Doctor Accused of 'Clout Chasing' By Posting Decapitated Baby's Autopsy to Instagram Without Permission

20-year-old Jessica Ross and boyfriend Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr.'s dreams of having a child together "turned into a nightmare," after -- according to a lawsuit -- their baby was decapitated during childbirth. The couple previously sued Dr. Tracey St. Julian, Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Georgia and several other nurses at the hospital, alleging gross negligence, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Their suit claimed that "in the process of trying to delivery this baby, [St. Julian] pulled on the baby's head and neck so hard and manipulated them so hard that the bones in the baby's skull, face and neck were broken." They also alleged the staff attempted to hide from them what happened, only learning about the decapitation days later from employees at a funeral home.

Earlier this month, the two also filed suit against Dr. Jackson Gates, who they say they hired to conduct an independent autopsy after the child's death. According to the lawsuit, the two paid $2,500 for the autopsy ... only to have Gates allegedly share a full-face photo of the baby, as well as videos of his organs with his 11,000 followers on Instagram without permission.

Per the lawsuit, the posted material "showed in graphic and grisly detail a postmortem examination of the decapitated, severed head of Baby Isaiah." The complaint added, "The plaintiffs were informed about the posting of these videos on social media, resulting in the plaintiffs experiencing feelings of shock, anger, humiliation and outrage."

"After suffering one of the most heartbreaking losses any family could ever endure, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Jr. had salt poured into their unfathomable emotional wounds when they discovered that video of their baby's very graphic medical examination had been made public by the very doctor they entrusted to conduct the autopsy," attorneys for the couple added in a statement. "This is one of the most egregious and outrageous cases of 'clout chasing' we have ever encountered. Dr. Jackson Gates attempted to exploit our clients' horrific loss to boost his own social media profile without permission of the family."

The couple sued Gates for invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and fraud -- and claimed the social media posts were "damaging to the preservation of the dignity of Baby Isaiah."

The Instagram page cited in the lawsuit has been set to private, though, according to Fox5Atlanta, Gates defended himself in a video posted to his page saying, "I want you to hear this clearly, I will never divulge the identity or disclose the identity of any live patients or any deceased patients that come for my care."

During a press conference back in August, Ross and Taylor appeared alongside their legal team, who gave a rundown of what allegedly occurred after -- at 37-weeks -- the pair went to the medical center on July 9 when Ross' water broke.

According to attorney Roderick Edmond, after around 10 hours of labor, Ross began to push, but the baby "stopped descending." He said the baby's shoulders became stuck, before warning, "What happened after that was just brutal."

They claim Dr. St. Julian then came in and "in the process of trying to delivery this baby, pulled on the baby's head and neck so hard and manipulated them so hard that the bones in the baby's skull, face and neck were broken." Edmond said Ross was eventually taken to an operating room for a C-section -- where, "when the womb was opened, the feet came out, the body came out and there was no head."

"The head was stuck in the vagina and the head subsequently was delivered vaginally. The baby had been decapitated," he claimed.

While the parents knew the child died, they say they didn't know the specifics of what happened for days.

"They were not allowed to hold their child. The hospital basically said, we can't let you hold the child," said Lynch. "My understanding is that they, at one time, did not want them to see the child. What they did, the hospital wrapped the child up very tightly so they could not see what actually happened and they were able to see the child behind glass."

"In an attempt to misrepresent ... when they wrapped this baby up tightly, they propped the baby’s head on top of the blanket to make it appear as though the head was attached when it wasn't," added Edmond.

He said Dr. St. Julian eventually "came clean" days later -- but claimed she wasn't who informed the couple, or law enforcement, about the alleged decapitation.

According to Lynch, it was the funeral home who informed Ross and Taylor on July 13, before the couple then reported it to authorities. The Clayton County Police Department confirmed they opened an investigation into the case.

In a statement, Prime Healthcare Services -- which owns Southern Regional Medical Center -- told USA Today, "Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event."

"Our prayers also remain with the dedicated team of physicians, nurses and staff at Southern Regional Medical Center who cared for this patient," they continued. "While our sympathies go out to the family, Southern Regional Medical Center denies the allegations in the Complaint referencing the hospital. Since this matter is in litigation, we cannot provide additional statements."

The company also said Dr. St. Julian "is not and never has been an employee of the hospital, and the hospital has taken appropriate steps in response to this unfortunate situation."

According to Law&Crime, the medical center said Dr. St. Julian was simply the couple's doctor and used the facility for delivery. They also told the outlet that the "unfortunate infant death occurred in utero prior to the delivery and decapitation."

So far, Dr. St. Julian hasn't commented on the lawsuit.