Murphy v. State, S11A1358.

• Court: Supreme Court of Georgia
• Citation: 290 Ga. 459,12 FCDR 382,722 S.E.2d 51
• Docket Number: No. S11A1358.,S11A1358.
• Parties: MURPHY v. The STATE.
• Decision Date: 06 February 2012

12 FCDR 382
290 Ga. 459
722 S.E.2d 51

MURPHY
v.
The STATE.

No. S11A1358.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Feb. 6, 2012.

[722 S.E.2d 52]

William J. Mason, Columbus, for appellant.

Julia Fessenden Slater, Dist. Atty., David R. Helmick, Asst. Dist. Atty., Samuel S. Olens, Atty. Gen., Paula K. Smith, Senior Asst. Atty. Gen., Benjamin H. Pierman, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

HUNSTEIN, Chief Justice.

[290 Ga. 459] Appellant Timothy Murphy was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, and cruelty to children arising out the death of 15–month–old Tytanna Jackson on September 19, 1998.¹ Murphy appeals the denial of his

[722 S.E.2d 53]

motion for new trial alleging that the trial court committed plain error by making a number of improper statements during the course of the trial and by failing to sever his trial from that of his co-defendant. Because the trial court's favorable comments regarding one of the State's witnesses could have been construed by the jury as bolstering that witnesses' testimony, we must reverse and remand for a new trial.²

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the jury was entitled to find that in the early morning hours of September 19, 1998, emergency medical personnel were dispatched to the home of Carmen Jackson, where Timothy Murphy lived with Jackson and her two children. When responders arrived, they found Jackson's 15–month–old daughter, Tytanna, not breathing and without a pulse. She was cold to the touch and had fixed and dilated pupils. Though emergency responders and emergency room doctors tried to revive the child, she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Murphy and his co-defendant, Jackson, testified that Murphy had been babysitting Tytanna that day while Jackson was at work. When Jackson arrived home around 8:30 p.m., she checked on Tytanna, who was sleeping and seemed to be fine. Around midnight, Murphy heard the child whining and found her limp and struggling to breathe. The pair testified that Murphy instructed Jackson to call 911 while he administered CPR.

[290 Ga. 460] Expert testimony at trial established that the child had been beaten so severely that her pancreas and duodenum were ruptured and that the contents of her intestines leaked into her abdomen. The child died of toxic shock two to four hours after those injuries were inflicted. Medical examiners also noted multiple contusions on Tytanna's face, scalp, back, abdomen, and leg. She also had two broken ribs and penetration wounds to her vagina and anus.

Both Murphy and Jackson testified that no one else had been alone with the child during the week leading up to her death.

1. We find this evidence sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find Murphy guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charged crimes. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

2. Murphy alleges that two of the trial court's remarks during the testimony of police officer Andrew Tyner improperly conveyed an opinion regarding the credibility of that witness. Specifically, during the officer's testimony regarding the contents of Murphy's statement to police, the trial court stated in response to an objection, “You're asking this Detective, who is a good detective, what is in someone, somebody else's head.” Further, the trial court stated, “[T]his man has worked a lot of cases and he's got a recollection and he's got a written memorandum and hopefully between the two of those and his good efforts we're going to find the truth of the matter.”

OCGA § 17–8–57 provides:

It is error for any judge in any criminal case ... to express or intimate his opinion as to what has or has not been proved or as to the guilt of the accused. Should any judge...