UPDATED 2/9/26: 

Since we first shared the Tallon family’s story, more information has come to light — information that underscores just how deeply this case was affected by missed medical findings, not parental wrongdoing.

When Josie was born, a pediatrician noted a click in her hips and advised follow-up. Her parents raised the concern again at one of her first pediatric visits, and although the clicking seemed less pronounced, the pediatrician appropriately referred Josie for a hip ultrasound at CHOA.

That ultrasound at CHOA was scheduled, then rescheduled. When the appointment date arrived, the family was told there was an insurance issue and was advised to wait until January, when coverage reset. Before that could happen, the parents were falsely accused of abuse. Given the scope of the extensive imaging performed as part of the false abuse claim, her parents reasonably believed that if something were wrong with her hips, it would have been identified.

 As Josie grew and became more mobile, her parents noticed her hips remained unusually tight. Her physical therapist independently observed the same concern and recommended evaluation by a pediatric orthopedist.

 At Wellstar Pediatric Orthopedics, X-rays revealed bilateral hip dysplasia, with one side significantly worse. Josie was found to be essentially missing a functional hip socket. The orthopedist asked whether Josie had been born breech. She was not. The cause was unclear and possibly genetic.

 The orthopedist requested Josie’s prior imaging and records from earlier hospitalizations. After reviewing them carefully, she delivered devastating news:

 On both skeletal surveys previously performed, Josie’s hips were already clearly displaced. The condition was present and visible — and yet CHOA had missed it.

 The orthopedist explained that had Josie’s hip dysplasia been identified at the time the CHOA imaging was performed, treatment could have been as simple as hip bracing. Because the diagnosis was delayed, surgery is now the only corrective option.

 Josie’s discharge records from the hospital also noted mild vitamin D insufficiency, and she was prescribed vitamin D drops — another factor relevant to bone development that should have prompted careful orthopedic consideration.

 This follow-up matters.

The Tallon family was falsely accused, and their lives were turned upside down based on medical interpretations that failed to identify a serious, correctable condition — one that specialists can now clearly see was present all along.

Email the Cherokee County District Attorney and Assistant District Attorney listed below

*mobile users, tapping the mail link will provide a pre-formatted and addressed email, simply personalize with your name*

• District Attorney Erle Newton:
  enewton@pacga.org
  
• Assistant District Attorney Whitney Law:
  wlaw@pacga.org
  

Template:

Dear District Attorney Newton/ Assistant District Attorney Law,

I am concerned about the possible prosecution of Wyatt and Rachel Tallon. They were arrested by the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office and charged with two felony offenses. After their youngest daughter, Josie, fell off the couch, her parents, at the request of the family pediatrician, took her to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). Their nightmare began when they met Dr. Keely Iannelli, a fellow who was undergoing specialized training in child abuse pediatrics. Dr. Stephen Messner, a child abuse pediatrician, reviewed and agreed with Dr. Iannelli’s findings without having physically examined Josie. It was then that Wyatt and Rachel were falsely accused of abusing their daughter because doctors at CHOA misdiagnosed her underlying medical condition, which makes her prone to fractures.

The Tallon case mirrors a recent case your office prosecuted that garnered national attention, involving Brady and Carrie Timms. Their son, Jameson, was taken to CHOA and misdiagnosed by Dr. Messner as abused when he had underlying medical issues that, like Josie’s, made him susceptible to fractures. The Timms family was unnecessarily separated for over 1,000 days because CHOA, along with various local and state agencies, failed to investigate the case properly. It took a jury just three hours to acquit Brady and Carrie, discrediting Dr. Messner.

Dr. Iannelli and Dr. Messner also falsely accused a couple in Troup County, Georgia, of abusing their son. Their DFCS case and criminal charges were later dismissed after it was determined that the couple’s child had an underlying health condition and was not abused, discrediting the doctors.

Wyatt and Rachel are factually innocent. CHOA saw what they thought were fractures without considering Josie’s complete medical history. In fact, within twenty-four hours of the Timms verdict, DFCS closed its case against them. Adding authority to the situation, the superior court judge presiding over the Tallon case ordered Josie to be returned to her parents’ care.

And more to the point of innocence, a well-respected orthopedic surgeon reviewed the Tallon case and concluded in his findings and report: “The allegations of child abuse are strongly refuted by the medical history, bone findings at multiple sites, and lab values, which are consistent with inadequate early bone mineralization…”

I request that your office dismiss the charges against Wyatt and Rachel, allowing them to heal as a family and move forward with their lives.

Thank you for doing the right thing in this matter.
Respectfully submitted,
YOUR NAME

Case History

Wyatt and Rachel Tallon are parents of two beautiful girls and have been falsely accused of abuse by doctors at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA).

The Tallons’ youngest daughter, Josie, accidentally fell off the couch. As a precaution and at the family pediatrician’s request, Wyatt and Rachel took her to CHOA. They met Dr. Keely Iannelli, a fellow undergoing specialized training in child abuse pediatrics. Dr. Stephen Messner, a child abuse pediatrician (CAP), did not physically examine Josie, but agreed with Dr. Iannelli’s findings. Soon thereafter, the Tallons’ lives were turned upside down.

Dr. Iannelli and Dr. Messner misdiagnosed Josie as having been abused, which led to the involvement of law enforcement and Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). Because of the misdiagnosis, Wyatt and Rachel were arrested, charged with felonies, and Josie was removed from the care of her parents.

These are the same doctors who falsely claimed that parents in Troup County, Georgia, abused their son. The parents’ DFCS case and their criminal charges were later dismissed, discrediting both doctors.  Dr. Messner is the same CAP who also falsely accused Brady and Carrie Timms of abusing their son. Once again, he was discredited after a jury acquitted the Timms. Brady and Carrie were prosecuted by the Cherokee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, the same office now prosecuting the Tallons.

Within twenty-four hours of the Timms verdict, DFCS closed its case against Wyatt and Rachel. And since case closure, a well-respected orthopedic surgeon reviewed Josie’s medical records and concluded: “The allegations of child abuse are strongly refuted by the medical history, bone findings at multiple sites, and lab values, which are consistent with inadequate early bone mineralization…” The superior court judge overseeing the Tallon case, the same judge who handled the Timms case, has returned Josie to her parents’ care.

Yet, Erle Newton, the elected district attorney, and his staff refuse to acknowledge that Wyatt and Rachel, like Brady and Carrie Timms, are innocent and dismiss the pending criminal charges against them. Mr. Newton is once again relying on Dr. Messner’s opinion to prosecute a case.