Opinion ID: 3159995
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: As in all cases where a death sentence has been imposed, we begin by conducting an independent review of the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conviction for first degree murder. Commonwealth v. Perez, 93 A.3d 829, 840 (Pa. 2014); Commonwealth v. Zettlemoyer, 454 A.2d 937, 942 n.3 (Pa. 1982). Because a determination of evidentiary sufficiency presents a question of law, our standard of review is de novo and our scope of review is plenary. Commonwealth v. Sanchez, 36 A.3d 24, 37 (Pa. 2011). 4 As described in detail infra, to refute the torture aggravator during the penalty phase of trial, Appellant presented the testimony of a medical expert. [J-2-2015] - 9 “In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we must determine whether the evidence admitted at trial, and all reasonable inferences drawn from that evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, was sufficient to enable the fact finder to conclude that the Commonwealth established all of the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.” Commonwealth v. Fears, 836 A.2d 52, 58-59 (Pa. 2003). The Commonwealth may sustain its burden by means of wholly circumstantial evidence. Commonwealth v. Spell, 28 A.3d 1274, 1278 (Pa. 2011). Further, the trier of fact is free to believe all, part, or none of the evidence. Commonwealth v. Martin, 101 A.3d 706, 718 (Pa. 2014). Accordingly, to sustain Appellant's conviction of first-degree murder, we must conclude that the evidence established beyond a reasonable doubt the three elements of first-degree murder: (1) a human being was unlawfully killed; (2) the defendant was responsible for the killing; and (3) the defendant acted with malice and a specific intent to kill. 18 Pa.C.S. § 2502(a); Commonwealth v. Houser, 18 A.3d 1128, 1133 (Pa. 2011). First-degree murder is an intentional killing, i.e., a “willful, deliberate and premeditated killing.” 18 Pa.C.S. § 2502(a), (d); Commonwealth v. Burno, 94 A.3d 956, 969 (Pa. 2014). Appellant contends there was insufficient evidence demonstrating the requisite specific intent to kill for first degree murder.5 He argues there were no eyewitnesses to Jaques’s assault, and no evidence detailing the nature of the assault such as where it occurred, how long it lasted, or when the child was rendered unconscious. He proffers that absent evidence of such details, it is mere speculation to conclude that he beat Jaques with the intent to kill him. According to Appellant, he could have acted in a rage 5 This contention is set forth in Issue VI in Appellant’s brief, which challenges the trial court’s denial of a motion seeking the dismissal of the charge of first degree murder based upon the lack of evidence of the specific intent to kill. See Brief for Appellant at 38-39. [J-2-2015] - 10 in a short period of time, not realizing the consequences of his actions, especially considering the great disparity of size between himself and the two-year-old victim. He submits that his efforts to seek aid for Jaques, by asking neighbors for help and attempting CPR, further suggest that he lacked the requisite intent to kill. Appellant concludes that the Commonwealth’s evidence was insufficient to prove even a prima facia case that he intended to kill the victim, and that the trial court erred not only by sustaining his conviction of first degree murder, but also by denying his pretrial motion to dismiss that charge. The Commonwealth refutes Appellant’s sufficiency challenge and contends that the record establishes both a prima facie case and sufficient evidence to sustain his first degree murder conviction. It asserts that the prima facie case against Appellant was premised on his deliberate and prolonged beating of Jaques, which was demonstrated by the autopsy report, autopsy photos of fresh bruises covering most of Jaques’s body, the preliminary hearing testimony of forensic expert nurse Emily Huggins who created a body map of Jaques’s bruises, and Appellant’s statements that he had struck Jaques while he acted as caregiver during the time period that the fatal injuries were inflicted. This evidence was further supplemented, the Commonwealth contends, by Dr. Land’s trial testimony that Jaques suffered the laceration to his liver hours before his death, and later suffered the brain injury at or around the time of death, and that both injuries could have each, individually, been fatal. The Commonwealth reiterates Dr. Land’s medical conclusion that the cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma, not accidental drowning, and that the manner of death was homicide. Further, the Commonwealth submits that this Court has consistently rejected the premise that there must be evidence of a single fatal blow in order to find the specific intent to kill in cases where death results from the prolonged beating of the victim. See [J-2-2015] - 11 Commonwealth v. Chambers, 980 A.2d 35, 46-48 (Pa. 2009) (confirming the lack of merit to the “final fatal blow” argument and finding specific intent to kill where the defendant engaged in a continued pattern of child abuse and ultimately threw the three-year-old child across the room into a radiator and left her to suffocate between a bed and a wall); Commonwealth v. Powell, 956 A.2d 406 (Pa. 2008) (rejecting claim of lack of evidence of specific intent to kill where the defendant repeatedly beat his six-year-old son, causing a seizure that resulted in death by asphyxiation because there is nothing in law requiring a final fatal blow to demonstrate a specific intent to kill); Commonwealth v. Smith, 675 A.2d 1221 (Pa. 1996) (plurality) (finding sufficient evidence of first degree murder where a five-month-old baby died while in the defendant’s care and expert medical testimony established that the cause of death was six to ten blows to the baby’s head). The Commonwealth concludes that, consistent with this case law examining the defendant’s entire course of conduct in child abuse murder cases, there is sufficient evidence that Appellant possessed the specific intent to kill. The trial court agreed with the Commonwealth and held there was sufficient evidence of a specific intent to kill to support both the charge of first degree murder and the conviction. It cited Chambers and Powell, supra, for the proposition that physical child abuse resulting in death is sufficient to sustain a jury’s finding that the defendant possessed the specific intent to kill, despite the medical examiner’s inability to diagnose the “final blow” that caused the death. The trial court held that, viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, the evidence established that Appellant