State v. Healey

• Decision Date: 03 January 1978
• Docket Number: No. 38154,38154
• Citation: 562 S.W.2d 118
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Ron HEALEY, Appellant. . Louis District, Division Two
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 118

562 S.W.2d 118

STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Ron HEALEY, Appellant.

No. 38154.

Missouri Court of Appeals, St. Louis District, Division Two.

Jan. 3, 1978.

Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer Denied Feb. 14, 1978.

Shaw, Howlett & Schwartz, Allan Goodloe, Jr., Clayton, for appellant.

John D. Ashcroft, Atty. Gen., Paul Robert Otto, Bruce Anderson, Asst. Attys. Gen., Jefferson City, Courtney Goodman, Pros. Atty., George R. Westfall, Asst. Pros. Atty., Clayton, for respondent.

DOWD, Judge.

A child abuse case. This is an appeal by defendant-appellant, Ronald Lee Healey from a judgment of conviction of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County wherein the defendant was sentenced upon a jury verdict to consecutive sentences of imprisonment totalling 55 years. The jury found defendant guilty of 5 counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm with malice aforethought, § 559.180 RSMo 1969, and 7 counts of mistreatment of a child, § 559.340 RSMo 1969. The five assault counts of which he was convicted were for assault with a stick, a paddle, a belt, a chemical propellant, and the spray from a garden hose. The seven mistreatment counts of which he was convicted were for depriving the boy of clothing for two weeks, forcing him to shower only with cold water, depriving him of food for two days, inserting various substances into the boy's mouth, forcing him to lick up and ingest urine and feces, tying him to the bedposts of his bed, and depriving him of any furniture in his bedroom. Defendant appeals, raising 11 Points Relied On. We affirm.

In view of the many issues raised it is necessary to set out in some detail the facts. In so doing, all evidence and favorable inferences tending to support the verdict are taken to be true. State v. Harris, 452 S.W.2d 577, 579(3) (Mo.1970); State v. Oldham, 546 S.W.2d 766, 770(6) (Mo.App.1977).

The jury could have found the facts to be as follows: Ron Healey began dating Mrs. Carol Miller, who had been divorced for 3 years, in the early part of 1973. He moved into her home in either April or June of 1973. Mrs. Miller's son, Danny, then aged four and 1/2 also lived there. Defendant lived there until his arrest on August 31, 1974.

The evidence indicates that there were no problems during the first year that defendant made his home with Mrs. Miller and Danny. There existed a "normal family relationship" among the three. Defendant played with the child and taught him how to do many things, like print in upper and lower case letters and tell time and eat with a knife and fork. When defendant first moved in, he was unemployed. He worked in the latter part of 1973 for an electrical company but was fired in June, 1974. The termination of his job seemed to mark the onset of his mistreatment of Danny Miller. All companionship between the defendant and the boy ceased. Suddenly he began to show interest in disciplining the boy, and his methods were "very harsh," in the words of the boy's mother.

The above forms the background for the series of atrocities to which the boy, then aged 51/2 was subjected. Mrs. Miller was the main source of evidence, although some of her testimony was corroborated by neighbors and a doctor. Defendant bought a redwood stick to strike Danny with, until it splintered, presumably from excessive use. Then defendant suggested Mrs. Miller buy a ping-pong paddle because the stick wore out. They both spanked Danny with it, although prior to June of 1974 Mrs. Miller had never spanked Danny with sticks or paddles. Eventually even the ping-pong paddle gave way from excessive use, and then Danny's belt was employed to discipline him. Defendant showed Mrs. Miller just how to use the belt on Danny, with the buckle end in the palm of her hand. Defendant also struck Danny with his open hand and punched him in the stomach with his fist, because Danny "did not meet up with (defendant's) standards."

The mistreatment of the boy extended beyond direct physical assaults. In August of 1974, Danny was tied up, naked, to the footboard of his bed. All he wore was a belt, to which a piece of wire or rope was fastened and the rope was attached to the bedposts. Defendant removed the doorknobs from the door of Danny's room to keep Danny inside in the event that he became untied from the bedposts. All the furniture in Danny's bedroom was shoved against the wall, with only the empty bed frame remaining in the center of the room. The box springs and mattress were stood on edge against the wall so Danny could not sleep in his bed. He slept on the hardwood floor, naked, with no covers for about three to four weeks. This was to punish Danny for failing to appreciate his bed or covers. Defendant "ordered" Mrs. Miller to take all Danny's clothes and toys from the room. He even turned the mirror to the wall so Danny could not entertain himself by looking at his reflection. The closet doors were taped shut and all pictures were stripped from the wall. At this time Danny was not allowed to use the bathroom. A potty seat was kept in his bedroom for his toilet. The potty seat cracked once when defendant broke it over Danny's head while Danny was in the bathtub; thereafter a bucket was kept in Danny's bedroom for his toilet. A towel was stuffed under the door of Danny's bedroom to keep the stench of urine and feces from the rest of the house.

