Opinion ID: 3149633
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Brandy Murphy’s testimony

Text: {¶ 308} Murphy testified that she lived near her cousin Dean’s home in Springfield until her parents moved to Florida when she was seven. Afterwards, the two families visited each other on a frequent basis. Murphy, who is two years older than Dean, played with him and his brothers when they were growing up. Murphy moved back to Springfield when she was 15 and lived with the Dean family. {¶ 309} Murphy never saw Dean and his brothers attend school on a regular basis. She also never saw their parents criticize or discipline the boys for not 87 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO attending school. Murphy described the mother’s relationship with her children as “[m]ore of a friendship    like she was their age, just kind of hanging out, just nonchalant.” But Dean’s mother would get angry at her sons, and Murphy saw her throw coffee mugs and a telephone at them. Murphy stated that Dean and his brothers were on “pins and needles” around their father. Dean’s father would start off cursing and then grab his belt when he became aggravated. Murphy saw him hit Dean with a belt a couple of times a week. She also never saw Dean’s father show affection towards any of his children. {¶ 310} Murphy stated that Dean’s parents had a poor relationship. His father would go to work and a boyfriend would come to visit his mother. Dean’s father came home while the boyfriend was present on a couple of occasions. The father would want to fight but the boyfriend never left the couch. According to Murphy, neighbors would call the police and “it always resulted in my uncle being arrested.” Murphy testified that everyone in the house used marijuana, including Dean when he was 13 years old. Dean’s father used alcohol. Dean’s parents never punished the boys for using illegal substances. {¶ 311} According to Murphy, Dean and their friends brought stolen merchandise to their home. Dean’s mother did not seem to care. She was more concerned about the police coming to the house because there were stolen goods. She listened to a police scanner and paid attention to descriptions of suspects to see if they matched those of the three boys. {¶ 312} As a final matter, Murphy stated that she saw Dean’s parents engage in physical fights. Dean observed some of the fights, and his mother got beat up pretty badly during them. Dean’s father would go to jail but later move back into the house.