Prosecutors, Defense Question Scientists from CDC During Hendrix Trial

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys questioned a pair of scientists from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the Wednesday.

Hendrix, 29, formerly of Mentor, is accused of poisoning her infant daughter with lead nitrate.

Dr. Kathleen Caldwell and Dr. John Osterloh from the performed tests on lead taken from Hendrix's home and former workplace at Bellaire High School, as well as lead found in her daughter's blood and urine.

Caldwell and Osterloh testified via video from Atlanta. Both said they could neither confirm or deny that the lead found in Hendrix's home and workplace was used to poison her daughter.

Hendrix's attorney, Mark Marein, asked the doctors about the isotope ratios in the lead. The three lead samples given to the CDC had a different number of neutrons than the lead found in the daughter's blood and urine, the report said.

A portion of an analysis, written by Osterloh, said two of the samples were "clearly different" than lead found in the victim and the third sample was "very different."

Osterloh reaffirmed that difference Wednesday, but he did not say that the lead seized from Hendrix's home and work could not have been used to poison her daughter. Instead, he and Caldwell both said they could not tell for sure.

Lake County Assistant Prosecutor Paul Kaplan asked Osterloh, "The fact that the isotope ratios are 'clearly different,' does that allow you to definitively identify or exclude those lead nitrate samples as sources for lead poisoning or exposure?"

"No," Osterloh replied.

Hendrix's trial began Friday. She faces 22 charges, including attempted aggravated murder, endangering children and contaminating a substance for human consumption or use.

Both sides offered and witnesses started testifying Tuesday. Also, a juror was dismissed for having the flu Tuesday. Another juror wore a surgical mask and often coughed Wednesday.

The trial is expected to take about two weeks.

According to the indictment against her, Hendrix's daughter was 5 months old when the lead poisoning began and it continued for 17 months.

The poisonings started in Belmont County and continued in Cuyahoga and Lake counties after the family moved to Northeast Ohio, according to the indictment.

The victim is 3 years old and has been in the custody of Lake County Job and Family Services since July 2009.