People v. Love

• Citation: 71 Ill.2d 74,373 N.E.2d 1312,15 Ill. Dec. 628
• Decision Date: 20 January 1978
• Docket Number: No. 49364,49364
• Parties: , 15 Ill.Dec. 628 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Tyrone LOVE, Appellee.
• Court: Supreme Court of Illinois

Page 1312

373 N.E.2d 1312

71 Ill.2d 74, 15 Ill.Dec. 628

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Tyrone LOVE, Appellee.

No. 49364.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Jan. 20, 1978.

Rehearing Denied March 30, 1978.

William J. Scott, Atty. Gen., Springfield, and Bernard Carey, State's Atty., Chicago (Donald B. Mackay, Raymond J. McKoski, and Jayne A. Carr, Asst. Attys. Gen., and Lee T. Hettinger, Michael E. Shabat, and Laurence J. Bolon, Asst. State's Attys., Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

James J. Doherty, Public Defender, Chicago (Andrew J. Kleczek, Asst. Public Defender, Chicago, and Keith Spielfogel, law student, of counsel), for appellee.

MORAN, Justice.

Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County, defendant, Tyrone Love, was convicted of the voluntary manslaughter of his wife, Sharon. On appeal, the appellate court reversed the conviction on grounds that the State failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's conduct caused the injury which contributed to his wife's ultimate death. (45 Ill.App.3d 259, 3 Ill.Dec. 874, 359 N.E.2d 733.) This court granted the State leave to appeal.

Gloria Fly, an eyewitness to the fight, testified on behalf of the State. She stated that during the late afternoon of December 11, 1972, she visited defendant's wife at the Love apartment. While Ms. Fly was with Sharon in the kitchen, Sharon asked the defendant for a "spoon of drugs." Defendant refused and stated that he did not know where drugs could be obtained. At that, Sharon began to berate defendant and to call him names. She threw a glass cup at the defendant; the cup missed him, shattered against the door and cut the defendant. He cursed his wife and slapped her face. A fight ensued. Defendant hit Sharon on the shoulder with his fist, causing her to fall against the dining room doors and onto the floor. He then began to kick her. The witness indicated that the defendant drew his foot back slightly and administered kicks to his wife's right side in the area of the abdomen approximately two inches above the hip, and to her vaginal area. The witness estimated the defendant kicked his wife for a period of 10 to 15 minutes, during which time his wife cursed him and called out for help. At one point, she tried, unsuccessfully, to crawl away. She also attempted to hit the defendant with a record rack, but defendant took it away from her and hit her with it, cutting her on the side of the head. He grabbed her by the arm and hair and dragged her into the living room. At that point, the witness gathered up Sharon's two-year-old son and took the child across the courtyard to a relative's home. Defendant departed from the apartment, leaving his wife on the living room floor.

Approximately 30 to 60 minutes later, Ms. Fly returned to the Love apartment, where she found Sharon sitting in the kitchen, crying and holding her stomach. Sharon began to vomit a thick substance. About an hour later, Ms. Fly, with the assistance of others, took Sharon to Billings Hospital. The attending physician attempted to persuade Sharon to stay at the hospital but she refused. Ms. Fly testified that, upon their return to the apartment, Sharon continued to vomit and cough for approximately 21/2 hours before being taken by ambulance to Osteopathic Hospital. As doctors there examined Sharon, she evidenced pain when pressure was applied to her abdomen. She regurgitated pills given her. Sometime subsequent to 3 a. m., Ms. Fly returned with Sharon to the Love apartment, and stayed with her through the early morning hours.

Sharon's mother, Leslie Edinburg, testified that she visited her daughter on the morning of December 12 and observed her daughter with a gash on the head, bent over, and holding her left side. Later that day, Ms. Edinburg returned and took Sharon to Michael Reese Hospital. While there, Sharon began vomiting a greenish fluid and was doubled up with pain. Doctors operated immediately. Ms. Edinburg stated that, prior to December 11, her daughter was in fine health.

