Commonwealth v. Watson

627 A.2d 785, 426 Pa. Super. 496, 1993 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2263
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 7, 1993
DocketNo. 932
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 627 A.2d 785 (Commonwealth v. Watson) 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. Watson, 627 A.2d 785, 426 Pa. Super. 496, 1993 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2263 (Pa. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

WIEAND, Judge.

Sidney Brian Watson was tried non-jury and was found guilty of aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of a child. Post-trial motions were denied, and Watson was sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment for not less than four (4) years nor more than twelve (12) years. On direct appeal from the judgment of sentence, Watson asserts that the trial court erred by admitting into evidence and giving consideration to a hearsay statement made by the three year old, alleged victim. He also contends that, absent this hearsay evidence, there was no evidence to establish that he was responsible for the injuries suffered by his three year old son. Finding no merit in these contentions, we affirm the judgment of sentence.

On April 29, 1991, City of Pittsburgh Police Officer Karen Harris responded to a report that a child had been burned. Upon arrival at the scene, Harris learned that appellant was the father of the three year old victim, Isaiah Pierce. Harris observed appellant arguing with the child’s mother, Ronetta Pierce, who was seeking an explanation of what had happened to her child’s hands. To this appellant reportedly responded that the child had stuck his hand in a bowl of soup. As a part of her investigation, Officer Harris found an empty can of Spaghettios in a trash can; two skillets on the stove, one containing Spaghettios and the other containing Criseo oil; and a bowl of Spaghettios on the table. While the victim was being treated in an ambulance, Officer Harris asked the child how he had hurt his hands. Three year old Isaiah Pierce responded, “My daddy did it.”

The victim was taken to the Burn Center at Mercy Hospital where he was treated for severe burns to his left hand and to the index finger of his right hand. The child’s treating physician was Dr. Mary Jeanne Korb, the director of the Burn Center, whose testimony was summarized in the trial court’s post-trial opinion as follows:

Dr. Korb testified that Isaiah suffered full thickness burns over the entire back portion of his left hand as well as on [499]*499portions of his fingers and palm. She described full thickness burns as “... where the total skin of that area has been destroyed.” Such burns “... do not heal except from the side or from other normal skin from the sides; they almost always require skin grafting; the hair follicles are destroyed; the nerve endings are destroyed and they always heal with scars.”
The doctor noted that the burns on Isaiah’s hands had clear lines of demarcation. These, according to Dr. Korb, are [more] consistent with the hand having been forcibly immersed in a hot substance than with a hand accidently [sic] placed in a hot substance. In the latter case, the line of demarcation between the burned skin and the healthy skin is marked by feathering and flash marks as a result of sudden movement.
The doctor also described the treatment Isaiah received. She said that for several days after the burn Isaiah had to have the wound debrided. Debriding involves the pealing [sic] off of the dead skin from the wound and is an extremely painful procedure. The procedure was so painful in Isaiah’s case that they had to cease such procedures and proceed to surgery. Even after the surgery, Isaiah suffered from decreased grip strength and a limitation on the range of motion of the hand. The doctor ultimately concluded that the nature of the burn, the lack of flash marks and the sharpness of the demarcation, was consistent with the hand having been forcibly immersed in an extremely hot liquid rather than the child accidently [sic] reaching into a bowl or pot of hot soup or “Spaghettios.” (citations to record omitted).

We reject appellant’s request for a limited review of the evidence to determine its sufficiency to support his convictions. “ Tt is well settled ... that in determining the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict, we are required to consider all evidence actually received, whether the trial court’s rulings on evidence were correct or incorrect.’ ” Commonwealth v. DiSabatino, 399 Pa.Super. 1, 4, 581 A.2d 645, 646 (1990), quoting Commonwealth v. Pankraz, 382 Pa.Super. [500]*500116, 119-120, 554 A.2d 974, 976 (1989). “The question of sufficiency is not assessed upon a diminished record. Where improperly admitted evidence has been allowed to be considered by the [factfinder], its subsequent deletion does not justify a finding of insufficient evidence. The remedy in such a case is the grant of a new trial.” Commonwealth v. Smith, 523 Pa. 577, 582, 568 A.2d 600, 603 (1989) (citations omitted).

In evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence, we view all the evidence admitted at trial in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, which has won the verdict, and draw all reasonable inferences in its favor. We then determine whether the evidence was sufficient to have permitted the trier of fact to find that each element of the crimes charged was established beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Smith, supra at 581, 568 A.2d at 602; Commonwealth v. Aulisio, 514 Pa. 84, 91, 522 A.2d 1075, 1079 (1987). “This standard is equally applicable to cases where the evidence is circumstantial rather than direct so long as the combination of the evidence links the accused to the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Commonwealth v. Hardcastle, 519 Pa. 236, 246, 546 A.2d 1101, 1105 (1988), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1093, 110 S.Ct. 1169, 107 L.Ed.2d 1072 (1990). Moreover, the facts and circumstances established by the Commonwealth “need not be absolutely incompatible with [the] defendant’s innocence, but the question of any doubt is for the [factfinder] unless the evidence ‘be so weak and inconclusive that as a matter of law no probability of fact can be drawn from the combined circumstances.’ ” Commonwealth v. Sullivan, 472 Pa. 129, 150, 371 A.2d 468, 478 (1977), quoting Commonwealth v. Libonati, 346 Pa. 504, 508, 31 A.2d 95, 97 (1943).

So viewed, the evidence in the instant case was clearly sufficient to permit the trier of fact to conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that appellant had forcibly immersed his son’s hand in a hot substance, thereby causing severe burns. Appellant was overheard telling the child’s mother that the child had placed his hand in a hot bowl of soup. However, the victim’s treating physician testified that the child’s injuries were inconsistent with an accidental burn and concluded, [501]*501because of the pattern of the burn marks, the sharp demarcation and the lack of any feathering, that the child’s injuries were more consistent with having had his hand placed into and forcibly held in a hot substance. Finally, when the victim was asked how his hands had been burned, he responded that “My daddy did it.” From this evidence, the trial court could infer that appellant, the victim’s father, had been responsible for causing the burns to the child’s hands.

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Bluebook (online)
627 A.2d 785, 426 Pa. Super. 496, 1993 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-watson-pasuperct-1993.