State of Missouri v. Sharnique N. Jones

Supreme Court of Missouri·Decided April 15, 2014·No. SC93348·Published

Opinion

SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI en banc

STATE OF MISSOURI, )

)

Respondent, )

)

v. ) No. SC93348 )

SHARNIQUE N. JONES, )

)

Appellant. )

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF ST. LOUIS COUNTY The Honorable Colleen Dolan, Judge

Opinion issued April 15, 2014 Sharnique N. Jones was convicted by a jury of second degree murder, second degree assault, and endangering the welfare of a child. On appeal, she raises four points of error. In her first three points, she claims the trial court erred in overruling her motions for judgment of acquittal on each offense for which she was convicted because there was insufficient evidence to support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In her fourth point, Ms. Jones claims the trial court plainly erred in admitting into evidence statements she made to the police as evidence of guilt of murder in the second degree because the state failed to establish the corpus delicti. Because the state presented evidence that sufficiently established the corpus delicti of the murder offense and because there was sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror could find Ms. Jones guilty of each offense, this Court affirms the judgment of the trial court.

Factual and Procedural Background Sharnique Jones gave birth to her daughter, S.J., on January 3, 2008. Between January 6 and March 21, 2008, Ms. Jones took S.J. to the hospital 12 times for a variety of health problems. Ms. Jones first brought S.J. to the hospital because S.J. was jaundiced, but doctors determined it was not at a level requiring treatment. She next brought S.J. to the emergency room, complaining that she had a fever and was not eating. S.J. did not have a fever when she was in the emergency room, and staff reported that S.J. ate well while at the hospital. Several days later, Ms. Jones brought S.J. to the hospital with a possible Zantac overdose. 1 According to Ms. Jones, a man who previously had raped her came into the house, grabbed S.J. and the Zantac, and locked himself and S.J. in the bathroom. After about 10 minutes, he came out of the bathroom and ran out of the house. S.J. had what looked like Zantac around her mouth and on her clothes, leading Ms. Jones to believe she was given a large dose of Zantac. The hospital performed a drug screen and other tests, all of which came back normal.

Over the next couple of months, Ms. Jones continued to bring S.J. to the hospital frequently because of other health concerns. Three times, she reported that S.J. was experiencing apnea, which occurs when a person stops breathing for more than 10 seconds. Overall, S.J. appeared healthy and had normal vital signs during her visits, but a pediatric neurologist observed that S.J. was experiencing seizures and, on two occasions, her seizures were confirmed by an EEG. The seizures were not life threatening, and S.J. was prescribed medication to control them.

1 Zantac is a medication prescribed in liquid form to infants who have acid reflux.

During these visits, medical staff instructed Ms. Jones regarding proper feeding and safe sleeping practices for newborns. They also provided her with information about community resources available to new mothers. Ms. Jones was educated about safe sleeping practices again during a home visit with a social worker.

On April 7, 2008, Ms. Jones called 911, informing the operator that she had laid S.J.

in a bassinet and later found her not breathing. Pine Lawn Police Chief Rickey Collins was the first to arrive at the scene, and he performed CPR on S.J. until the paramedics arrived. The paramedics were unable to resuscitate S.J., and she was pronounced dead at the hospital. Dr. Ariel Goldschmidt, a doctor working on a fellowship in the St. Louis medical examiner’s office, initially determined S.J.’s cause of death to be death by natural causes from a seizure disorder. He determined the cause of death based on Ms. Jones’ statements to the investigator from the medical examiner’s office and S.J.’s medical history because there was no other cause of death apparent from the physical autopsy or the toxicology and laboratory reports. The chief medical examiner, Dr. Michael Graham, signed the death certificate with that determination.

Ms. Jones gave birth to a son, D.W., on January 18, 2009. Two days later, Ms. Jones brought D.W. to the hospital, reporting that he was jaundiced. The hospital admitted D.W. for malnutrition, lethargy, and marginal dehydration. Ms. Jones reported that D.W. was not waking himself up to feed and that he did not want to eat at home. He was receiving only 80 calories a day but needed between 250 and 275 calories per day. The hospital put D.W.

on a feeding program using a nasogastric tube to drip formula directly into his stomach. 2 Ms. Jones became upset with the feeding program and accused hospital staff of force- feeding D.W. She checked D.W. out of the hospital against medical advice. During this visit, Ms. Jones had been instructed about proper feeding.

Three days later, Ms. Jones took D.W. to the hospital after reporting that he had stopped breathing while she was feeding him. Concerned because of S.J.’s history, doctors performed an extensive neurological workup on D.W. but were unable to determine the cause of the reported apnea. The medical staff believed, however, that Ms. Jones was continuing to underfeed D.W., and they made multiple attempts to talk to her about the amount of formula D.W. needed. They referred D.W.’s case to the state children’s division, which took protective custody of D.W. After he gained enough weight, the hospital discharged him into the care of a foster parent. He continued to gain weight while in her care.

Detective Harolton Clayborn investigated the nutritional neglect of D.W. Ms. Jones agreed to talk to him about D.W. at police headquarters, and she signed a Miranda 3 rights warning and waiver form. Ms. Jones told Detective Clayborn that she had missed several feedings while D.W. was in her custody. With regard to D.W.’s second hospitalization, she admitted that she had been burping D.W. on her lap when he stopping breathing. She had diverted her attention to the television, and when she started paying attention to D.W. again,

2 Because D.W. was malnourished, he would tire easily from sucking and would not want to feed. The tube allowed him to receive the nutrition that he needed but was too weak to get on his own. By feeding more, D.W. would gain strength, which would allow him to feed eventually without the tube. 3 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).

he was face down in a burp rag. She noticed that D.W. was not breathing and that his face was blue. When Detective Clayborn told her he did not believe she was telling the whole truth, Ms. Jones told him that D.W. was actually lying face down in the burp rag before she noticed that his face was blue.

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State of Missouri v. Sharnique N. Jones, (Mo. 2014).

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