State v. Kelly

239 So. 3d 432
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 21, 2018
DocketNO. 17–KA–442
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 239 So. 3d 432 (State v. Kelly) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Kelly, 239 So. 3d 432 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

LILJEBERG, J.

*435Defendant, Troy C. Kelly, appeals his conviction and sentence for second degree murder. For the following reasons, we affirm and remand for correction of the Uniform Commitment Order.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On June 19, 2014, a Jefferson Parish Grand Jury returned an indictment charging defendant, Troy C. Kelly, with the second degree murder of two-year-old S.B.,1 in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. Defendant pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on June 20, 2014.

On February 27, 2014, prior to his indictment and arraignment, defendant filed a Motion to Allow Independent Autopsy upon the body of S.B. On February 28, 2014, a commissioner heard oral argument and denied defendant's motion, noting that S.B.'s funeral was the following day, and finding that defendant failed to serve the coroner's office, the funeral home, or the mother of the deceased child with the motion. Thus, the trial court noted that, even if it granted defendant's motion, the court could not stop the burial from moving forward the following day. The trial court further noted that defendant would have the right to apply to have the body exhumed at a later date.

On October 19, 2016, the State filed a notice pursuant to La. C.Cr.P. art. 719, notifying defendant that it intended to introduce the expert opinion testimony of Dr. Neha Mehta in the field of child abuse pediatrics. On October 25, 2016, defendant filed an opposition to the State's notice asserting Dr. Mehta did not possess the requisite expertise and knowledge needed to offer her opinion. On October 26, 2016, the trial court denied defendant's opposition to Dr. Mehta's expert testimony.

Trial commenced before a twelve-person jury on February 14, 2017. On February 16, 2017, the jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged. On February 24, 2017, defendant filed motions for new trial and post-verdict judgment of acquittal, which the trial court denied on March 2, 2017. After defendant waived delays, the trial court sentenced defendant to life imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Defendant filed a motion for appeal, which was granted by the trial court on March 7, 2017.

FACTS

On the morning of February 21, 2014, Alencia Batiste found her two-year-old son, S.B., unresponsive in his bed. Defendant, Alencia's boyfriend, was not in the apartment at the time. Upon discovering S.B., Alencia carried him into the kitchen and then called defendant to ask him to return home. Alencia attempted CPR on S.B. before running to get help from her neighbor, Audrey Wallace, and calling 9-1-1. Ms. Wallace also attempted to perform CPR on S.B. to no avail.2

Jefferson Parish paramedic, Hanna Ravain, recalled entering the Batiste apartment at 7:25 a.m. to find Ms. Wallace performing CPR on S.B. with Alencia in the room. She recalled that Alencia was emotionless and provided little information regarding the circumstances of her son's *436condition. Ms. Ravain did not attempt CPR on the child as it was obvious he was deceased because she saw evidence of rigor and he was cold to the touch. She explained to the jury that rigor, the stiffening of the body, typically presents itself a couple of hours after death. Ms. Ravain further observed bruising to S.B.'s left arm, right shoulder, lower abdomen, chest and face, which in her experience was not consistent with CPR attempts. While outside and before leaving the scene, Ms. Ravain overheard Alencia's mother, Claudette Batiste, say to Alencia "[y]ou f**king killed him; I told you; I knew this was going to happen; you did this."3

Homicide Detective Jean Lincoln of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office testified regarding his prior experience in the Personal Violence Division including his specialized training in the area of child abuse in connection with homicides. He explained that when he arrived on the scene, he immediately noticed bruising in the pattern of fingertip impressions present on S.B.'s chest.4

Dr. Dana Troxclair, expert in the field of forensic pathology, performed the autopsy on S.B. She testified that the child presented with multiple contusions (bruises) to his body, including his scalp, chin, chest, arm, abdomen, and a hematoma (a collection of blood) underneath his scalp. She noted that rigor was present in the child's face and upper extremities, which typically begins to form within an hour or two after death. Dr. Troxclair explained that the bruises present on the child's chest and back were not the result of any lifesaving efforts such as CPR, but rather were possibly fingerprint marks caused from holding the child. She further opined that the bruises on the child were "fresh bruises" as indicated by their purple/red color, establishing they were likely sustained within 24 hours prior to his death. She further explained that the head injuries suffered by S.B. were not typical of self-inflicted wounds normally found on a child.

Upon conducting the internal examination of S.B., Dr. Troxclair observed blood in his abdomen and noted he sustained fractures to nine of his ribs, causing a lacerated lung. She also discovered S.B.'s liver and spleen sustained lacerations caused by blunt force trauma to his abdomen, along with hemorrhage to his diaphragm also caused by blunt force trauma.5 Dr. Troxclair further explained the blood found in S.B.'s abdomen was the result of his abdomen being forcefully pushed into his backbone. S.B.'s heart and kidneys were also pale in color due to the amount of blood loss, indicating that S.B. "bled out," having lost a third of his total blood volume. Dr. Troxclair opined that a child could only live a couple of hours at most with the injuries S.B. sustained. Dr. Troxclair also opined that the injuries S.B. sustained did not occur from simply pulling the child out of the bathtub by his arm, but could have been caused by pulling the child from the bathtub and throwing him against a toilet. S.B.'s death was classified as a homicide with death caused by multiple blunt force injuries.

*437S.B.'s mother, Alencia, testified that in addition to S.B., she has four other young children. On the night of February 20, 2014, she ran the water for her children's bath before leaving to go to the Dollar General Store,6 leaving defendant with her children. When she returned she could not recall whether the boys were in bed, however, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She did recall S.B. was a little more "whiney" that night so she gave him a dose of Children's Tylenol. She testified that S.B. shared a room with his two older brothers, who were six and three years old at that time, and they all slept on the bottom bunk of a bunk bed. They would often jump from the top bunk down to the bottom; but, she was not aware of them engaging in this behavior on the evening at issue.7 Alencia noted that after the children were in bed she heard them playing in their room. She recalled going into the room and seeing S.B. sitting up in bed "whining."

Alencia went to the police station along with defendant for questioning after finding S.B. dead.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
239 So. 3d 432, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kelly-lactapp-2018.