Kaufman v. State, 1285S516
| Decision Date | 13 August 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 1285S516,1285S516 |
| Citation | 496 N.E.2d 90 |
| Parties | Keith KAUFMAN, Appellant (Defendant Below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff Below). |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Belle T. Choate, Choate, Visher & Haith, Indianapolis, for appellant.
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Jody Cusson-Cobb, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
Appellant Keith Kaufman was convicted after a bench trial of the murder of his seven-month old daughter, Ind.Code Sec. 35-42-1-1 (Burns 1985 Repl.), and the court sentenced him to a 50-year term of imprisonment. In this direct appeal, he raises the following issues:
1. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove Kaufman knowingly killed his daughter, and
2. Whether the sentence imposed was adequately supported by aggravating circumstances.
We affirm.
The evidence most favorable to the judgment of conviction is as follows. On March 20, 1985, appellant's daughter, Tiffany, was in his care because his wife was working. Kaufman was often home alone with the baby. His wife, Donna, testified that when she left for work that morning, Tiffany had no visible injuries.
Early in the afternoon, neighbors found appellant banging on their doors with Tiffany in his arms. He was screaming for help, yelling that Tiffany was not breathing. Efforts to resuscitate the bruised baby failed, and she was pronounced dead at the hospital.
An autopsy revealed that Tiffany died from multiple blunt force injuries; the doctor's conclusion was that the manner of death was homicide. Tiffany had contusions and lacerations to her heart and head. She had multiple fractures of the spine and wrist, and various external injuries consistent with strangulation or compression. Some of the injuries were days old. Kaufman had told some of the neighbors at the scene that he had discovered Tiffany on the floor with a kitten on her face. When he picked her up, he bumped her head on the edge of the kitchen bar. The doctor who performed the autopsy eliminated this story as a plausible explanation for Tiffany's injuries.
Kaufman told his wife that Tiffany's death was his fault. After he was arrested he told his father-in-law that he was ready to tell him what happened. He said he had always been "too rough" with Tiffany. The day she died, he said, Tiffany had been crying, so he picked her up and squeezed and shook her until she was quiet. Then he "tried to stuff her into the chair." Afterward, she was not breathing.
Kaufman argues the evidence was insufficient to prove he knowingly killed Tiffany. It was not necessary for the State to prove that Kaufman actively wished for or desired the death of his daughter. A knowing murder was proven from the evidence that appellant intentionally squeezed, shook, and battered Tiffany and that he did so with an awareness of the probable consequences of his acts. Horne v. State (1983), Ind., 445 N.E.2d 976. It was well within the province of the fact-finder to convict Kaufman of murder. Id.
Kaufman claims the court...
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Powers v. State
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Martin v. State
...appellant intentionally battered the victim and that he did so with awareness of the probable consequences of his acts. Kaufman v. State (1986), Ind., 496 N.E.2d 90. Such a finding by the jury was proper under the facts in this case. We find the evidence is sufficient to sustain his convict......