Hudson v. State, 98-2055

• Decision Date: 08 October 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-2055,98-2055
• Citation: 745 So.2d 1014
• Parties: (Fla.App. 5 Dist. 1999) TANYA RENEE HUDSON, APPELLANT, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 1014

745 So.2d 1014 (Fla.App. 5 Dist. 1999)

TANYA RENEE HUDSON, APPELLANT, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE.

No. 98-2055.

DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA,

FIFTH DISTRICT.

October 8, 1999.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 16, 1999.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for St. Johns County, Robert K. Mathis, Judge.

Thomas E. Cushman, St. Augustine and Charlene Miller Carres, Tallahassee, for Appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Alfred Washington, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

Cobb, J.

The appellant, Tanya Renee Hudson, was convicted of manslaughter for the death of her infant child. She raises two issues on appeal. As to the first point, we find there was sufficient evidence to convict her of manslaughter. The second point, which is discussed below, deals with the admission into evidence of the existence of Hudson's two prior abortions.

Hudson had concealed her pregnancy from her family, and gave birth prematurely and unassisted in her bathroom on June 6, 1997. She claimed the baby was stillborn as a result of the umbilical cord being wrapped around its neck. The child's body was placed in pink plastic bags, as was the placenta. The bags were placed in a small insulated cooler and then the cooler was placed on a shelf in the closet of the home.

Hudson later met with her boyfriend, the father of the infant, Todd Davis, and explained to him that she was no longer pregnant. She concocted a story about utilizing a mid-wife who supposedly delivered and disposed of the stillborn baby. Davis was apparently angry about this and called Baptist Hospital in Jacksonville. Ultimately, Davis and Hudson went to the hospital where Hudson gave information and was examined. A nurse at the hospital called the Duval County Sheriff's Office since the whereabouts of the baby could not be ascertained. Officers arrived at the hospital and interviewed Hudson, who essentially gave the same story about the mid-wife. Additionally, Officer Hinson was told by Hudson that she had become pregnant by Davis in 1995 and that baby was aborted. The stated reason for the prior abortion was the ill-feeling between Davis and Hudson's family. Later, Hudson told Officer Hinson that she had the baby by herself in the bathroom and indicated where the dead infant was located.

Ultimately, a grand jury returned an indictment for first degree premeditated murder by asphyxiation. Hudson filed several motions in limine, one of which objected to any reference to or evidence of prior abortions. All motions were denied after a hearing by the lower court. After trial, the jury convicted Hudson of manslaughter. At sentencing, Hudson was given 15 years in prison.

Hudson's motion in limine attempted to prevent the state from introducing a "highly inflammatory issue of abortion" at trial. The court allowed the evidence on the basis that it corroborated the state's contention that Davis was not abusive towards Hudson and that he had been supportive of the 1995 decision to undergo an abortion. The court felt the defense opened the door by suggesting that Hudson had made up the mid-wife story because she was afraid of Davis's reaction to the unassisted birth.

MRS. CHRISTINE [THE PROSECUTOR]: You had testified - - or you had ordered previously on the prior abortion evidence that it would be on a proffer and on a relevancy basis and basically, Judge, its our position in his opening yesterday, or in her opening, the defendant opened the door as to the prior abortion because she stated that, first off, that she made up the story about the mid-wife because she was afraid of Todd Davis and his...