The decision to drop a murder charge against the Irish nanny of a one-year-old girl who died in the United States has been greeted with relief but it also raises serious questions about the nature of the evidence in this tragic case.
Quite clearly, the death of a child in any circumstances is desperately sad and completely devastating for the parents involved.
The anguish of Rehma Sabir's parents will have been compounded by the suggestion that she died as the result of a deliberate and violent act in Massachusetts in January 2013.
At the time, a state medical examiner found the infant's death was a murder caused by shaken baby syndrome and her nanny, Aisling Brady McCarthy, a 37-year-old from Co Cavan, was duly charged.
Ms McCarthy spent almost two and a half years in prison before being released on bail in May this year.
However, in a dramatic development earlier this week, prosecutors dropped the case after the medical examiner changed the cause of death to ``undetermined'' after additional information was reviewed.
In particular, the baby's medical history raised the possibility of an accidental injury or an ``undefined natural disease.''
Given this uncertainty, the prosecution was right to stop the case but there has been sharp criticism from Ms McCarthy's lawyer, who branded the handling of this matter a ``complete disgrace.''
Certainly, there are well documented concerns regarding court cases based on a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome and any decision to prosecute must fully consider other possible causes of death or injury, such as an underlying medical condition.
It is deeply regrettable Ms McCarthy had to spend such a lengthy period in jail before additional material casting doubt on the evidence came to light.
There will also be sympathy for the parents of baby Rehma who have not only lost a child but have had to endure further trauma as a result of this questionable prosecution.