Dr. Harry Richter, a surgeon, testified that he supervised the care of Sharon at the hospital and was present at her operation on December 12. Prior to this operation, his examination of Sharon revealed that she had suffered an injury, suggesting progressive internal bleeding in her abdomen. Surgery revealed the source of the bleeding to be a lacerated spleen which was surgically removed. Dr. Richter observed the spleen upon its removal and described it as looking like "an apple that's been cracked open." Dr. Richter did not recall any other signs of internal trauma. He stated that the condition of the spleen was the result of a traumatic injury, but could not identify the character of the injury other than to describe it as being like a "military injury," i. e., a major abdominal injury caused by an external force and one which was many hours old at the time it was first observed. Sharon remained hospitalized until her death on December 29, 1972. During this period, she had two other operations a tracheotomy on December 17, to ease her breathing, and an exploratory surgery on December 29. Dr. Richter stated that the cause of Sharon's death was a combination of pneumonia, edema, lung abscesses, and post-operative complications. He considered pneumonia to be a common result following a splenectomy. He stated that the onset of the factors causing Sharon's death occurred prior to the first operation, but that, in his opinion, the original trauma had triggered the sequence of events which led to Sharon's death.

On cross-examination, Dr. Richter described the location of the spleen as being in the upper left quadrant of the abdominal cavity and noted that the spleen can be torn by broken ribs. Defense counsel inquired whether Sharon had any broken ribs, to which Dr. Richter responded that he did not personally know but understood that the X ray report indicated that there were some broken ribs. On redirect examination by the State, Dr. Richter again indicated that he had no personal knowledge of broken ribs. When further questioned, he stated that he was told the X rays indicated three broken ribs. Defense counsel objected on grounds that the doctor's remarks were hearsay. The court overruled counsel's objection and held that the doctor could state what the X rays showed if, in fact, he relied on them in making his diagnosis. The X rays were not introduced into evidence, and no testimony was elicited by the State to indicate whether the doctor relied on that information in making his diagnosis.

Dr. Alexander O. Custodio, a pathologist employed by the coroner of Cook County, testified that he had performed an autopsy upon the decedent on December 30, 1972. In the course of his internal examination, he found extensive bilateral pneumonia and mild peritonitis. Aside from the surgical removal of the spleen, Dr. Custodio did not notice any other signs of trauma. Pathologically, Dr. Custodio stated, surgery and pneumonia are separate entities, but, clinically speaking, they can be related in that surgery predisposes the patient to pneumonia. Dr. Custodio could not with any degree of certainty pinpoint when the decedent contracted pneumonia other than to state that she had had it a few days before her death. Dr. Custodio agreed that the decedent's death was caused by extensive bilateral pneumonia and mild peritonitis due to the exploratory laparotomy and splenectomy.

At trial, defendant testified that he and his brother, Ronald, left the Love apartment at 4:30 p. m. on December 11 to go to the movies. They returned to the apartment between 10 and 10:30 p. m., at which time Sharon requested that defendant obtain drugs for her. When he refused, Sharon threw an object at him. Defendant stated that he slapped her twice and left the apartment to spend the night at Ronald's. He denied that he kicked her. Defendant's brother testified, corroborating defendant's testimony as to the events of December 11. He, too, denied defendant kicked Sharon.

In reversing defendant's conviction, the appellate court held that inasmuch as there was no evidence to indicate that decedent was kicked or externally injured in the area of the spleen, the trier of fact was, as a matter of law, incapable of determining, without the assistance of medical testimony, whether the defendant's conduct caused the spleen to rupture.

The State contends that the appellate court erred in reversing defendant's conviction; that no additional medical testimony was required inasmuch as the evidence introduced at trial was more than sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant's conduct caused the decedent's spleen to rupture. The State concludes that the appellate court substituted its judgment for that of the trier of fact.

By cross-argument, the defendant contends that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the causal relationship between the defendant's conduct and the pneumonia which ultimately led to Sharon's death. Defendant also asserts that the trial court erred in considering Dr. Richter's testimony concerning broken ribs. Due to the appellate court's view of the case, it did not reach the defendant's latter contention.

We find that the appellate court erred in reversing the defendant's conviction. The evidence at trial clearly...