Hilyard v. State
| Decision Date | 06 February 2023 |
| Docket Number | S-22-0144 |
| Citation | 523 P.3d 936 |
| Parties | Ryan Lewis HILYARD, Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Representing Appellant: Diane Lozano, State Public Defender; Kirk A. Morgan, Chief Appellate Counsel; Elizabeth B. Lance, Appellate Counsel. Argument by Ms. Lance.
Representing Appellee: Bridget L. Hill, Attorney General; Jenny L. Craig, Deputy Attorney General; Kristen R. Jones, Senior Assistant Attorney General; John J. Woykovsky, Senior Assistant Attorney General. Argument by Mr. Woykovsky.
Before FOX, C.J., KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN, GRAY, and FENN, JJ.
[¶1] Following a jury trial, Ryan Hilyard was convicted of committing aggravated child abuse against his son KH and child abuse against his step-son LT. On appeal, Mr. Hilyard argues the district court abused its discretion by admitting LT's recorded interview with investigators as a prior consistent statement under Wyoming Rule of Evidence (W.R.E.) 801(d)(1)(B). Finding no abuse of discretion, we affirm.
[¶2] We restate the issue:
Did the district court abuse its discretion by admitting LT's out of court statement as a prior consistent statement under W.R.E. 801(d)(1)(B)?
[¶3] Mr. Hilyard and his first wife had two sons—KH and KB—before divorcing. He then met Sarah in 2017. She had one son—LT—from a prior relationship. Mr. Hilyard and Sarah had a son together, married in 2018, and blended their two families, living in Mills, Wyoming.
[¶4] On Sunday, August 2, 2020, Mr. Hilyard, Sarah, and the children went to a family reunion at Mr. Hilyard's brother's home in Riverton, Wyoming. At the reunion, KH, who was 12 years old at the time, upset Sarah and Mr. Hilyard by eating cake. Accounts vary as to what happened when the family arrived home. By one account, KH fell on the stairs and hit his head but seemed fine until his health deteriorated several days later. By another account, both parents made KH run stairs as punishment and physically beat him in the process, resulting in a head injury
; they then delayed seeking medical treatment.
[¶5] On August 6, Sarah brought KH to the Wyoming Medical Center emergency room. He was unresponsive and had numerous injuries, the most serious of which was a traumatic brain injury
(swelling of the brain and bleeding around the brain). He also had approximately 40 bruises all over his body that were in different stages of healing. Medical staff contacted police because they suspected child abuse. KH had to be transported to Colorado for treatment due to the severity of his injuries. He suffered permanent brain damage.
[¶6] In separate interviews, Sarah, Mr. Hilyard, LT, and KB all claimed KH fell down the stairs. The children were taken into protective custody. LT and KB were placed in the same foster home.
[¶7] In late August, LT told his foster mother that an accident did not cause KH's injuries. Department of Family Services investigator Tazia Morgart and a detective conducted a recorded interview with LT later that month.
[¶8] In the recorded interview, LT stated Mr. Hilyard told him and KB to lie to the cops about what happened to KH because Mr. Hilyard did not want to go to jail. LT and KB lied because they did not want Mr. Hilyard to hurt them. Mr. Hilyard told them people were going to come over to ask questions and they were supposed to say KH just fell down the stairs and so that is what they said. LT was afraid Mr. Hilyard would hurt him if he did not lie because Mr. Hilyard picked the children up by their throats a lot and sometimes hit them with a leather belt.
[¶9] According to LT, KH got in trouble for stealing cake at a family picnic. Sarah and Mr. Hilyard yelled at KH on the drive home and then made KH exercise as punishment when they got home.
[¶10] LT recounted that Mr. Hilyard made KH run up and down the stairs and then punched him and dragged him up and down the stairs until KH fell down and hit his head. At one point, it looked like KH "had no bones[.]" LT knew what happened because he was standing there. When questioned about Sarah's location when this occurred, LT explained that she was helping Mr. Hilyard by pushing and dragging KH up and down the stairs. LT stated "they told [LT]" that if KH stopped running LT needed to push KH down the stairs. LT was afraid of what would happen if he did not push KH down the stairs, so he pushed KH down the stairs one time. When KH fell down, Mr. Hilyard and Sarah yelled, punched, and kicked KH. They told KH "stop faking it, get up." Mr. Hilyard and Sarah then took KH to his room and LT never saw KH after that.
