Alexander v. State

1975 OK CR 67, 534 P.2d 1313, 1975 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 327
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 23, 1975
DocketF-74-753
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 1975 OK CR 67 (Alexander v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alexander v. State, 1975 OK CR 67, 534 P.2d 1313, 1975 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 327 (Okla. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Appellant, Bobbie Alexander, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged, and tried in the District Court, Atoka County, Case No. CRF-72-62, for the offense of Murder. Defendant was found guilty of Manslaughter in the First Degree, and was sentenced to serve a term of ten (10) years’ imprisonment. From said judgment and sentence, a timely appeal has been perfected to this Court.

Reverend Charles Hanna testified that he knew the defendant through his church. He- further testified that the decedent, Ju-dithan Brignance, was the daughter of the defendant and that he had been called to an Atoka County hospital on July 20, 1972, to minister to the family of the decedent. He stated that after three or four hours at *1314 the hospital he walked outside with several members of the victim’s family including the defendant. He then stated that he heard the defendant express a desire to ■ speak with law enforcement officials to inform them of a plastic hag that had been around the decedent’s head at her house.

Charles McKee testified that he was the defendant’s father and on the evening of July 20, 1972, at approximately 11:00 p. m., the defendant came to his home and informed him that something was wrong with the decedent. He stated that he went immediately to the trailer home of the defendant which was located next door. He testified that Judithan was lying in the bed, uncovered and lifeless when he arrived. He further stated that he recalled a conversation outside the hospital regarding a plastic bag.

Lois Alexander testified at trial that she was the defendant’s mother and that she, along with her husband, had gone to the hospital the night of the decedent’s death. She too testified that as the group was leaving the hospital that night the defendant ran back inside the hospital stating that she wanted to report to a police officer that she remembered a plastic bag being around the child’s head. Mrs. Alexander further testified that after the decedent’s funeral the defendant told her that she had put the plastic bag in a trash can in the bathroom. The witness further related that the defendant had told her that she would not plead guilty as long as there was a chance that she might be found not guilty.

Dr. Merlin D. Bellamy testified that he was a physician specializing in pathology. He stated that he conducted an autopsy on Judithan Brignance on the 21st of July, 1972, and concluded that the child’s death was due to asphyxia. He further testified that the asphyxia was caused by the external cutting off of the child’s air. He indicated further that there was nothing in his autopsy to indicate the child suffered from epilepsy. Dr. Bellamy also stated that he was certain that the child was kept from getting air but he could not testify as to what kept the child from getting the air. His autopsy report stated “suffocation cannot be ruled out.” He also related that he found no bruises on the child’s body.

Dr. Bellamy testified that on July 11, 1972, he performed an autopsy on Ernie Brignance, Jr., the son of the defendant. He reported that the findings of the autopsies conducted on Judithan Brignance and on Ernie Brignance, Jr. were similar. He stated that originally he had determined the death of Ernie Brignance, Jr. to be caused by asphyxia due to laryngeal edema. However, after further consultation with Dr. Davis, Dr. Chapman and Dr. Jordan of Oklahoma City he amended the autopsy report as to the death of Ernie Brignance, Jr. to state that the cause of his death was asphyxiation caused by an outside force. He stated that by the process of elimination he had concluded that death was probably caused by suffocation in both cases.

B. G. Jones testified that he was an agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and that on July 21, 1972, he conducted an investigation of the death of Judithan Brignance. He identified State’s Exhibits No. 1 and No. 2 as being photographs taken at the scene of the crime and State’s Exhibit No. 3 as being a plastic bag that had been given him by defense counsel.

Dr. Eugene Davis testified that on July 18, 1972 he was the Senior Medical Officer at the Naval Ammunition Depot in McAlester, Oklahoma. He stated that because the natural father of Judithan Brig-nance was on active military duty she was qualified for medical treatment by a military physician. He stated that on that date the decedent was brought into his office for a physicial examination to determine if any respiratory infection was present. He stated that he found the child to be in excellent physical condition, and that during the examination the defendant related to him that she (the defendant) had *1315 a long history of epilepsy but had been taking medication that had resulted in her suffering no seizures for the previous 19 months. Dr. Davis related that the defendant, her husband, and Judithan spent approximately an hour and a half in his office, and during that time he observed child abuse tendencies in the mother. He stated that one of the parents pushed the child against a wall of his office bruising her forehead. Dr. Davis then testified (Tr. 89-90) “ . . . [S]he then asked me to do another specific examination, to find out whether previous cigarette burns on the child’s body had left permanent scars which would be detectable by a pathologist if he should in the near future do an autopsy on Judithan .... [S]he also asked me specifically to look for bruises in the diaper area, because she told me at that time that in the past she had punished both Ernie Jr. and Judithan to the point that there were bruises on their bottoms, and she wanted to know specifically if there would be any sign of that, should a pathologist have to do an autopsy on Judithan.”

The witness then stated that after the defendant left his office he immediately phoned Dr. Bellamy explaining to him that he suspected foul play in the death of Ernie Brignance, Jr., and also that he suspected Judithan was likewise in danger of dying. The following day he phoned a Mr. Fox of the Atoka County Protection Services to apprise him of this situation.

Marie Smith testified that she was a neighbor of the defendant in July, 1972. She stated that around July 8 of that year the defendant came to her home one night and appeared to be very upset. She testified that, at that time, the defendant stated (Tr. 98), “Marie, I’m cracking up. . . . I want to kill my kids.” The witness also testified that after the déath of Ernie Brignance, Jr. the defendant stated (Tr. 99) “Marie, remember the night I came over to your house and said I wanted to kill the kids? . . . Well, I really meant it — and I stood over Ernie’s bed with a butcher knife while he was asleep and so I got scared and came over.”

Marie Smith testified that on the day following Judithan’s death she was asked by the defendant not to inform the authorities of her prior statements regarding her wishes to kill her children. Mrs. Smith also asked the defendant how Judithan died and the defendant stated (Tr. 101) “just like Ernie did, . . . except she had blood running from her nose, and mouth.” Mrs. Smith also stated that the defendant had related to her that a plastic bag had been in the hallway of her trailer for several days and that she had thought, “[W]ell if it got on her head — ” (Tr. 102).

On cross-examination Mrs.

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Related

Klinekole v. State
1977 OK CR 338 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1975 OK CR 67, 534 P.2d 1313, 1975 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 327, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alexander-v-state-oklacrimapp-1975.