State v. Jones

• Decision Date: 15 April 2014
• Docket Number: No. SC 93348.,SC 93348.
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Sharnique N. JONES, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

427 S.W.3d 191

STATE of Missouri, Respondent,
v.
Sharnique N. JONES, Appellant.

No. SC 93348.

Supreme Court of Missouri,
En Banc.

April 15, 2014.

[427 S.W.3d 193]

Ellen H. Flottman, Public Defender's Office, Columbia, for Jones.

Shaun J. Mackelprang, Attorney General's Office, Jefferson City, for the state.

PATRICIA BRECKENRIDGE, Judge.

Sharnique N. Jones was convicted by a jury of second degree murder, second degree assault, and endangering the welfare of a child. On appeal, she raises four points of error. In her first three points, she claims the trial court erred in overruling her motions for judgment of acquittal on each offense for which she was convicted because there was insufficient evidence to support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In her fourth point, Ms. Jones claims the trial court plainly erred in admitting into evidence statements she made to the police as evidence of guilt of murder in the second degree because the state failed to establish the corpus delicti. Because the state presented evidence that sufficiently established the corpus delicti of the murder offense and because there was sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror could find Ms. Jones guilty of each offense, this Court affirms the judgment of the trial court.

Factual and Procedural Background

Sharnique Jones gave birth to her daughter, S.J., on January 3, 2008. Between January 6 and March 21, 2008, Ms. Jones took S.J. to the hospital 12 times for a variety of health problems. Ms. Jones first brought S.J. to the hospital because S.J. was jaundiced, but doctors determined it was not at a level requiring treatment. She next brought S.J. to the emergency room, complaining that she had a fever and was not eating. S.J. did not have a fever when she was in the emergency room, and staff reported that S.J. ate well while at the hospital. Several days later, Ms. Jones brought S.J. to the hospital with a possible Zantac overdose.¹ According to Ms. Jones, a man who previously had raped her came into the house, grabbed S.J. and the Zantac, and locked himself and S.J. in the bathroom. After about 10 minutes, he came out of the bathroom and ran out of the house. S.J. had what looked like Zantac around her mouth and on her clothes, leading Ms. Jones to believe she was given a large dose of Zantac. The hospital performed a drug screen and other tests, all of which came back normal.

Over the next couple of months, Ms. Jones continued to bring S.J. to the hospital frequently because of other health concerns. Three times, she reported that S.J. was experiencing apnea, which occurs when a person stops breathing for more than 10 seconds. Overall, S.J. appeared healthy and had normal vital signs during her visits, but a pediatric neurologist observed that S.J. was experiencing seizures and, on two occasions, her seizures were confirmed by an EEG. The seizures were not life threatening, and S.J. was prescribed medication to control them.

During these visits, medical staff instructed Ms. Jones regarding proper feeding and safe sleeping practices for newborns. They also provided her with information about community resources available to new mothers. Ms. Jones was educated about safe sleeping practices

[427 S.W.3d 194]

again during a home visit with a social worker.

On April 7, 2008, Ms. Jones called 911, informing the operator that she had laid S.J. in a bassinet and later found her not breathing. Pine Lawn Police Chief Rickey Collins was the first to arrive at the scene, and he performed CPR on S.J. until the paramedics arrived. The paramedics were unable to resuscitate S.J., and she was pronounced dead at the hospital. Dr. Ariel Goldschmidt, a doctor working on a fellowship in the St. Louis medical examiner's office, initially determined S.J.'s cause of death to be death by natural causes from a seizure disorder. He determined the cause of death based on Ms. Jones' statements to the investigator from the medical examiner's office and S.J.'s medical history because there was no other cause of death apparent from the physical autopsy or the toxicology and laboratory reports. The chief medical examiner, Dr. Michael Graham, signed the death certificate with that determination.

Ms. Jones gave birth to a son, D.W., on January 18, 2009. Two days later, Ms. Jones brought D.W. to the hospital, reporting that he was jaundiced. The hospital admitted D.W. for malnutrition, lethargy, and marginal dehydration. Ms. Jones reported that D.W. was not waking himself up to feed and that he did not want to eat at home. He was receiving only 80 calories a day but needed between 250 and 275 calories per day. The hospital put D.W. on a feeding program using a nasogastric tube to drip formula directly into his stomach.² Ms. Jones became upset with the feeding program and accused hospital staff of force-feeding D.W. She checked D.W. out of the hospital against medical advice. During this visit, Ms. Jones had been instructed about proper feeding.

