State v. Day
| Decision Date | 12 November 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 108435,108435 |
| Citation | 2020 Ohio 5259 |
| Parties | STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. SIERRA DAY, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
Criminal Appeal from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Appearances:
Michael C. O'Malley, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and Anna M. Faraglia, Aqueelah Jordan, and Sean Kilbane, Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys, for appellee.
Myriam Miranda, for appellant.
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant Sierra Day ("appellant") brings the instant appeal challenging her convictions for aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, endangering children, permitting child abuse, and tampering with evidence. Appellant argues that she was denied her constitutional right to a fair trial and the effective assistance of counsel and that her convictions were against the manifest weight of the evidence. After a thorough review of the record and law, we affirm.
{¶ 2} This is an incredibly tragic case arising from the death of a four-year-old girl, A.D., the daughter of appellant.
{¶ 3} On March 11, 2018, paramedics from the city of Euclid responded to a 911 call regarding an unresponsive child. Paramedics arrived at the residence of appellant in the Cultural Gardens apartment complex. A.D. was found lying underneath an air conditioning unit with a black eye and a laceration above her eye, and bruises, cuts, and burns on her body. The paramedics on the scene testified that she appeared malnourished and emaciated to the point that she was just "skin and bones." The paramedics performed CPR, but it was apparent that A.D. was lifeless, cold, and stiff.
{¶ 4} A.D. was transported to the hospital, where she was subsequently pronounced dead. While still in the lobby of appellant's apartment complex, an officer spoke with appellant and her significant other, Deonte Lewis ("Lewis"). Appellant and Lewis had been dating since July 2017, and there was evidence presented at trial that Lewis resided at the apartment with appellant and A.D. Appellant told the officer that the family had gone out to eat at Red Lobster several days prior and since that time, A.D. had not been acting the same and was weak, sick, and not eating. Appellant stated that she had called a 24-hour nurses' hotline and was advised to continue giving A.D. liquids. Appellant told the officer that that morning, she had placed A.D. on the toilet and walked out of the bathroom. She then heard a loud thud and found A.D. unresponsive on the floor. When asked by the officer to repeat the story, appellant added that A.D. was hot, so she had given her a bath and turned on the air conditioner.
{¶ 5} Detective Jennifer Kroczak was the lead detective on the case. She observed the photos taken of A.D. at the hospital and described her as being "extremely emaciated" and having "obvious signs of trauma and abuse," including a deep dark bruise over A.D.'s eye, which was swollen shut, a laceration above the eye, bruises on her body, and what appeared to be burns on her lower leg. As part of her investigation, Detective Kroczak listened to the 911 call from the day A.D. was found unresponsive. She testified that the callers, appellant and Lewis, did not sound panicked or excited, which was out of the ordinary for such a situation involving a young child.
{¶ 6} Detective Kroczak investigated appellant's account that A.D. had become sick after the family had dined at Red Lobster but was unable to verify the story. She also reviewed appellant's phone records and confirmed that appellant had never called a 24-hour nurses' hotline that she stated she did after A.D. became ill. Detective Kroczak reviewed videos from appellant's phone, one of which was from the day before A.D. died, where appellant and Lewis were engaging in sexual activity.
{¶ 7} A.D. suffered a number of injuries in her short life. At trial, the state presented testimony of workers from A.D.'s day care, Harbor Crest Day Care, who noticed these injuries. When asked by the day care workers about the bruises or marks, A.D. responded, "Mommy hit me" or "Mommy did it[,] but Mommy said I fell."
{¶ 8} The state further presented incident reports from A.D.'s day care documenting when A.D. came to the day care with injuries, such as a bump on her head, a dark red mark on her face, and a dark-colored bruise on her face under her eye. When asked about the mark and bruise on her face, A.D. said each time that her mother had hit her.
{¶ 9} In February 2017, Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services ("CCDCFS") received an emergency referral regarding A.D. A social worker went to the day care, and met with A.D. The social worker noticed bruising under A.D.'s left eye. She later spoke with appellant, who stated that A.D. had run into the side of a table at her grandfather's home. When asked about the other injuries the day care had noticed, appellant stated that A.D.'s grandfather, aunt, cousins, and/or the day care were to blame.
