the guys do spiking a footballer or slam dunk. I didn't do it. You had nothing to do with this child's death.

13:29I love Cameron with all my heart. Not even something that was a freak accident, a sudden outburst of temper, whatever. Nope. Absolutely nothing. It's just as you describe. Bob Estrada believes completely in his client. The last guy in the world that you would figure would do anything like this. insisting that Billy Fox is just not capable of hurting a baby. Why do you strongly believe these people? Well, for one thing, I mean, I've gotten to know them over a period of time. Come on, James. Come on, scholar. You know, I see how they react with their own children. See y 'all tomorrow. I see how Billy is.

14:10And Estrada has found his own experts who look at the same medical records and believe Billy's story. The injuries that this little boy received are entirely consistent with and directly attributable to the fall that he had two days earlier. Dr. Ronald Ucinski, a neurologist who has specialized in pediatric head injuries, Let me have some suction. believes Cameron began to have internal bleeding around his brain after he fell and hit his head on Friday. It was the effect of the blood on the surface of the brain provoking a seizure. When he seized, he obstructed his airway, and he aspirated, and he died.

14:51Nothing in your mind need have happened on Sunday. That's correct. That's absolutely correct. Nothing need have happened on Sunday. You absolutely believe that a child can die from a shortfall, and in fact can die two days later, in essence, from a shortfall. Yes, I do. If little falls could kill us, then none of us would make it to five years old. This doesn't make sense. Bolstered their case that Cameron was injured on Sunday, the state turned to Dr. Randall Alexander, an authority in the field of pediatric head trauma. Somebody, some adult-sized person, shook this child very violently, perhaps also hit their head against something in the process of that, and from that point on the child basically was unconscious and dying.

15:35The prosecution's expert witnesses agree on one thing, someone did something that Sunday. But they disagree exactly as to what. And that could be very confusing for the jury. Dr. Krause thinks the baby was thrown against something soft. A mattress? Mattress. Pillow? Couch cushion. Dr. Alexander thinks he was shaken first. We're talking about shaking, the kind we see with shaken baby syndrome. It looks more like this. Gosh. This is a brain-breaking force. Once they have this, they're not recovering. Attorney Bob Estrada thinks this battle of the experts actually could help his client. If the experts cancel each other out, is the trial going to come down just to whether they believe that this father could do this?

16:21That's my strategy. That's where I think the heart of the trial is. I'm innocent. I'm not a baby killer.

16:36You feel so empty you don't want to go on, but yet you have to go on for your other kids. Thinking of, you know, like, you're going to lose your dad kind of thing, that's a really good feeling. And then, I mean, you've already lost one thing and they're going to take another one away. But even as Cassie, Billy and their kids prepare for a trial that could send Billy away for a long time. We have fought so hard to keep our family together. They're about to face another loss. Authorities now are threatening to take away two-year-old Payton. Tell mommy and mama. Mama. Mommy and mama. Mama.

17:23It's like, I don't even know how to explain it. It's like a big piece of you is missing, and it'll never come back. Cassie Herring has said goodbye to her infant son, Cameron. I never doubted Billy at all. Even the day they told me that my son was brain dead and that they felt like Billy was responsible, I knew he was innocent. But it's quickly apparent that her belief in Billy Fox's innocence will come at a high price. This is Peyton and Karen's favorite toys. They played with it a lot, and they used to fight over it. A court takes away her other son, two-year-old Peyton, contending he could be at risk in the Fox household.

18:06I've got him, and I know he's in safe hands. You know, I know he is. Peyton will live with Patrick Herring, father to both Peyton and Cameron, even though he hasn't seen much of Peyton in the years since his bitter split from Cassie. I was scared to death for Peyton. You know, Cameron's death wasn't an accident. So therefore, I do know that something was wrong and something went wrong in that house. I feel we have done nothing wrong to have Peyton taken away from me. Cassie vows to fight for her son. So we'll put this before the judge and let him make a decision on it. And hires a custody attorney, Deanne Smith, to help her.

18:42I'm going to go in front of the judge and I'm going to tell the judge, I want my son back. I want my son back. I am not going home without my son. From this whole thing, you are guilty until proven innocent. But Billy, facing charges in the death of a baby, you want to be with your family as much as you can be. isn't allowed to see Peyton until his criminal trial is resolved. My sole purpose is to raise my children and take care of them. And Cassie, who is facing no charges, is allowed only a few hours a week with her son. Oh, you got blue stuff on. Give me a kiss, I miss you. And those visits here in this community center must be supervised.

19:23What do you see out there? All the windows have bars on them. The door's locked. There's a video camera up there to make sure I don't try to snatch him or anything. But pretty much as long as you get to visit with your kids, it's all that matters. I'll see you next time. Give me a kiss. Bye, Peyton. Bye. I love you. Love you. Love you.

19:53Okay, you want to help put everything together real quick? Yeah. Just move it right here. When Payton's third birthday rolls around... Is the tape in there? Yeah. Scott, I'll come set these on the table. James, I'm going to give you these balloons and time to strings and chairs or whatever. Cassie goes all out to decorate the community center for a party.

20:17Doesn't he look cute?

20:25Hey! The minutes tick by, but no Peyton. They're not here yet. We're just kind of waiting. Have they heard anything? Finally, Cassie learns that her son is sick. He's got the stomach flu. And won't be able to make his own birthday party. It happens all the time. He's always sick. Always sick. Despite the intense disappointment. He's not going to be here. I guess we'll go ahead and cut a piece. Cassie insists this party is not canceled. She won't have this party even if it's two months from now. Only postponed. Y 'all ready? You ready, James? You ready, Grandma?

21:11A week later, in a desperate attempt to regain custody of Payton, Cassie and her lawyer convince a judge to call an emergency hearing. There they use the birthday party incident to argue that keeping Payton with his father is dangerous to the child's health, pointing out that Payton has been sick a lot recently.

21:32Susan Spencer:We go right here, and so we ask the court to grant Cassie temporary custody until a hearing can be held. Here's all of our originals. It's a desperate move. Go ahead and lay outside the court. And a long shot.

21:51But it works. Oh my God, oh dear, oh God. The court rewards Cassie temporary custody of Payton. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Can they go pick him up now? Thank you so much.

22:13As they get ready to pick up Payton, I just, I cannot wait to get him. They're blindsided. I got a call from Sheriff Callahan. Judge Purcell has rescinded this. After the judge is briefed on the charges against Billy, he changes his mind.

22:28Susan Spencer:Opposing counsel got it rescinded. Peyton will stay with his father. Why did he sign that? I can't tell you, Cassie. Well, let's go home.

22:45I felt like Peyton was ripped away from me, and I'm in a fight till the day I die for my son. As Cassie vows to keep her blended family together, Billy and attorney Bob Estrada prepare for trial. You're charged with injury to a child. The stakes can potentially be very high. Both well aware that a life sentence hangs over Billy's head. Anyone that knows me knows I would never hurt a child. But others in the community do have doubts. The soccer league, where he's coached for years, suddenly bans him from coaching until his criminal trial is resolved. There's not a person I know that doesn't support me.