AUBURN – Nathaniel Allen’s brain injuries were so severe when he arrived at the hospital on Feb. 14, 2003, that a neurosurgeon stopped operating on him because he knew it would not do any good.

“I thought he would die on the operating table,” Dr. William D’Angelo said Tuesday while testifying at Sarah Allen’s manslaughter trial.

Allen, 30, is charged with killing her 21-month-old adopted son by shaking or jerking him with so much force that it caused his brain to swell and bleed.

Lawyers spent Tuesday questioning two doctors, D’Angelo and the state’s deputy chief medical examiner, Michael Ferenc.

Both doctors testified that Nathaniel Allen died of severe head trauma and they both said they found no indication that the boy had a pre-existing disease or condition that could have caused his injuries.

They also agreed that it was unlikely that a series of household falls, as described by Sarah Allen as a possible cause of the injuries, could be to blame.

“I didn’t find bruising typical of a child who has fallen down several times,” said Ferenc, who performed an autopsy on the boy.

State prosecutors have one more witness who they plan to call to the stand, a doctor who is not available until Thursday.

In the meantime, Allen’s attorney, Verne Paradie, will begin to call his witnesses. In addition to medical experts, he plans to question some of Allen’s relatives and friends about the type of mother she was.

If the jury of seven men and seven women convict Allen of manslaughter, she could face up to 40 years in prison.

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