According to the Mayo Clinic, shaken baby syndrome is a serious brain injury caused by forcefully shaking an infant or a toddler. It can manifest as a head injury, which was the conclusion of Nikki’s autopsy. This can cause permanent injury or brain damage or even the death of the infant.

In an 11th-hour turn of events, Robert Roberson, the first person set to be executed in the U.S. based on the largely discredited "shaken baby syndrome" hypothesis, was granted a temporary hold on his death sentence.