Melancon v. State
| Docket Number | A23A0517 |
| Decision Date | 23 June 2023 |
| Parties | MELANCON v. THE STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
After a jury trial, Sidrick Raymone Melancon, Sr. was convicted of second-degree murder, second-degree child cruelty, and influencing witnesses in connection with the death of his infant daughter, Laura Higgenbotham, at the hand of the girl's mother, Sadai Higgenbotham. On appeal, he argues there was insufficient evidence to convict him of second-degree murder and second-degree child cruelty in the manner charged in the indictment; but the evidence authorized the jury to find him guilty of those crimes as charged. Melancon argues that there was a fatal variance because the state argued in closing that he committed second-degree murder and second-degree child cruelty in a way not charged in the indictment; but the evidence of those crimes was sufficient and Melancon waived any challenge he might have to the state's closing argument by failing to object to it at trial. Finally, Melancon argues that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because his trial counsel did not properly object to a detective's testimony about battered person syndrome; but he has not shown that his trial counsel's performance was deficient. So we affirm.
In two related enumerations of error, Melancon argues that the evidence did not authorize the jury to find that he committed the offenses of second-degree murder and second-degree child cruelty. He specifically challenges the evidence of causation, which is an element of both offenses.
"A person commits the offense of murder in the second degree when, in the commission of cruelty to children in the second degree, he or she causes the death of another human being irrespective of malice." OCGA § 16-5-1 (d). "[A] person commits the offense of cruelty to children in the second degree when such person with criminal negligence causes a child under the age of 18 cruel or excessive physical or mental pain." OCGA § 16-5-70 (c). "Criminal negligence is an act or failure to act which demonstrates a willful, wanton, or reckless disregard for the safety of others who might reasonably be expected to be injured thereby." OCGA § 16-2-1 (b).
With these principles in mind, we turn to the trial evidence, considering "whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (III) (B) (99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560) (1979) (emphasis omitted). "This [c]ourt does not reweigh evidence or resolve conflicts in testimony; instead, evidence is reviewed in a light most favorable to the verdict, with deference to the jury's assessment of the weight and credibility of the evidence." Hughs v. State, 312 Ga. 606, 607 (1) (a) (864 S.E.2d 59) (2021) (citation and punctuation omitted).
So viewed, the evidence showed that nine-month old Laura died on August 7, 2017 of massive head trauma. At that time, Laura was living in a household with her father, the defendant Sidrick Melancon; her mother, co-indictee Sadai Higgenbotham;[1] Melancon's girlfriend, Gerallyn Long; and Melancon's and Long's three young children. Within this household, Melancon exerted significant control over the activities and movements of Long and Higgenbotham. For example, he forbade the two women from interacting with each other within their shared apartment. He did not allow them to move around the apartment or leave their bedrooms without his permission, even to use the bathroom. Melancon also physically abused both women.
Higgenbotham and Laura had lived in this household off and on since March 2017. When Higgenbotham first joined the household, her mother warned Melancon not to leave Laura alone with her. Melancon and Long both believed Higgenbotham was a poor mother and was abusing Laura. Long testified at trial about numerous occasions of abuse: at least once a week she heard thumps followed by crying emanating from the room Higgenbotham and Laura shared and on at least one occasion she heard Higgenbotham slap Laura; Higgenbotham would force feed Laura until she gagged and muffle Laura's mouth with her hand when the baby cried; and Higgenbotham once went to work leaving Laura alone in a hot room. Melancon knew about some of these incidents. He admitted at trial that he knew Higgenbotham would do things like wrench Laura's mouth open to feed her, keep Laura in temperatures that were too hot, get angry and frustrated at Laura, and hold her hand over Laura's mouth to keep her from crying.
