Commonwealth v. Vining

744 A.2d 310
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 4, 2000
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 744 A.2d 310 (Commonwealth v. Vining) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Vining, 744 A.2d 310 (Pa. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

¶ 1 The present appeals are from the judgments of sentence imposed upon Appellants, Wanda Vining and Lee Jones, following their convictions for numerous offenses stemming from the abuse of a two-and-a-half year old child who sustained injuries while in their care. Given the identical factual background and presence of common issues, resolution of both appeals can best be accomplished in a single opinion.1

¶2 The record regarding the factual background of this case reveals that on the morning of May 23, 1994, Ms. Laura Wright asked Wanda Vining and her live-in companion, Lee Jones, to baby-sit her two-and-a-half year old daughter Marlayna so that she could attend an appointment. This was not an unusual occurrence as Mr. Jones and Ms. Vining were the Wrights’ neighbors and had often looked after then-daughter in the past. However, what occurred that day was unusual. The day ended with Marlayna at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh suffering from first and second degree burns on her chest, back, and legs and also with some bruises about her body and elevated enzyme counts, possibly indicative of some internal injuries. The nature of the injuries to Marlayna aroused suspicions in the health care workers prompting a notification of Children and Youth Services and the local police. For the next twelve days, Marlayna remained at Children’s Hospital for treatment of her injuries. Following her release, she was placed into the custody of her maternal grandparents to permit her parents to receive counseling to assist them in dealing with Marlayna’s injuries. During the hospitalization and afterward, an investigation was conducted which ultimately led to the arrests of Ms. Vining and Mr. Jones. Each were charged by separate informations of four counts of aggravated assault (Counts 1, 6, 12, and 13), a count of simple assault (Count 8), two counts of reckless endangerment (Counts 2 and 7), four counts of endangering the welfare of a child (Counts 3, 4, 9, and 10), and two counts of criminal conspiracy (Counts 5 and 11). The multiple counts reflect the separate allegations pertaining to the different injuries inflicted upon the child.

¶ 3 Ms. Vining, who lived in an apartment next to the Wrights, claimed that Marlayna was burned when she pulled a 48-ounce container of hot water down from the kitchen table onto herself after [314]*314Ms. Vining had left the kitchen.2 Ms. Vining recounted she was in the process of making tea and had boiled water and placed tea bags in the large thermal mug. After hearing the child cry out she ran into the kitchen and found Marlayna on the floor with her shirt soaked by the hot water. Ms. Vining picked Marlayna up and held her until Marlayna calmed down. She then removed her shirt and applied milk compresses and some ointment to the reddened skin. When Ms. Vining was finished taking care of the burns, she dressed Marlayna in a blue jumper that belonged to one of her children. Marlayna soon asked to take a nap, and Ms. Vining put her to bed.

¶ 4 At approximately 11:00 a.m. Laura Wright returned home and went to pick up Marlayna. Ms. Vining told Ms. Wright that Marlayna was still asleep. She made no mention of the fact that Marlayna had been burned because she feared Ms. Wright would “freak out.” Ms. Wright decided to let Marlayna finish her nap rather than wake her up. Shortly thereafter Ms. Vining went to the Wrights’ apartment and informed Kevin Wright that Marlayna had been burned but it was nothing serious. Mr. Wright decided to allow Marlayna to continue napping. Ms. Wright was never informed about the burn and at about 2:00 p.m. returned to get her daughter. Ms. Vining indicated Marlayna was still sleeping and again failed to mention the burn.

¶ 5 Ms. Vining further asserted that when Marlayna woke up she stated that she needed to go to the bathroom. Mr. Jones took her into the bathroom and helped her out o.f the jumper and then discovered that the burned skin had begun peeling. Mr. Jones called Ms. Vining in and upon seeing the condition of the burns Ms. Vining decided to take Marlayna immediately to the emergency room. Just outside of the apartment Ms. Vining ran into Ms. Wright. She explained Marlayna had been burned, and the three of them proceeded to Citizens General Hospital. Sometime after they arrived at Citizens General Ms. Vining left. Marlayna was seen by an emergency room doctor and then taken to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh when it was decided her condition was serious enough to warrant the specialized treatment that was available at Children’s. In addition to the burns, Marlayna had some bruising around the genital/anal region as well as her back and thigh which Ms. Vining could not explain.

¶ 6 At trial Mary Carrasco, M.D. testified the burn pattern on Marlayna’s body was unusual in that it took the shape of the clothing Marlayna had been wearing, specifically, a tank top, which indicated to Dr. Carrasco the burn was of a non-accidental origin. A similar opinion was rendered with regard to the bruises on Marlayna’s back. Additionally, Marlayna presented with a distended and tender abdomen as well as with elevated enzyme counts. These symptoms were consistent with internal injury to the pancreas and liver and suggested some internal bruising of these organs. Dr. Carrasco testified that such an injury was consistent with a significant blow to the abdomen, either through an accidental trauma or being punched or kicked in the abdomen. Dr. Carrasco also opined Marlayna would have been in a great deal of discomfort and pain after experiencing the burns such that the need for immediate medical attention would be apparent, and further it was unlikely that Marlayna would have been able to sleep after sustaining such burns. Lastly, Dr. Carrasco testified the injuries were serious and, had there been significant internal injury, potentially life threatening as well. Additionally, Dr. Steven Myers, a pediatric surgeon, testified that upon asking the child who hurt or burned her Marlayna responded by uttering a name that sounded like “Rhonda.”

[315]*315¶ 7 Ms. Vining and Mr. Jones were tried jointly and convicted by a jury on all counts. Ms. Vining and Mr. Jones were each sentenced to a period of incarceration of four (4) to eight (8) years. Post-trial motions were filed and denied. The present appeals followed.

Commonwealth v. Wanda Vining

¶ 8 Appellant Vining raises four issues for our consideration: whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain the convictions for endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy to commit that offense; whether the court erred in failing to grant a mistrial because of the prosecutor’s remarks; whether the court erred in admitting the hearsay statements of the victim; and whether the court erred in denying a request to strike the jury panel after one of the jurors commented that she was afraid of the defendants.

¶ 9 Ms. Vining first challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain her convictions on two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child.3 We conclude that the evidence presented by the Commonwealth at trial was sufficient to sustain these convictions.

¶ 10 Initially, we note the well-known principle that upon a review of the sufficiency of the evidence we must view the evidence in favor of the Commonwealth as verdict winner allowing the Commonwealth the benefit of all reasonable inferences therefrom. Commonwealth v. Jackson, 506 Pa.

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Bluebook (online)
744 A.2d 310, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-vining-pasuperct-2000.