was angry with Hayley for leaving her children at his home and beat her son to death. It reasoned that the jury was free to infer Appellant’s specific intent to kill from his use of deadly force on Jaques’s body. The court relied on the autopsy photos depicting Jaques’s extensive and recent bruises, Dr. Land’s comprehensive testimony on the [J-2-2015] - 12 cause and manner of death, and the fact that Appellant was about four times the size of the two-year-old victim. Based on the medical evidence, the trial court opined that Appellant placed Jaques in the bathtub after fatally beating him, evidencing an attempt to mask the true cause of death by suggesting that the child drowned accidentally in the bathtub. These facts, the court concluded, were more than sufficient to establish the requisites of first degree murder. Upon careful scrutiny of the record, we agree with the trial court that there is sufficient evidence to support Appellant’s conviction of first degree murder. When viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, the evidence establishes that Jaques was unlawfully beaten to death, that Appellant was responsible for the killing, and that Appellant acted with malice and a specific intent to kill as demonstrated by his use of deadly force upon the helpless two-year-old victim that he was entrusted to protect. We reject Appellant’s claim that his conviction was based upon mere speculation because there was no evidence describing with particularity how the beatings were carried out and at what point the defenseless toddler was rendered unconscious from Appellant’s vicious attack. This Court rejected a similar contention in Powell, supra, where we upheld the jury’s finding of specific intent to kill where the defendant repeatedly beat his six-year-old son, causing a seizure that resulted in death by asphyxiation, but where there was no evidence relating to the final blow that ultimately caused the death. We stated: There is nothing in the law, logic, or human experience that provides, as a matter of law, that specific intent cannot be found when the medical examiner cannot point to a specific blow as the definitive cause of death. The very personal nature of a beating such as this negates the notion that a specifically identifiable killing blow is required to prove specific intent. After each beating, indeed, after each blow, appellant had time to reflect on what he was doing to his son. And, with the final stomping he administered to [J-2-2015] - 13 various vital parts of the child's body, appellant had ample time to appreciate the lethality of his conduct. The jury acted well within its authority in finding specific intent. Powell, 956 A.2d at 417. We reaffirmed this principle in Chambers, supra, where we found the specific intent to kill where the defendant engaged in a continued pattern of child abuse and ultimately threw a three-year-old child across the room into a radiator, and proceeded to catapult her again, leaving her between a bed and a wall to suffocate to death. We stated that “[t]he fact that appellant argues that he ‘only’ intended to abuse [the child victim] in the days before her murder does not mean the jury was obliged to believe that theory (for which there was no testimonial support), nor does it somehow negate a finding that he decided later to kill her.” Id., 980 A.2d at 47. We emphasized that “[t]he jury is no less able to measure the totality of the circumstances against the settled definition of specific intent in child-abuse murders than it is in other first-degree murder prosecutions.” Id. See also Commonwealth v. Tharp, 830 A.2d 519, 527 (Pa. 2003) (holding that by causing her young daughter’s death through a prolonged period of abuse and starvation, the defendant exhibited not a lack of a specific intent to kill, but rather a “unique type of coldness and deliberation,” which “reveals the sort of premeditation and deliberation that separates first degree murder from other killings”). We reach the same conclusion here. The expert medical testimony of Dr. Land established that hours before Jaques died, during the period in which he was in Appellant’s exclusive care, Jaques was struck with such force that his liver was lacerated between the right and left lobes with the tear extending almost completely through the liver, causing a significant amount of blood to pool into Jaques’s abdomen. N.T. (Trial), Volume IV, Oct. 22, 2013, at 900. Dr. Land compared the amount of force used to that which occurs in a severe motor vehicle accident. Id. at 902. Dr. Land explained that the liver laceration would cause Jaques significant pain, nausea, vomiting, and loss of bowel [J-2-2015] - 14 control, and concluded that such injury could cause death. Id. at 929. He further opined that hours later, near the time of death, again while in the exclusive care of Appellant, Jaques was struck in the head with such force as to cause bilateral subdural hemorrhages, which is bleeding on both sides of the brain. Id. at 896-97. Dr. Land testified that Jaques’s brain trauma could have occurred by striking Jaques’s head or by hurling the child’s head about in a forceful manner. Id. at 898. He opined that the head injury was the final injury inflicted at the time of death, and was fatal. Id. at 926-27, 931. This medical evidence repudiates Appellant’s theory that he may have acted in a rage, causing Jaques’s injuries in a short amount of time without realizing the devastating effects of his behavior, thereby disproving any specific intent to kill. Rather, the Commonwealth’s medical evidence establishes that Jaques was beaten over a period of hours until the child succumbed to the fatal blows. The fact that Appellant sought aid for the child whom he fatally bludgeoned does not negate his specific intent to kill. While the jury was free to believe the defense medical expert that Jaques’s death resulted from accidental drowning, it did not do so, and Appellant’s sufficiency challenge fails. Because the evidence was sufficient to establish the elements of first degree murder, it likewise was sufficient to demonstrate the lesser standard of a prima facie case of guilt. See Commonwealth v. Karetny, 880 A.2d 505, 514 (Pa. 2005) (holding that, at the preliminary hearing stage of a criminal prosecution, the Commonwealth need only put forth sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case of guilt, which exists when there is evidence of each of the material elements of the crime charged and probable cause to warrant the belief that the accused committed the offense). Accordingly, we further reject Appellant’s contention that the trial court erred by denying his pretrial motion to dismiss the charge of first degree murder.