At Melancon's instruction, Long often provided care for the baby. On June 13, 2017, less than two months before Laura's death, Long saw a bruise and fingernail mark on her face that Long believed were from abuse. Long showed Melancon a photograph of those injuries; he agreed that the injuries were not accidental and accused Higgenbotham of abusing Laura. Long asked Melancon for permission to report the abuse to the Department of Family and Children Services ("DFCS"). Melancon initially agreed, and Long contacted DFCS. At that time, however, Long did not provide DFCS with her name or with accurate information from which DFCS could locate Higgenbotham.
The next day Melancon changed his mind and instructed Long not to cooperate with DFCS. Long followed Melancon's instructions and, in her words, "ghost[ed]" DFCS. She testified that she would have cooperated with DFCS had Melancon not instructed her against doing so.
So although DFCS attempted to investigate Long's initial report, its investigator was unable to locate Higgenbotham or Laura. The investigator went to the address that Long had given for Higgenbotham but was not able to find anyone there. Based on information in Long's report that Higgenbotham and Laura were at an extended-stay motel, he also went to several such motels in the area to try to find them, again with no success. He attempted to reach Higgenbotham at a phone number listed in Long's report, but that number was no longer in service. He also tried, without success, to find Higgenbotham on social media.
The investigator tried several times to speak to Long on the phone, at the number she had provided in her report, but at first she did not answer his calls and voice mail was not available. He sent Long a text message asking her to contact him as soon as possible so that he could "help with the family," but Long did not respond. Finally, the investigator was able to reach Long on the phone. She refused to provide her name to him. The investigator asked Long if she knew where Higgenbotham and Laura were living and she said she did not. Long then hung up on the investigator. He immediately called her again but she did not answer. He called another time within the minute, and when Long answered the investigator told her that it was "imperative that she provide [him] with any information that she had that would help [him] locate the family." Long responded: She then hung up on the investigator.
Notwithstanding Long's lack of cooperation, the investigator continued his efforts, described above, to search for Higgenbotham and Laura. He also tried to contact Long by phone another time, but she did not answer.
DFCS did not "cancel" the report, as Long had requested. But because DFCS was unable to locate Higgenbotham or Laura despite the investigator's efforts, it ultimately closed the case.
Higgenbotham continued to abuse Laura. On August 3, 2017, four days before Laura's death, Long saw several new injuries on the baby that appeared to be from abuse.
The next day, August 4, 2017, Long cared for Laura while Higgenbotham worked an evening shift. When Melancon brought Laura to Long that evening, the baby appeared healthy. Shortly after midnight on August 5, Higgenbotham returned home from work and Melancon retrieved Laura from Long's bedroom and took her to Higgenbotham. Later that morning, Melancon went to work. Higgenbotham contacted Melancon around 12:45 pm and told him that she could not wake up Laura. She contacted Melancon again that afternoon, told him that the baby had a fever, and asked permission to stay home from work. Melancon told Higgenbotham to go to work and that he would take Laura to urgent care later if necessary.
Higgenbotham went to work, leaving Laura alone in a car seat in her bedroom. Melancon returned from work at around 4:00 pm, picked up Laura in her car seat, took her to Long's bedroom, told Long to look after her, and then left the apartment.
Long immediately realized that something was seriously wrong with Laura. The baby, who was strapped tightly into the car seat, was unconscious and appeared lifeless. She had a very fast heartbeat and her breathing was extremely labored. One of her eyes was shut tight with a constricted pupil and the other was wide open with a dilated pupil. Her mouth was full of blood. Long attempted CPR on Laura, with no response.
Long contacted Melancon and told him she was going to call an ambulance. Melancon instructed Long not to do so, telling her that he would return to the apartment instead because he was still in the neighborhood. When he arrived at the apartment, Laura was lying on the floor, purple and immobile.
Melancon drove Long and Laura to a nearby urgent care clinic, arriving there sometime after 5:00 pm. He entered the clinic, dropped the car seat containing Laura on the floor, and demanded help. At that point Laura was not breathing, her skin was gray, and she was cold and nonresponsive. Her poor condition...
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