Three days later, Ms. Jones took D.W. to the hospital after reporting that he had stopped breathing while she was feeding him. Concerned because of S.J.'s history, doctors performed an extensive neurological workup on D.W. but were unable to determine the cause of the reported apnea. The medical staff believed, however, that Ms. Jones was continuing to underfeed D.W., and they made multiple attempts to talk to her about the amount of formula D.W. needed. They referred D.W.'s case to the state children's division, which took protective custody of D.W. After he gained enough weight, the hospital discharged him into the care of a foster parent. He continued to gain weight while in her care.

Detective Harolton Clayborn investigated the nutritional neglect of D.W. Ms. Jones agreed to talk to him about D.W. at police headquarters, and she signed a Miranda³ rights warning and waiver form. Ms. Jones told Detective Clayborn that she had missed several feedings while D.W. was in her custody. With regard to D.W.'s second hospitalization, she admitted that she had been burping D.W. on her lap when he stopping breathing. She had diverted her attention to the television, and when she started paying attention to D.W. again, he was face down in a burp rag. She noticed that D.W. was not breathing and that his face was blue. When Detective Clayborn told her he did not believe she was telling the whole truth, Ms. Jones told him that D.W. was actually lying face down in the burp rag before she noticed that his face was blue.

[427 S.W.3d 195]

During her interview, Ms. Jones told Detective Clayborn that she was scared when the incident with D.W. occurred because she had lost S.J. about a year before. Detective Clayborn was concerned that Ms. Jones had another child who had died at home after being found not breathing, and he questioned Ms. Jones about S.J.'s death. Ms. Jones stated that, on the day S.J. died, she had been trying to get S.J. to stop crying but that she was getting frustrated “to the point where [she] felt like harming [herself] or [S.J.].” Ms. Jones admitted that she laid S.J. on the bed with her face in the pillow, not thinking twice about what would happen to herself or S.J. She then went downstairs to look for pills to commit suicide but changed her mind after some family members came home. Ms. Jones thought about S.J. and went back upstairs about 15 to 20 minutes later, and she found S.J. lying on the bed, not breathing. Police notified Dr. Graham about Ms. Jones' statements regarding S.J.'s death and asked that he review the case. Dr. Graham reviewed S.J.'s autopsy report, considering Ms. Jones' statement that she placed S.J.'s face in a pillow, and determined the cause of death to be suffocation. He amended the death certificate accordingly.

The state charged Ms. Jones with second degree murder for causing the death of S.J. by suffocation, first degree endangering the welfare of a child by acting in a manner that created a substantial risk to the life and health of D.W., and first degree assault for knowingly causing serious physical injury to D.W. After a trial, the jury found her guilty of second degree murder, first degree endangering the welfare of a child, and the lesser included offense of second degree assault. The trial court sentenced Ms. Jones to concurrent sentences of 15 years for murder and seven years each for endangering the welfare of a child and assault. Ms. Jones appealed. On its own motion as authorized in article V, section 10 of the Missouri Constitution, the court of appeals transferred the case to this Court after opinion.

Corpus Delicti Established

In her fourth point on appeal, Ms. Jones argues the trial court plainly erred in admitting her out-of-court statements as substantive evidence of second-degree murder because the state failed to prove the corpus delicti of the offense. As Ms. Jones admits, this point may be reviewed only for plain error because she failed to raise this objection to the trial court.⁴ Rule 30.20; State v. Letica, 356 S.W.3d 157, 167 (Mo. banc 2011). Because Ms. Jones' statements were considered by the jury as evidence of her guilt, and, therefore, will be considered when reviewing her claim that there was insufficient evidence presented to convict her of second-degree murder, this Court first must address her claim that the trial court should not have admitted her statements.

“ ‘The plain error rule is to be used sparingly and may not be used to justify a review of every point that has not been otherwise preserved for appellate review.’ ” Letica, 356 S.W.3d at 167. This Court will exercise its discretion to conduct plain error review only when the appellant's request for plain error review establishes facially substantial grounds for believing that the trial court's error was “evident, obvious, and clear” and “that manifest injustice or miscarriage of justice has resulted.” State v. Baumruk, 280 S.W.3d 600, 607 (Mo. banc 2009) (internal quotations omitted)....