[¶11] In November, the State charged Mr. Hilyard with aggravated child abuse under Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 6-1-201 and 6-2-503(b)(i), (c), alleging, in part, he did "intentionally or recklessly inflict physical injury ... upon the victim, to wit: physically beat, kicked and [dragged] [KH], or did aid and abet in the same offense[.]" It also charged him with child abuse under §§ 6-1-201 and 6-2-503(b)(ii), alleging he did "intentionally or recklessly inflict upon a child, under the age of eighteen (18) mental injury to wit: made [LT] beat his brother [KH] or did aid and abet in the same offense[.]"1 Mr. Hilyard pleaded not guilty to the charges.
[¶12] At trial in November 2021, LT, who was 11 at the time, testified about the circumstances surrounding KH's abuse. He stated that LT and his family went to a family reunion in Riverton and KH took food out of the trash and ate it. On the drive home, Mr. Hilyard and Sarah yelled at KH for doing so. When they got home, LT and the other children went outside to play while KH did pushups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks inside the home as punishment. Later, LT went inside to get a drink and then a few minutes later KH "was told to go run stairs." LT watched from the living room as KH ran stairs. Sarah was at the top of the stairs and Mr. Hilyard was at the bottom of the stairs. If KH stopped at the top of the stairs, Sarah "would shove him down the stairs" and if KH stopped at the bottom of the stairs, Mr. Hilyard "would, like, tell him to keep going or force him to keep going." LT saw his "mom pushing and dragging [KH] down the stairs" and "towards the end, [Mr. Hilyard] and [Sarah] were kicking and punching him."
[¶13] When asked what LT was doing when this occurred, the following colloquy ensued:
LT stated he pushed KH "[b]ecause I was scared that if I didn't do it, then I was going to get beat myself."
[¶14] By LT's account, the punishment ended when KH passed out at the bottom of the stairs. When he passed out, Sarah and Mr. Hilyard both told him to "wake up and stop faking it." "[T]hey were kicking and punching him, and then, when they saw he wasn't faking it, then they stopped there." "They dragged him towards his room and they splashed him with water." When KH did not wake up, they told the children to go to the living room. KH remained in the basement after that. KH did not wake up until the next morning and the children had not seen him since.
[¶15] The prior consistent statement at issue on appeal was admitted through the State's last witness, Ms. Morgart, who testified she was assigned to investigate the abuse allegations involving KH in August 2020. She further testified that she and a detective conducted a recorded interview with LT in his foster home later that month. The State then moved to admit the first 14 minutes of LT's interview with Ms. Morgart and the detective. Defense counsel objected.
[¶16] The jury found Mr. Hilyard guilty of aggravated child abuse of KH and child abuse of LT. He was convicted of those offenses and sentenced to consecutive prison terms of 18 to 20 years for aggravated child abuse and 5 to 10 years for child abuse. This timely appeal followed.
[¶17] Because Mr. Hilyard objected, we review the district court's admission of LT's prior statement for an abuse of discretion. Blair v. State , 2022 WY 121, ¶ 17, 517 P.3d 597, 601 (Wyo. 2022) (citing Thompson v. State , 2021 WY 84, ¶ 15, 491 P.3d 1033, 1039 (Wyo. 2021) ). "The district court abused its discretion if ‘it could not have reasonably concluded as it did.’ " Id. (citing Thompson , ¶ 15, 491 P.3d at 1039 ). If the district court abused its discretion by admitting LT's prior statement, we must determine whether this ruling prejudiced Mr. Hilyard. Id. (citing Thompson , ¶ 15, 491 P.3d at 1039 ). Mr. Hilyard has the burden to establish abuse of discretion and prejudice. Id. (citing Kincaid v. State , 2022 WY 4, ¶¶ 31, 32, 501 P.3d 1257, 1263 (Wyo. 2022) ).
[¶18] "Hearsay" is defined as "a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted." W.R.E. 801(c). "Hearsay statements are generally inadmissible because they are made outside of court and, therefore, presumed to be unreliable." Blair , ¶ 18, 517 P.3d at 601 (quoting Bruce v. State , 2015 WY 46, ¶ 40, 346 P.3d 909, 923 (Wyo. 2015) ); W.R.E. 802. LT's prior recorded interview statement constituted inadmissible hearsay unless it qualified as a prior consistent statement under W.R.E. 801(d)(1)(B). The rule provides:
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