Pugh v. State
| Citation | 250 Ga. 668,300 S.E.2d 504 |
| Decision Date | 09 March 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 39533,39533 |
| Parties | John Ricky PUGH v. The STATE. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Georgia |
R. Joneal Lee, Warner Robins, for John Ricky Pugh.
G. Theron Finlayson, Dist. Atty., Perry, Edward D. Lukemire, Asst. Dist. Atty., Michael J. Bowers, Atty. Gen., for the State.
The defendant was convicted of cruelty to children and the felony murder of two-year-old Dana Nichole Mobley. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The evidence at trial showed that the defendant had been living with the victim's mother, Debra Mobley, for over a year. 1 At the time of the victim's death the defendant was unemployed; he frequently supervised the victim while her mother worked as a waitress at a local restaurant.
At approximately 3:45 p.m. on the day of the victim's death, the defendant drove Debra Mobley to work. Mobley's sister observed the victim leave with the couple at this time and return with the defendant shortly after 4:00 p.m. She testified that the victim was "acting fine" and walked without difficulty during this period of time. Two other witnesses testified at trial that they visited the defendant at 7:00 p.m. that evening. 2 They observed the victim in bed, propped between two pillows. These witnesses testified that the child's eyes were open in a "blank stare," and that she would not respond when spoken to; the covers were pulled up about her neck and vomit had puddled around both sides of her face. Acting on a request made by one of the visitors, the defendant wiped the vomit from the victim's face. The defendant explained to them that the child was still recovering from an ear operation and that the Tylenol he had given her earlier in the day had probably made her sick.
At 10:00 p.m. the defendant picked Mobley up at work. He testified at trial that he carried the victim to and from the car during this trip as the child was too sick to walk. Once at home the child refused to eat and, according to Mobley's testimony, appeared "sleepy and weak." When Mobley prepared the victim for bed she noticed bruises on the child's lower back and abdomen. The defendant explained to Mobley that the victim had slipped and stumbled against a footstool following her bath. At approximately 11:30 p.m. Mobley dispatched the defendant on an errand which took 15-20 minutes. When Mobley again checked on the victim at 1:00 a.m., the child was "stiff and wouldn't move." Having no telephone Mobley drove to a nearby store to find help. Paramedics were unable to revive the child.
Medical testimony indicated that the victim's death was the result of internal bleeding caused by a "great force exerted against the abdominal wall, pushing it backwards against the spine." The medical examiner opined that the victim's injuries were "caused by the force of an individual jumping [or] stepping on the abdomen of the child while the child was lying flat on its back." The medical examiner testified that it would have taken between three and seven hours for the child to succumb to death following the injuries. 3 He also testified that within an hour after the injuries were inflicted the victim would not have been able to walk and, thereafter, would have lapsed into a semi-conscious state where she would have remained until death. Both the medical examiner and the Director of the State Crime Lab expressed the opinion that a stumble or fall could not have resulted in the extensive injuries sustained by the victim. The medical examiner also testified that, at the time of his examination, at least twenty contusions covered the victim's face, chest, abdomen and lower back.
In his own defense the defendant testified that the child had become sick after her mother left for work and had vomited twice. He testified that when he bathed the victim around 9:00 p.m., she slipped and fell against a footstool. He stated that he rarely disciplined the victim and insisted he had not harmed her on the day of her death.
Debra Mobley also testified in behalf of the defendant 4 that she had never observed the defendant abuse the victim. On cross-examination Mobley admitted that enroute to the hospital on the night of the victim's death the defendant had stated to her that the child's death "would bring [them] closer together."
(1) The defendant first argues that the evidence against him is wholly circumstantial and is not sufficient to support the convictions. Viewing, as we must, the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty of the victim's murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). "Where the jury is authorized to find that the evidence, though circumstantial, was sufficient to exclude every reasonable hypothesis save that of guilt, the appellate court will not disturb...
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