Wright v. State

818 N.E.2d 540, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 2414, 2004 WL 2786644
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided December 6, 2004·No. No. 49A02-0405-CR-405·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

Appellant-defendant Steven Wright appeals from his convictions for Neglect of a Dependent,1 a class B felony, and Battery,2 a class B felony, and from the sentence imposed for those offenses. Specifically, Wright contends that (1) there was insufficient evidence to support the convictions; (2) the trial court did not properly balance the aggravating and mitigating factors at sentencing and that it erred in imposing consecutive sentences; and (8) the sentence imposed by the trial court was inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender. Finding that there was ample evidence to support Wright's convictions and finding no sentencing errors, we affirm.

FACTS

The facts most favorable to the judgment are that in April 1999, Ma.W., the five-month-old daughter of Wright and his wife, was taken to the hospital. She was discovered to have seven right rib fractures, two left rib fractures, and a healing fracture in her right femur. Wright was Ma.W.'s primary caretaker. Within days of Ma.W 's hospitalization, Child Protective Services and law enforcement investigated Wright, who contended that a family friend or uncle had accidentally broken Ma.W.'s femur. According to Wright, the family friend had lost his grip when holding Ma.W. and grabbed her too hard to prevent her from falling to the ground, fracturing her femur. No one, including Wright, has been able to locate this family friend. Wright had no explanation as to how Ma.W. sustained the rib fractures other than positing that he had held her too tightly. No charges were filed at that time.

On September 2, 2001, officers of the Marion County Sheriff's Department were called to investigate the health and welfare of Wright's seven-month-old twins, M.W. and SW. Wright's sister-in-law had recently seen the infants, and when she became alarmed at the condition of the twins, she called the authorities. When the officers arrived at Wright's house, it took him three to four minutes to answer their knock at the door. When he appeared, the officers noted that he was wrapped in a towel and had an odor of alcohol on his breath.

The officers observed the twins lying on the couch and were both "immediately alarmed." Tr. p. 70. The twins' heads [544] were abnormally large, and their condition appeared sufficiently grave that the officers instantly called an ambulance. The officers then went upstairs and found Ma. W., at that time almost three years old, and her sister Me.W., at that time almost two years old, standing in their eribs with their arms outstretched to the officers.

Upon being examined at the hospital, it was discovered that M.W. had nineteen fractures, including fractures of her skull, arms, wrists, legs, knees, a finger, and her chin. S.-W. had seventeen, possibly eighteen, fractures, including fractures of his ribs, arms, wrists, legs, ankles, and skull. Both twins had large subdural hematomas and brain atrophy, which required immediate surgery to place shunts in their skulls to drain the fluid and reduce the pressure on their brains. They also exhibited signs of significant malnutrition and limited spontaneous movement. MW. had a large piece of tissue hanging off the inside of her mouth, cuts and tears on the top and bottom of her interior lips, and significant bruising on her back and shoulder. S.W.'s ribs were protruding and he had a hemorrhage in one eye. Each baby weighed just over ten pounds and had the body of an average two-month-old infant and the developmental skills of an average newborn baby.

Medical personnel performed a series of tests to rule out any medical reason why the children were in such grave shape, checking for a variety of diseases, including osteogenesis imperfecta. After ruling out all such conditions, doctors concluded that the twins had been abused and neglected. After eight days of hospitalization, the twins improved markedly, each gaining several pounds, becoming more mobile, following objects with their eyes, and beginning to smile.

SW. is currently developmentally delayed, has cerebral palsy, cannot walk on his own without the assistance of a walker, and has a seizure disorder and severe brain damage. MW. can walk without assistance but also has cerebral palsy, severe brain damage, and a seizure disorder. Ma.W. is under a psychologist's care, is emotionally traumatized, suffers from uncontrollable erying, and is afraid to interact with other people.

On November 22, 2001, the State charged Wright with two counts of neglect of a dependent as the result of the malnutrition or brain atrophy of M.W. and S.W., and six counts of battery because of the fractures and brain injuries of M.W. and S.W. and the broken femur and rib fractures of Ma.W. During a bench trial beginning on February 26, 2004, Wright admitted that he was the children's primary caregiver because his wife worked full time for the United States Postal Service. Wright asserted that no one, including his wife, had harmed the children, contending that their injuries were a result of a variety of medical conditions.

The trial court found Wright guilty on all counts except for the two counts of battery related to the twins' brain injuries. On April 13, 2004, the trial court conducted a sentencing hearing, at which it commented as follows:

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Wright v. State, 818 N.E.2d 540, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 2414, 2004 WL 2786644 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).

818 N.E.2d 540 (Wright v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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