Delacruz v. State

• Decision Date: 13 March 2006
• Docket Number: No. S05A2071.,No. S05A2073.,S05A2071.,S05A2073.
• Citation: 627 S.E.2d 579
• Parties: DELACRUZ v. The STATE (two cases).
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

627 S.E.2d 579

DELACRUZ v. The STATE (two cases).

No. S05A2071.

No. S05A2073.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

March 13, 2006.

Reconsideration Denied April 13, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Justin James Wyatt, Marietta, Ruth Pergericht Marks, Atlanta, for Appellant.

Patrick H. Head, Dist. Atty., Thurbert E. Baker, Atty. Gen., Amy Hembree McChesney, Asst. Dist. Atty., Eleanor Ann Dixon, Asst. Dist. Atty., Robin Joy Leigh, Asst. Atty. Gen., for Appellee.

THOMPSON, Justice.

Julio and Savina Delacruz, husband and wife, were jointly tried and convicted of felony murder and cruelty to children in the first degree for their involvement in the abuse and death of their three-year-old daughter, Alejandra Delacruz.¹ Finding that Miranda warnings were properly administered, that the jury instructions did not amount to reversible error, and that the evidence was constitutionally sufficient against both defendants, we affirm their convictions in this consolidated opinion.²

Viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that on the morning of May 17, 2003, Julio took Alejandra to Kennestone Hospital. The child presented in an unresponsive state, with a severe head injury and multiple wounds to her body. A CT scan demonstrated a subdural hematoma to the brain, which, according to the treating physician, usually results from blunt force trauma. The physician also noted diffuse bruising to the child's face, trunk and extremities, and burn-type injuries to the hands, legs and thigh, compatible with child abuse. Some of the injuries were more superficial and appeared to have been in various stages of healing. A pediatrician qualified as an expert in child abuse described the child's injuries as "breathtaking" and so pervasive that she could not "delineate one from another." That expert also testified that the child exhibited bilateral retinal hemorrhages which were consistent with rotational shaking, "the hallmark of child abuse." The expert concluded that Alejandra's injuries were consistent with shaking, blunt force trauma, and "Battered Child Syndrome."

The child was transported to Scottish Rite Hospital's intensive care unit, where she died several days later. The autopsy revealed multiple areas of hemorrhage to the brain, each representing a separate blow to the head. The medical examiner opined that the child had been subjected to Shaking Impact Syndrome — "shaken and then slapped down hard on some object," "multiple times," "terminating in an event with blunt head trauma," which caused her death. He concluded that the injuries were intentionally inflicted and could not have been accidental.

Meanwhile, police were dispatched to the Delacruz residence where they found Savina with the couple's two younger children. After obtaining a consent to search the apartment, the police collected a hammer, a broken broom handle, a VCR, and three belts, one of which was stained with Alejandra's blood. A template of the markings on the victim's back matched the pattern on that belt.

Savina and Julio were taken into custody and questioned separately. Savina spoke only Spanish, and Julio spoke little English. A Smyrna city marshal who was fluent in Spanish and English acted as an interpreter; he read the Miranda warnings to each defendant in Spanish and carefully explained their meaning. Both defendants executed written waivers of Miranda rights in Spanish.

Savina was questioned by the investigating officer through the interpreter. She was shown photographs of Alejandra's body and was asked who inflicted each injury. She initially stated that the burns to the child's hands and feet were the result of a "chemical reaction." Later, she told the interpreter outside the presence of the officer, that "I'm not going to lie anymore." She then admitted that she burned the child's fingers by placing them on an electric stove as punishment because the child had urinated on the carpet. Savina claimed that the injury to the head resulted from the child playing with a broken broom. She also told the officers that the child had suffered from seizures earlier in the week of May 16, 2003; apparently, no medical treatment was sought at that time. Savina admitted that she had no maternal feelings for the child.

Julio was questioned in the same manner. He stated that he left his apartment at 7:00 p.m. on the evening of May 16, 2003 to go to the store. When he returned at 10:00 p.m., the child was vomiting and having seizures. He also disclosed that the child previously had seizures from which she recovered consciousness; this time, however, she did not. Nonetheless, he left the child alone and went to bed. At about 4:00 a.m., he was awakened by the sounds of the child in distress and he observed her in an unconscious state. He waited until 8:00 a.m. the next morning, however, to take her to the hospital. When shown the photographs of the child's injuries, he admitted that he had inflicted the injuries to the child's legs over a period of several weeks by punishing her with his belt.

