In State v. Pierce, 346 N.C. 471, 484, 488 S.E.2d 576, 583, the defendant made a motion for a pathologist, which was denied, wherein he contended that such an expert could assist him in determining how the victim's injuries were inflicted. The Court noted that two doctors testified that the child was a victim of the battered-child syndrome and the shaken-baby syndrome, and all the evidence at trial suggested that her death was caused by the injuries to her brain and that these injuries were incurred as a result of child abuse. Also, "defendant's pretrial statements that [the child] had been attacked by the family dog and assaulted by other children in the neighborhood and that she bruised easily were overwhelmingly refuted by the evidence presented by the State." Pierce, 346 N.C. at 484, 488 S.E.2d at 584. The Court in Pierce held that defendant's assertions that the requested expert assistance would be beneficial or even essential to the preparing of an adequate defense, were undeveloped and were insufficient to satisfy the threshold requirement of specific necessity. Id.