Williams v. State

680 S.W.2d 570, 1984 Tex. App. LEXIS 6398
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided October 4, 1984·No. 13-84-011-CR·Published·Cited by 16 cases

Opinion

OPINION

GONZALEZ, Justice.

This is an appeal from a conviction by a jury for the offense of injury to a child by criminal negligence. Punishment was assessed at one year in the County Jail, probated. Appellant brings forth several grounds of error, among which she challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction. Appellant also asserts that the trial court erred in denying her motion that the State elect on which count to proceed, in submitting the lesser included offense of criminal negligence, and in refusing to apply the defense of mistake of fact to the offense of criminal negligence. We affirm. 1

*573 The evidence shows that appellant lived with the father of the child, Jeffrey Gui-drey, in the home of his relatives. Guidrey testified that, about 5:00 a.m. on March 21, 1983, their one year old baby awoke and needed his diaper changed. He found it necessary to bathe the child so he placed the child in the tub, turned on the cold and hot water, and left it running while he went to get a clean diaper and nightshirt. When he returned, the water was steaming hot and the child had suffered severe burns to his stomach, on his bottom, and in the groin area. Some of the skin was falling off. He put some Unguentine ointment on the baby and told appellant that the baby had suffered some burns. Appellant saw the baby’s skin coming off his bottom and was informed by Guidrey that he had applied ointment on the baby. Both appellant and Guidrey testified that the child went back to sleep after having a bottle and woke up at 8:00 a.m. Appellant said that she did not re-check the baby, but gave him another bottle and that the child went back to sleep. Appellant and Guidrey got up around 11:00 a.m. Guidrey’s step-father saw the child after being informed about the burns by a younger son and suggested that the baby be taken to the hospital. The child was admitted to the Driscoll Children’s Hospital about 12:00 noon.

When the child arrived at the hospital, the diaper was stuck to his body and he was in severe pain. He was given medication to reduce the pain. The burns were classified as first and second degree burns — the skin came off at the touch.

Appellant and Guidrey were indicted jointly in a four count indictment alleging different culpable mental states and severity of injuries:

Count I: alleged intentional and knowing conduct that caused serious bodily injury by pouring hot liquid on the child;
Count II: alleged reckless conduct causing serious bodily injury by pouring hot liquid on the child;
Count III: alleged reckless conduct by a parent causing serious bodily injury by failing to provide such medical assistance as needed; and
Count IV: alleged intentionally and knowingly causing bodily injury by a parent by failing to provide such medical assistance as needed. 2

The court submitted the case to the jury with the different culpable mental states of intentionally or knowingly causing bodily injury by a parent failing to provide such medical care as was needed, and also on the lesser culpable mental states of reckless conduct and criminal negligence.

Whether the child turned off the cold water and accidentally scalded himself, or whether the father intentionally poured hot water on the child was unresolved at the time of appellant’s trial. However, by their verdict, the jury found that appellant was guilty of causing bodily injury to her child in that she failed to provide medical care for the child when such care was needed. The jury apparently felt that the delay of several hours between when the father showed appellant the burns and when the child was taken to the hospital later that morning for treatment was criminal negligence.

This is a circumstantial evidence case. When considering the sufficiency of the evidence, we view it in the light most favorable to the verdict, and will uphold the conviction only if a rational trier of fact *574 could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Wilson v. State, 654 S.W.2d 465 (Tex.Crim.App.1983); Vaughn v. State, 607 S.W.2d 914 (Tex.Crim.App.1980).

Election

In her first ground of error, appellant alleges the court erred in denying her motion that the State elect which count of the indictment upon which it would proceed. The indictment, in four counts, alleged the same offense, i.e., injury to a child. “[Wjhere the same act or transaction is charged in different counts which are phrased differently in order to meet possible variations in proof, the State is not required to elect.” Floyd v. State, 164 Tex.Cr.R. 50, 296 S.W.2d 523, 528 (1956). Appellant’s first ground of error is overruled.

Suppression-Oral Statements

In her second ground of error, appellant alleges the court erred in refusing to suppress evidence of oral statements made to an employee of the Texas Department of Human Resources who investigated the alleged child abuse.

From appellant’s pre-trial motion, see TEX.CODE CRIM.PROC.ANN. art. 40.-09 6.(d)(3) (Vernon Supp.1984), and her brief, we understand her complaints to be that the statements:

(1) were taken when she was under arrest or substantially deprived of her freedom;
(2) were involuntary, coerced, and enticed;
(3) would not have been given had she not been deprived of her right to counsel; and
(4) were procured in the absence of any Miranda warnings.

A hearing was held on appellant’s motion; however, there are neither findings by the court nor is there any statement in the record of the reason the motion was overruled. Notwithstanding these shortcomings, we need not abate the appeal, for absent custodial interrogation, a hearing on the voluntariness of any statement is not required. LaPoint v. State, 650 S.W.2d 821, 825 (Tex.Crim.App.1983).

In our opinion, the determinative issue on appeal is whether appellant was “in custody” at the time she made the oral statements. There is no well-defined rule to distinguish custodial interrogation from non-custodial interrogation; rather, the approach of the Court of Criminal Appeals is to review the evidence in each case in light of all the surrounding circumstances. McCrory v. State, 643 S.W.2d 725, 726-27 (Tex.Crim.App.1982).

Significant factors to be considered in determining whether a defendant is in custody are:

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Williams v. State, 680 S.W.2d 570, 1984 Tex. App. LEXIS 6398 (Tex. Ct. App. 1984).

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