One day in May or June Danny was deprived of all food. Later in August of 1974, defendant suggested Danny be put on a diet of bread and water, "because Danny didn't appreciate food," since he did not eat all foods on his plate. Defendant set up an eating schedule for Danny, instructing Mrs. Miller as to how many pieces of bread to give him, how much water, and when to serve it to him. This lasted about one week. One morning Danny managed to escape from his bedroom in spite of the rope tying him to the bed and the lack of a doorknob. He sneaked into the kitchen and made a concoction of crackers, chocolate syrup, and food coloring. Mrs. Miller discovered Danny was not in his bedroom and reported this to defendant. Then she discovered Danny in the kitchen eating, and took the food away from him. Defendant was especially angry when he learned Danny had eaten chocolate syrup, since Danny was never allowed to have it but it was reserved to defendant who was in the habit of eating chocolate sundaes in the evening. He told Danny he was going to make him give the food back. Defendant left the kitchen and returned with a clamp light, bucket and rope. The bucket was set on the rope and the light clamped overhead. Then, as Mrs. Miller testified, "he knocked Danny down and stood on his arms and ordered me to hand him different liquid things that were on the little turntable . . . like red hot sauce, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce . . . and he proceeded to pour them down Danny's throat." He also directed Mrs. Miller to make a mustard solution with water and mustard, and made Danny drink it. The clamp light was pointed in Danny's face and defendant began interrogating him in the following fashion, "Are you sick? Do you feel well? If you feel you are going to be sick, you better use the bucket." Danny finally succumbed to the combination of the bright light, the inquisition, and the spicy seasonings that had been forced upon him and he vomited into the bucket. The punishment was reduced to a barbaristic atrocity when he was forced to lick up that part of his vomit that missed the bucket and was on the floor. His mother cleaned up what he did not lick up.

The abuse became even more grotesque. On another occasion Danny was told to lick up his feces from the floor. This happened as a result of a soapwater enema defendant had administered to him since his bread and water diet had left the boy constipated. After the enema, Danny was told to stand in the activity room and respond to questions put to him by defendant through Mrs. Miller. While he was answering the questions, Danny had a bowel movement on the floor. Defendant told Mrs. Miller to order Danny to lick it up. She did so, and Danny obeyed.

Another torment Danny was forced to submit to was frequent cold showers. This was part of a daily routine which began with Danny carrying the potty-seat later the bucket into the bathroom, dumping the contents in the toilet, and placing the potty seat in a certain position in the bathtub to wash it out. Then Danny was to wash himself only in cold water. Defendant would turn off the hot water heater in the basement in preparation for Danny's showers. Sometimes these showers would be as long as an hour and at least twice defendant emptied ice cube trays in the bathtub to drop the temperature even further. On one occasion defendant and Mrs. Miller left Danny in the bathtub, went to a filling station, purchased four bags of ice, and dropped three bags of ice into the tub.

Defendant bought a chemical propellant, mace, for Mrs. Miller. He told her to spray it in Danny's face because in Mrs. Miller's words, "he wanted me to have complete control of Danny and he wanted me to use it to get his attention. So I was to take that with me each time we went into Danny's room and if Danny did not look at me or answer me, I was to spray him with mace." The mace was sprayed directly in Danny's face four or five times when he was naked and confined to his bedroom.

Danny's treatment came to the attention of authorities in the early morning of August 31, 1974. The previous evening Danny was told to clean the bucket, which contained his urine and feces. He was given elaborate orders on how it should be done, which included rinsing it out in the backyard with a garden hose. He was to be naked during the procedure.

The plan set out for Danny took him several hours because he was so thin and bruised. At four in the morning Danny was still in the process of performing his task. Then defendant noticed Danny was limping, and he told him that he needed more exercise and made him run...