FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The parents of a baby who was decapitated during birth, in a 2023 case that drew widespread shock and disgust, have been awarded $2.25 million by a jury after a doctor posted videos of the autopsy on social media.

Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr. sued Dr. Jackson Gates and Gates Rapid Diagnostic Laboratory of Atlanta in late 2023 over the Instagram posts, which attorneys for the couple described as “grisly and graphic.”

A release announcing the verdict said they were “horrified and outraged when they discovered that Gates posted graphic videos of their decapitated child on Instagram after completion of the autopsy and without their consent.” Lawyers said the posts had been removed after Dr. Gates was sent a cease-and-desist letter, but he “inexplicably reposted them, even after being informed of the parents’ emotional pain resulting from the initial posts.”

The Edmond Firm announced the $2.25 million judgment Friday, saying it was delivered after a three-day jury trial that concluded on Wednesday. The judgment includes $2 million for compensatory damages and $250,000 for punitive damages (the maximum allowed).

“While we are pleased that a jury punished Dr. Jackson Gates for his reprehensible behavior, nothing can ease the pain that the parents, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Sr., have experienced in losing their baby boy in such a horrific way,” attorneys for the couple said in a statement. “After the decapitation of their baby, Gates poured salt into the couple’s already deep wounds when he betrayed them.  This young couple trusted him with the remains of their precious baby.  Gates, in turn, repaid this trust by posting horrific images of their child for the world to see.”

Ross and Taylor have also sued Southern Regional Medical Center, the hospital where their baby was decapitated during delivery in July 2023, as well as the physician who delivered the baby. That case is still being litigated, The Edmond Firm said Friday.

According to lawsuit over the delivery itself, there were complications during the labor and attorneys claim the doctor applied “ridiculously excessive force” on the baby’s head and neck to try to deliver it.

Attorney Roderick Edmond, who is also a physician, said in 2023 that around three hours passed before the doctor took the mother Ross, then 20 years old, for a C-section.

“The feet came out, the body came out and there was no head,” Edmond said.

Their lawsuit alleges the hospital kept the manner of the baby’s death a secret from the family for several days. The hospital has responded to the allegations and lawsuit by saying it couldn’t discuss a patient’s care because of privacy laws, but offered throughs and prayers to the family.

“I just want justice for my baby boy. I’m hurt. I’m hurt bad. [The doctor] hurt me. She took my baby,” said Ross said in early 2024. “She didn’t show no emotions. I just want justice for my baby.”

Taylor said at that time, “We want justice for our son; they lied to us.”