Cory M. Wallace v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 4, 2017
Docket18A02-1611-CR-2691
StatusPublished

This text of Cory M. Wallace v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) (Cory M. Wallace v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cory M. Wallace v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.), (Ind. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED regarded as precedent or cited before any Aug 04 2017, 9:22 am

court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK Indiana Supreme Court the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals and Tax Court estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Ronald K. Smith Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Public Defender Attorney General of Indiana Muncie, Indiana Jodi Kathryn Stein Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Cory M. Wallace, August 4, 2017 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 18A02-1611-CR-2691 v. Appeal from the Delaware Circuit Court State of Indiana, The Honorable Marianne L. Appellee-Plaintiff Vorhees, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 18C01-1508-F1-4

Vaidik, Chief Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A02-1611-CR-2691 |August 4, 2017 Page 1 of 17 Case Summary [1] In 2015, Cory Wallace set fire to his Muncie house to cover up the fact that he

had battered and failed to seek medical care for his four-month-old son,

resulting in the infant’s death. He was convicted of numerous crimes and

sentenced to seventy-two years. He now appeals, arguing that the trial court

erred in admitting numerous pieces of evidence and that the trial court made

mistakes in sentencing him. Finding no errors, we affirm the trial court in all

respects.

Facts and Procedural History [2] On February 10, 2015, twenty-two-year-old Wallace and his pregnant wife,

Sheryl, were living with their four-month-old son, J.W., and Sheryl’s mother in

Muncie. Twenty days earlier, Wallace had pled guilty in Marion County to

Class D felony neglect of a dependent for failing to seek medical treatment for

injuries to another son he had with a different woman and was sentenced to one

year of house arrest and two years of probation. State’s Ex. 146. At 7:25 p.m.,

while Sheryl’s mother was at work, Wallace called 911 to report that their

house was on fire and that J.W. was trapped inside. The Muncie Fire

Department was dispatched at 7:26 p.m. Wallace and Sheryl were waiting

outside when first responders arrived. Firefighters entered the house and found

J.W. in his bedroom laying in his playpen with flames nearby. Firefighters

removed J.W. from his playpen and took him outside where paramedics were

waiting. From the time of dispatch until the time firefighters handed J.W. to

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A02-1611-CR-2691 |August 4, 2017 Page 2 of 17 paramedics, less than four minutes had elapsed. Tr. Vol. I p. 94. According to

firefighters, there “couldn’t have [been] a faster scenario.” Id. at 95.

[3] Paramedics ran with J.W. to a nearby parked ambulance and conducted an

assessment; J.W. had no pulse, was not breathing, and had no heartbeat. He

was pronounced dead at 7:41 p.m. At no time did Wallace or Sheryl approach

the ambulance to check on their son. Paramedics took J.W.’s body to the

morgue at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.

[4] Wallace and Sheryl, who had not yet been told by authorities about J.W.’s

death, were also taken to Ball Memorial Hospital, where they were examined

by an emergency-room physician, Dr. Ryan Wallace. Wallace told Dr.

Wallace that he burned his right hand while opening the door to J.W.’s

bedroom and that he was experiencing shortness of breath and chest pain.

There was a red area on Wallace’s right hand, but according to Dr. Wallace it

was not a burn. While in the emergency room, Wallace never asked about

J.W.; he did, however, ask for pain medicine at least three times.

[5] Also while in the emergency room, Muncie Police Department Sergeant Seth

Stanley spoke with Wallace about the events leading up to the 911 call.

Wallace told Sergeant Stanley that he smelled smoke in the house and went to

J.W.’s bedroom. He opened the door, at which point he encountered smoke.

Fire then “flashed” in his face, forcing him to put up his arms to block the fire.

Id. at 172. Because he could not get to J.W., he and Sheryl exited the house.

Sergeant Stanley noted several things during his conversation with Wallace:

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A02-1611-CR-2691 |August 4, 2017 Page 3 of 17 Wallace did not have any burns or singe marks on him despite fire allegedly

flashing in his face, he had “no emotion,” he was “very calm” and “matter-of-

fact,” and he “never asked about [J.W.].” Id. at 174.

[6] When the family was brought together to be told about J.W.’s death, Wallace

showed no change in demeanor, while Sheryl showed relief. Only the extended

family members were visibly upset by the news.

[7] While the initial plan had been to bring J.W.’s body to Wallace and Sheryl in

the emergency room that night, as it was customary to do so, that plan changed

when Sergeant Stanley was summoned to the morgue to inspect J.W.’s body.

Because Sergeant Stanley observed injuries to J.W.’s body that were unrelated

to the fire, the decision was made to begin a criminal investigation into J.W.’s

death.

[8] Accordingly, Wallace was interviewed by police in the early-morning hours of

February 11. He was advised of his Miranda rights and then waived them in

writing. State’s Ex. 133. Wallace told police that he smelled something

“funky” around 6:30 p.m., checked the house but found nothing, and then fell

asleep with Sheryl in their master bedroom. Ex. 112A, p. 111. About thirty

minutes later, however, he and Sheryl awoke to thick smoke in their bedroom.

He went to J.W.’s bedroom and saw black smoke at the door and “knew

immediately something was on fire.” Id. When he opened the door, there was

a “flash” of fire and he burned his right hand. Id. at 155. Wallace surmised

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A02-1611-CR-2691 |August 4, 2017 Page 4 of 17 that the space heater in J.W.’s room started the fire. Wallace was allowed to

leave at the end of the interview.

[9] Following this interview, the investigation into J.W.’s death continued into the

spring and summer of 2015. This investigation revealed the following

information. The forensic pathologist who conducted J.W.’s autopsy

concluded that J.W. had died before the fire started. The cause of J.W.’s death

was blunt force trauma to the head, which consisted of a left subdural

hemorrhage, a left orbital epidural hemorrhage, and cortical contusions. The

forensic pathologist noted additional injuries to J.W., including a torn

frenulum1; scrapes, abrasions, and circular burns to J.W.’s scalp, face, neck,

ears, chest, back, arms, and legs; and two fractured ribs (one that was new and

one that was healing). The forensic pathologist determined that J.W.’s injuries

were caused by inflicted abuse. The investigation also revealed that J.W. had

never been seen by a pediatrician since he was born. In addition, the Chief Fire

Investigator for the Muncie Fire Department concluded that the fire originated

in J.W.’s bedroom, that there were two origins in J.W.’s bedroom (near the

playpen and near a rocking chair), and that the fire was incendiary, that is,

intentionally set.2 Tr. Vol. II pp. 20-23. The State Fire Marshal reached the

1 The frenulum is the piece of tissue that connects the lips (upper and lower) to the gums. Tr. Vol. II p. 125.

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