Case No. S05A2071

1. The evidence was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find Savina Delacruz guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of felony murder and cruelty to children. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

2. Savina submits that the trial court erred in denying a motion to suppress her custodial statement because (1) the State failed to use a certified interpreter; and (2) the Spanish version of the Miranda warnings given to her was incomplete.

Whether an accused understood the Miranda warnings depends on the totality of the circumstances, not solely the skill of the interpreter. Nguyen v. State, 273 Ga. 389(2)(b), 543 S.E.2d 5 (2001). There is no requirement that Miranda warnings be given by a certified translator. In Nguyen, supra, this Court upheld the validity of Miranda warnings administered in Vietnamese by the defendant's son, who was not a certified interpreter. So long as the accused understands the explanation of rights, an imperfect translation does not rule out a valid waiver. Tieu v. State, 257 Ga. 281(2), 358 S.E.2d 247 (1987). Here, the record shows that the city marshal who acted as a translator was called upon regularly to serve as a translator by various law enforcement agencies. Savina points to no error in the translation; therefore, she has not demonstrated prejudice. See Choi v. State, 269 Ga. 376(3), 497 S.E.2d 563 (1998).

Nor do we find any infirmity in the content of the Miranda warnings given in Spanish. It was established at a Jackson v. Denno hearing that both defendants had the equivalent of a ninth grade education in Mexico and that they could read and write Spanish. "The simple fact that there may have been some inconsistency in the exact form of the various warnings does not establish that the statement was involuntary. See Duckworth v. Eagan, 492 U.S. 195, 109 S.Ct. 2875, 106 L.Ed.2d 166 (1989)." Ramirez v. State, 279 Ga. 569, 576(8), 619 S.E.2d 668 (2005). See also Osborne v. State, 263 Ga. 214(4), 430 S.E.2d 576 (1993). The Spanish translation of the Miranda form given to defendants clearly expressed the required concepts; any deviation was at most minor and inconsequential. Ramirez, supra.

Considering the totality of the circumstances, the trial court was authorized to conclude that defendants knowingly and voluntarily waived their constitutional right to remain silent and their right to counsel.

Case No. S05A2073

3. Julio asserts that the evidence was insufficient to establish that he committed, or was a party to the crime of felony murder and the predicate offense of cruelty to children.

"Any person commits the offense of cruelty to children in the first degree when such person maliciously causes a child under the age of 18 cruel or excessive physical or mental pain." OCGA § 16-5-70(b).

For purposes of this Code section, malice in the legal sense, imports the absence of all elements of justification or excuse and the presence of an actual intent to cause the particular harm produced, or the wanton and wilful doing of an act with an awareness of a plain and strong likelihood that such harm may result. Intention may be manifest by the circumstances connected with the perpetration of the offense. Intent is a question of fact to be determined upon consideration of words, conduct demeanor, motive, and all other circumstances connected with the act for which the accused is prosecuted.

(Punctuation and citations omitted.) Brewton v. State, 266 Ga. 160, 161(2), 465 S.E.2d 668 (1996).

The relevant count of the indictment charged Julio with felony murder while in the commission of the felony of cruelty to children in the first degree, "by using blunt force, causing trauma to [Alejandra's] head and by shaking her."

The State's theory of the case was that even if Julio had been away from the apartment for several hours on the evening of May 16th, he was guilty as a party to the crime of felony murder. A person concerned in the commission of a crime, is a party thereto, and may be charged and convicted of the crime, if that person: "(1) Directly commits the crime . . . (3) Intentionally aids or abets in the commission of the crime; or (4) Intentionally advises, encourages, hires, counsels, or procures another to commit the crime." OCGA § 16-2-20. Thus, the State was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Julio "intentionally aided, abetted, encouraged, or otherwise assisted in the malicious acts that caused [Alejandra's] head injury." Glenn v. State, 278 Ga. 291, 294, n. 4, 602 S.E.2d 577 (2004). With regard to the crime of cruelty to children, "criminal intent may be inferred from conduct before, during and after the commission of the crime." Johnson v. State, 269 Ga. 632, 634, 501 S.E.2d 815 (1998).

The uncontroverted evidence established that Julio regularly beat the child with his belt; that punishment with the belt caused bloody injuries to...