Opinion ID: 1199062
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Murder of James

Text: At 4 a.m. on December 23, 1983, the fire department responded to a call from Sandra B.'s neighbor. The neighbor had been awakened by Sandra, who was crying, screaming, and knocking on the neighbor's apartment door. After entering Sandra B.'s apartment, Firefighter Gary Becks saw Sandra lying on a bed next to five-year-old James. The child was wet and wrapped in a blanket; he was dead. Sergeant Patrick McCurry testified that after defendant had been placed in the back of a police car, defendant said: I don't know what the big deal is. The kid croaked. That's all I know. Defendant's blood test (taken at 6:15 that same morning) indicated .12 micrograms per milliliter of amphetamines.
Both inside and outside the apartment, the police found a substantial amount of physical evidence relating to the murder of James. Outside the apartment was a board with blood and fecal material. The blood was consistent with James's blood. In the living room was a leather belt with metal grommets and feces. There was also feces on a plastic cup near the television. Two small pillows in a trash can in the kitchen had bloodstains that were consistent with the blood types of the victim and his mother, Sandra B. In the bedroom were a pile of wet, bloodstained children's clothes and a fan belt with human blood on it. Additional items of evidence found in the bedroom consisted of clumps of brown hair, consistent with the hair of the two children; a fan belt; adult-size jeans with a light bloodstain; a leather cartridge belt; and an adult-size plaid shirt with a bloodstain consistent with defendant's blood type. Throughout the bedroom were blood smears and water-diluted blood; curtains in the linen closet had blood that was consistent with James's blood type.
Dr. Irving Root performed the autopsy on James's body. He concluded that massive blunt-force injuries were the cause of death. The shock of repetitive injuries and the tearing of tissues led to chemical imbalances that resulted in the stoppage of the intestinal tract and swelling of the brain. James's body had hundreds of injuries, virtually all of which could have been inflicted within 24 to 48 hours of death. There were numerous abrasions and bruises on James's face and head. His back had a number of abrasions, including four straight lines on the left side of his neck and shoulders. The backs of his hands were bruised, and there was a band of bruises across his waist. James's hips, thighs, knees, legs, and feet also had a number of bruises and cuts. The penis and the right side of the scrotum were bruised. The mucous membrane of the anus was torn, and there was a tear inside the rectum two to three inches from the opening of the anus. Inside the buttocks, a pocket of tissue was torn where it had been sheared across itself. Dr. Root testified: Injuries of that sort [shearing and tearing injuries producing a pocket of tissue under the skin] are the kinds of things I see in the automobile accidents. Shearing of tissue against tissue, of tearing. It takes a substantial amount of force to cause that kind of injury. In Dr. Root's opinion, many of the bruises could have been caused by a hand hitting James. The shearing of the buttocks, however, could not have been done by hand. Of the physical objects recovered from the scene and shown to Dr. Root at trial, the board was the only object that could have caused the injury to James's buttocks. The tear in the outside of the anus and in the tissue of the buttocks could have been caused by the edge of the board being forced between the thighs and then pushed towards the anus. The amount of force required would have to have been substantial. The edge of the board could also have caused a number of the straight-line injuries on James's back. Repeated blows with the cartridge belt could have caused the bruising over the buttocks and thighs. The tear inside the rectum was consistent with an injury caused by a fingernail. Dr. Root stated that James experienced prolonged pain before his death. The amount of time between the onset of the injuries and the loss of sensation or the ability to feel pain as a result of the physiological effects of the injuries was more than a few minutes, perhaps an hour or more. Although he could not be more specific, Dr. Root explained that the metabolic changes caused by the injuries and the onset of death would have taken hours to develop, and that James's loss of sensation of pain would have occurred 15, 30, or possibly 60 minutes before death. James's four-year-old sister, Wendy, was examined by Dr. Max Lebow on December 23, 1983, the date of James's murder. She showed these injuries: neck, face, and head bruises that were incurred in a period spanning two to three days to twelve hours before the examination. There were also bruises on her groin, thighs, and feet. The bruises on the thighs were less than 24 hours old. Injuries on Wendy's back were consistent with her having been hit with a belt with eyelets, and the injuries to her left thigh could have been caused by a belt. Bruises on her waist could have been caused by a belt being pulled tightly around her waist; and injuries to her thigh, back of the legs, and buttocks could have been caused by a board. In Dr. Lebow's opinion, Wendy's injuries were too extensive to have been accidental. That was also the view of Dr. Herbert Geise, who examined Wendy five days after James's death.
Wendy, James's sister, was five years old when she testified at defendant's trial. She said that on one occasion defendant had kicked one of her teeth out, that she and James had been whipped with a belt the night James died because she had wet the bed, and that defendant did most of the whipping. Defendant had always been mean to her.
The police interviewed defendant three times after the killing of James. Each of the interviews was tape-recorded and played for the jury. On each occasion, defendant was advised of, and waived, his constitutional rights under Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436 [16 L.Ed.2d 694, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 10 A.L.R.3d 974].
On December 23, 1983, at 12:20 p.m., approximately eight hours after the murder of James was discovered, Sergeant Baker and Detective Larry Brown talked to defendant. Defendant made these statements: Defendant admitted having spanked James and Wendy during the day of the murder, but denied having whipped them that night. He had not used alcohol or drugs that night. Around 10:30 p.m., Sandra B. asked defendant to go to the store and buy some diapers. When defendant returned 15 minutes later, the children and Sandra were in the bedroom. Defendant initially stated that he was in the front room playing with the children's Christmas toys when James started to choke and Sandra called him into the bedroom. He later stated, however, that he went into the bedroom to get his battery charger and at that time held James's legs down on the bed while Sandra whipped James with a belt. During the whipping, James defecated and defendant sent him to the bathroom to complete his bowel movement. Thereafter, Sandra again whipped James, who again defecated in his pants. When Sandra pulled James's pants down, the feces fell on the floor. Defendant made James pick up and taste the feces. Defendant left the bedroom. Sandra then called him, saying that James was choking. After attempting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Sandra and defendant put James in the shower and rolled him in a blanket. Defendant denied doing the beating that killed James; he also denied knowing anything about Wendy's injuries, blood on the walls, or the blood- and feces-covered board the police had found.
Five hours after the first interview, Officer Powell and Detective Larry Brown again talked to defendant. Defendant admitted that he had lied in the prior interview about not having hit James the day of the murder. He also admitted hitting Wendy that night. Defendant insisted that Sandra B. had done the beatings, and again denied any knowledge of the board.
On December 26, 1983, Officer Powell and Detective Larry Brown had a third interview with defendant. Defendant accused Sandra B. of administering the fatal beatings. He continued to deny any knowledge of the board. According to defendant, Wendy and James had been sodomized by their 15-year-old cousin, and would use their own feces as a sexual lubricant. On the night of James's murder, defendant made James taste his own feces; this was to toilet train him. Defendant admitted having whipped James and Wendy three times on the morning preceding the murder, for wetting the bed.