State v. Cory D. Lyons

CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedMarch 22, 2023
Docket2021AP000687-CR
StatusUnpublished

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

Bluebook
State v. Cory D. Lyons, (Wis. Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS DECISION NOTICE DATED AND FILED This opinion is subject to further editing. If published, the official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. March 22, 2023 A party may file with the Supreme Court a Sheila T. Reiff petition to review an adverse decision by the Clerk of Court of Appeals Court of Appeals. See WIS. STAT. § 808.10 and RULE 809.62.

Appeal No. 2021AP687-CR Cir. Ct. No. 2018CF800

STATE OF WISCONSIN IN COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT II

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT,

V.

CORY D. LYONS,

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

APPEAL from a judgment of the circuit court for Winnebago County: BARBARA H. KEY, Judge. Affirmed.

Before Gundrum, P.J., Grogan and Lazar, JJ.

Per curiam opinions may not be cited in any court of this state as precedent

or authority, except for the limited purposes specified in WIS. STAT. RULE 809.23(3). No. 2021AP687-CR

¶1 PER CURIAM. Cory D. Lyons appeals a judgment of conviction for first-degree reckless homicide of his infant son, Oliver.1 Lyons argues the circuit court erred by denying his motion to suppress incriminating statements he made to law enforcement. We reject Lyons’ arguments and affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶2 Oliver’s mother, Kandice Diaz, left seven-week-old Oliver in her husband Lyons’ care on her first day back to work following Oliver’s birth. Lyons called Diaz while she was at work and reported Oliver’s breathing was not right and she needed to come home. Diaz returned immediately and observed Oliver was limp, colorless, and making intermittent gasping sounds. Lyons told her Oliver was choking. Diaz called 911.

¶3 At a hospital in Oshkosh, Lyons admitted to law enforcement that he became frustrated with Oliver’s crying and shook his baby in a manner that caused Oliver’s head to snap back and forth approximately five to six times. A CT scan revealed Oliver had significant subarachnoid hemorrhages (brain bleeding). While medical staff were preparing Oliver for transport to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Oliver went into respiratory failure and died. The attending emergency room physician opined Lyons’ shaking of Oliver likely resulted in the subarachnoid hemorrhages seen on the CT scan, which subsequently led to the baby’s death.

1 Pursuant to the policy underlying WIS. STAT. RULE 809.86(4) (2021-22), we use a pseudonym when referring to the victim in this case. All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2021-22 version unless otherwise noted.

2 No. 2021AP687-CR

¶4 Lyons pled no contest to first-degree reckless homicide of Oliver. Before pleading, Lyons moved to suppress two sets of incriminating statements regarding shaking Oliver that he made to law enforcement. Lyons argued that at the time he made the first set of statements regarding shaking Oliver, he was “in custody” for purposes of Miranda2 and had not first been advised of his Miranda rights. He also argued the statements were involuntary because officers exerted “coercive pressure” to induce him to make the statements. Lyons made the second set of incriminating statements regarding Oliver after he was arrested, read his Miranda rights, and waived them. He argued these statements needed to be suppressed as improper derivative evidence.

¶5 At the suppression hearing, officer Nathan Defatte testified that on November 29, 2018 dispatch received a 911 call from Diaz, stating Oliver was not breathing and they were headed to the hospital. Defatte intercepted the vehicle while en route to the hospital. Lyons advised Oliver was choking, and Defatte began providing emergency medical care. Officer Keith Norkofski arrived on scene to assist. Emergency medical responders then arrived on scene and transported Oliver by ambulance to the hospital.

¶6 Per Oshkosh police department protocol, whenever there is a death or significant injury in a vehicle, the department holds the vehicle for further investigation. Accordingly, Norkofski transported Diaz to the hospital in his squad car. Officer Grant Wilson, who was in uniform with his gun, transported Lyons to the hospital in his squad car. Lyons was not under arrest, was not told he

2 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444 (1966).

3 No. 2021AP687-CR

was under arrest, or handcuffed. Lyons rode in the back of Wilson’s squad car. Wilson had to open the door to let Lyons in and out.

¶7 Norkofski and Diaz arrived at the back entrance of the hospital and entered through the ambulance bay doors. They were directed to the main waiting room; however, because there were other people in the main waiting room, they went into the family grief room. Wilson and Lyons arrived at the hospital around the same time. When Wilson and Lyons arrived, they went through the main entrance of the hospital to the grief room.

¶8 The grief room has two doors—one door connects to the public lobby, the other door connects directly to the emergency room. Both doors in the grief room are unlocked for people inside the room. The door from the public lobby to the grief room is locked to enter so that grieving families do not have interruptions from people in the lobby.

¶9 When Lyons and Wilson entered the grief room, Diaz, Norkofski, and a hospital chaplain were already inside. Diaz’s mother arrived with another family member and joined them in the room. Hospital medical staff were also in and out of the room, giving updates on Oliver’s condition. Wilson explained that when a child is seriously injured, department protocol requires an officer to stay with the parents until detectives arrive. Wilson stayed with Lyons, and Norkofski stayed with Diaz.

¶10 At one point, medical staff arrived to take Lyons and Diaz back to see Oliver. Lyons never asked either officer permission to leave and no one made any attempts to stop him. Norkofski went back into the emergency room with them. At another point, Lyons and Diaz went outside to smoke a cigarette. Lyons did not ask permission to leave and Wilson made no attempt to stop him. Wilson

4 No. 2021AP687-CR

testified they walked through the public lobby to outside the emergency room entrance. Lyons still had his cell phone and cigarettes. When Lyons finished his cigarette, he walked back into the hospital and did not acknowledge Wilson as he walked inside. On one occasion, when Diaz was talking to Norkofski to give further details on the incident, Lyons asked to be with Diaz and Wilson told him not right now.

¶11 Detectives Dean Artus and April Hinke arrived at the hospital approximately one hour after Lyons, Diaz, Wilson, and Norkofski. Upon arrival, Artus and Hinke spoke briefly with the attending emergency room physician. The doctor stated medical staff did not know what was going on with Oliver, the baby was currently in testing, and, to aid in treating the baby, medical staff needed more information as to what caused Oliver to stop breathing and lose his pulse.

¶12 Artus went to the grief room and Lyons was seated inside with Wilson and the hospital chaplain. At that time, Diaz was with Hinke and Norkofski in the public lobby. Artus recorded his interaction with Lyons and the recording was transcribed for the court. When Artus entered the grief room, he introduced himself and advised Lyons that he had spoken with the doctor and the doctor wanted Artus to get the full story again from the start. Lyons told Artus that Oliver was crying and Lyons tried feeding him, burping him, and changing his diaper, but Oliver continued to cry. Lyons put Oliver down, left to go make another bottle, the dogs were running around and jumping near Oliver, Oliver started screaming, Lyons gave Oliver his bottle and left to put the dogs in the bedroom, and when he came back, Oliver was choking.

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Related

Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Missouri v. Seibert
542 U.S. 600 (Supreme Court, 2004)
State v. Matthew A. Lonkoski
2013 WI 30 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2013)
State v. Owen
551 N.W.2d 50 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1996)
State v. Lemoine
2013 WI 5 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
State v. Cory D. Lyons, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cory-d-lyons-wisctapp-2023.