State v. Hopkins

189 A.3d 741
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedJuly 17, 2018
DocketDocket: Wal-17-516
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 189 A.3d 741 (State v. Hopkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hopkins, 189 A.3d 741 (Me. 2018).

Opinion

ALEXANDER, J.

*746[¶ 1] Miranda G. Hopkins appeals from a judgment of conviction of manslaughter (Class A), 17-A M.R.S. § 203(1)(A) (2017), entered in the trial court (Waldo County, R. Murray, J. ) following a jury trial. Hopkins contends that the court erred in (1) denying her motion to suppress statements she made to law enforcement officers during five different interviews and (2) giving the jury an allegedly confusing instruction on concurrent causation. Hopkins also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury's conclusion, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Hopkins caused the death of her infant son. We affirm the judgment.

I. FACTS AND PRETRIAL HISTORY

[¶ 2] This statement of the facts and pretrial history includes reference to five different statements that Hopkins made to law enforcement officers at various times. Those statements were subject to a motion to suppress and are at issue in this appeal. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, the jury, at the trial, and the court, at the motion hearing, rationally could have found the following facts beyond a reasonable doubt. See State v. Nobles , 2018 ME 26, ¶ 2, 179 A.3d 910 ; State v. Gerry , 2016 ME 163, ¶ 2, 150 A.3d 810.

[¶ 3] On the morning of January 11, 2017, Miranda Hopkins sent two of her three children-her eight-year-old son and six-year-old son-to school. Hopkins, with her seven-week-old son, then joined a friend and the friend's son for coffee and some shopping. Hopkins, her friend, and their children returned to Hopkins's home that afternoon to wait for Hopkins's older sons to return home from school.

[¶ 4] While waiting for the older boys, Hopkins and her friend drank shots of Fireball whiskey and smoked marijuana. The older boys arrived home around 3:30 p.m. After the boys arrived home, Hopkins and her friend each had a couple more shots of Fireball whiskey. Around 5:30 p.m., Hopkins's cousin and her cousin's daughter arrived at Hopkins's home for dinner. About twenty or thirty minutes later, Hopkins's friend and her son left Hopkins's home.

[¶ 5] Hopkins had "a few more shots" of Fireball whiskey with her cousin. Hopkins "wasn't counting" but estimated that between 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. she consumed roughly seven shots of Fireball whiskey, smoked marijuana, and took a Benadryl.

[¶ 6] Around 8:00 p.m., Hopkins's cousin and her cousin's daughter left, and Hopkins began her nighttime routine by getting her older boys ready for bed. While she was helping the older boys, she put the baby in a bouncy seat in the living room. Hopkins got the boys into their bed and began feeling very "spinny" and "not feeling well at all." Hopkins lay down at the foot of the older boys' bed and "fell asleep big time." She awoke much later that night due to a "gall bladder attack." Hopkins got an ice pack and then lay down in her own bed. She "wasn't paying attention to anything" as she walked from the older boys' room, into the kitchen, and then into her bedroom.

[¶ 7] Hopkins dozed off and then woke up again. Upon waking up, she reached over and felt the baby's "ice cold" hand. She testified that the baby was in his "boppy"1 in an unnatural position and that his head was "wrong." She immediately *747jumped out of bed, turned on the lights, and grabbed her phone to dial 9-1-1.2

[¶ 8] At around 1:47 a.m., Hopkins called 9-1-1 and reported that the baby was not breathing, was cold to the touch, and had a big bruise on him. She told the 9-1-1 dispatcher that one of her older boys must have jumped on the baby in the night, but that she had not heard him cry or any other noises. The dispatcher instructed Hopkins to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

[¶ 9] At around 2:06 a.m., a Waldo County Sheriff's deputy arrived at Hopkins's home. She found Hopkins performing CPR on the baby on the floor in her bedroom. The deputy took over CPR and noticed that the baby had a "significant amount of bruising" on his forehead and chest, had scratches on his face and neck, and was stiff and cold. While performing CPR, the deputy contacted her dispatch center and requested that a detective come to investigate.

[¶ 10] Around 2:16 a.m., emergency medical technicians (EMTs) arrived at the home and took over CPR from the deputy. The EMTs brought in an automatic external defibrillator (AED), which is able to sense any cardiac rhythm that is shockable, and attached the paddles to the baby. There was no shockable rhythm, and the EMTs pronounced the baby dead.

[¶ 11] While the EMTs were working on the baby, the deputy left the bedroom and went into the living room to speak with Hopkins. The deputy advised Hopkins that her baby was dead. Hopkins said that she knew he was gone, mentioned the bruising, and said that she didn't know how the baby got the bruises, but believed that one of the older boys had been responsible. She pointed out her eight-year-old son, sleeping on the couch, to the deputy, then took the deputy down the hall to see her six-year-old son, who was still sleeping in his bed.

[¶ 12] The deputy explained to Hopkins that, in all child death cases, it was standard procedure to call a detective and that a detective would be arriving shortly. Hopkins then told the deputy about her day, which ended with her and the baby going to bed around 9:00 p.m. As they spoke, the deputy smelled alcohol on Hopkins's breath. The deputy asked Hopkins if she had anything to drink that night. Hopkins told her that she woke up around 11:30 p.m. with gall bladder pain and had a "couple of shots" of Fireball whiskey to help with the pain. Hopkins said that she then went back to bed. She said that she woke up a few hours later, reached over to the baby, and found him cold, stiff, and unresponsive, at which point she called 9-1-1. Hopkins told the deputy that she thought that her oldest son must have killed the baby, but she admitted that she had not heard the baby cry out or felt the bed moving.

[¶ 13] Around 3:00 a.m., a Maine State Police detective sergeant arrived at Hopkins's home. Upon the detective sergeant's arrival, the deputy met him outside to brief him on the situation. Upon entering Hopkins's home, the detective sergeant exchanged introductory remarks with Hopkins and then gave her Miranda warnings.3 Hopkins signed a Miranda waiver and agreed to participate in a recorded interview.

*748[¶ 14] Hopkins told the detective that she went to bed around 9:00 p.m., then got up around 10:30 p.m. to do the "mommy thing" and check all the doors to make sure they were secure, and then went back to sleep. She said that she woke up later and found the baby cold, bruised, and not breathing.

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Bluebook (online)
189 A.3d 741, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hopkins-me-2018.