{¶ 10} On March 14, 2017, A.D. arrived at the day care with a cut on her lip, which was noted by one of the workers at the day care. On May 15, 2017, A.D. came with a scrape on her chin. A worker at the day care filled out a report of the injury and asked appellant what had happened. Appellant stated that A.D. fell in the park; however, when A.D. was asked about the injury, she said that her mother had pushed her.
{¶ 11} On May 18, 2017, A.D. told a day care worker that her head hurt. The same day care worker who authored the May 15th report observed blood blisters on A.D.'s scalp and blood on the inside of her ear. A.D. again stated that her mother had hit her. The police were called to the day care, and A.D. was taken to the hospital. The officer who responded to the day care spoke with the owner, who provided him with copies of fourteen incident reports from the day care documenting the injuries observed on A.D. over the past two years. Appellant stated that A.D.'s injuries had occurred when she was with her great-grandfather the day prior but later said that they must have happened at the day care. Appellant subsequently admitted that the man was not really A.D.'s great-grandfather, but instead was a friend's father. She could not provide any contact information for this individual.
{¶ 12} The officer went to the hospital to see A.D. and observed dried blood inside her ear, a scrape on her nose, and an abrasion on the top of her head. When he spoke to appellant at the hospital, appellant claimed that the injuries had occurred at the day care. She further stated that A.D. had told her that the day care workers hit her, but she did not believe her because she claimed that A.D. had lied in the past.
{¶ 13} A social worker from CCDCFS that came to the hospital also noticed A.D.'s injuries. When asked how she got hurt, A.D. told the social worker that "Mommy did it." Appellant told the social worker that A.D. had not had any marks that morning and that she did not know where they came from. She also said that A.D. could have gotten hurt the night before while playing with other kids, but she could not provide the names of any individuals.
{¶ 14} The physician's assistant and nurse who treated A.D. also observed the abrasion on A.D.'s nose, a scrape on her scalp, and blood around one of her ears. The nurse who treated A.D. testified that A.D. reported to him, the physician's assistant, and the social worker that "Mommy hit me." The physician's assistant testified that while the combination of these injuries was normal for a three-year-old, she decided to call CCDCFS after hearing A.D.'s statement.
{¶ 15} Following this incident, appellant brought A.D. to Harbor Crest Day Care one last time before removing her without explanation. Appellant began bringing A.D. to the day care where appellant was employed, Get Ready, Set, Grow.
{¶ 16} In September 2017, A.D. went to visit her father, M.G., who noticed bruises on her chest and lower back. A.D. told him that "Mommy pushed me up the stairs," but then shrugged her shoulders when asked who did it. M.G. also noticed a rotting tooth in A.D.'s mouth. He took photographs of the injuries and called Cleveland Police to file a report. When M.G. asked appellant about the bruises, appellant stated that her brother had hit A.D. on her behind. M.G. subsequently attempted to petition the courts for custody, and appellant filed a temporary restraining order against him.
{¶ 17} In December 2017, CCDCFS received a call regarding allegations of abuse and neglect of A.D. A social worker, Lorra Greene, went to appellant's apartment and told her that she was there to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect. Appellant was upset and stated that she felt that she was being harassed. She told Ms. Greene that A.D. was not home, so Ms. Greene scheduled a home visit to meet with A.D.
{¶ 18} Ms. Greene returned to the apartment on the scheduled day but was told that A.D. was not home. She returned the following day and was able to speak with A.D. along with appellant.
{¶ 19} During this encounter, Ms. Greene physically examined A.D. She noticed a small scrape on A.D.'s back, which appellant explained happened at A.D.'s grandfather's house. She also noticed a faint bruise on A.D.'s arm.
{¶ 20} After the examination and conversation with A.D. and appellant, Ms. Greene observed the rest of the apartment, made sure the utilities were working, that the child had a place to sleep, and that she had adequate food and clothing, which she did.
{¶ 21} Following the visit, Ms. Greene talked to a few of appellant's family members, including her brother, sister, mother, and father. She subsequently spoke with appellant's employer, Get Ready, Set, Grow. She also contacted the hospital to make sure that A.D. had been seen for her most recent well-child check.
{¶ 22} Ms. Greene testified...
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