State v. Morrison

• Decision Date: 28 July 2020
• Docket Number: No. 56, Sept. Term, 2019,56, Sept. Term, 2019
• Citation: 233 A.3d 136,470 Md. 86
• Parties: STATE of Maryland v. Muriel MORRISON
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

470 Md. 86

233 A.3d 136

STATE of Maryland

v.Muriel MORRISON

No. 56, Sept. Term, 2019

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

July 28, 2020

Argued by Cathleen C. Brockmeyer, Assistant Attorney General (Brian E. Frosh, Attorney General of Maryland of Baltimore, MD), on brief for Petitioner.

Argued by Haley Licha, Assistant Public Defender (Michael R. Braudes, Assistant Public Defender and Paul B. DeWolfe, Public Defender of Maryland of Baltimore, MD), on brief for Respondent.

Michelle Daugherty Siri, Esquire, Laure Ruth, Esquire, The Women's Law Center of Maryland, Inc., 305 West Chesapeake Ave., Suite 201, Towson, MD 21204, Steven M. Klepper, Esquire, Megan L. Micco, Esquire, Kramon & Graham, P.A., One South Street, Suite 2600, Baltimore, MD 21202-3201, for Amicus Curiae The Women's Law Center of Maryland, Inc. in Support of Respondent.

Barbera, C.J., McDonald, Watts, Hotten, Getty, Booth, Biran, JJ.

Hotten, J., which Barbera, C.J., Watts and Booth, JJ., join.

A jury in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City convicted Respondent, Muriel Morrison ("Ms. Morrison"), of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and neglect of a minor, stemming from the death of her infant. The infant died as a result of "asphyxia from probable overlay"¹ after Ms. Morrison "co-slept"² with her four-month-old infant and her four-year-old daughter, following a virtual evening of drinking beer with friends via Facebook livestream. Ms. Morrison appealed her convictions to the Court of Special Appeals, which reversed in part.³ The State timely appealed the decision of the Court of Special Appeals. We granted certiorari to address the following question, which we have slightly rephrased:

Was the evidence sufficient to permit a rational trier of fact to find that [Ms. Morrison] was guilty of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the death of her infant beyond a reasonable doubt?^{[4 ]}

We answer that question in the negative and affirm the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. The Underlying Incident

As reflected from the trial testimony, during September 2013, Ms. Morrison resided in a three-story rowhouse in Baltimore City with her two youngest daughters, four-month-old I.M. and her four-year-old sister ("the four-year-old").⁵ Ms. Morrison awoke around 7:45 a.m. on September 2, 2013 and discovered that I.M. was unresponsive. The night before, Ms. Morrison participated in a virtual "[M]oms’ night out[ ]" with girlfriends and consumed approximately four cups of beer.⁶ Approximately two and a half hours later, she fell asleep in the bed she shared with her two minor daughters. At some point, the four-year-old awoke and observed Ms. Morrison sleeping on top of I.M. The four-year-old unsuccessfully attempted to awaken Ms. Morrison by yelling and "thr[o]w[ing] stuff" at her.

Ms. Morrison later awoke to find the four-year-old playing on the floor next to the bed and I.M., closer to the edge of the bed, unconscious. I.M.’s lips were blue and her body was cold to the touch. The four-year-old told Ms. Morrison that she had "rolled on top of the baby" in her sleep. Ms. Morrison unsuccessfully attempted to perform CPR and called 911 twice⁷ before the paramedics and police arrived at her home. I.M. was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital (the "hospital") for treatment, but was pronounced dead upon arrival. The medical examiner determined that the cause of death was "asphyxiation from probable overlay," as a result of Ms. Morrison sleeping on top of the infant.

Ms. Morrison was subsequently charged with involuntary manslaughter, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment, in connection with I.M.’s death. A grand jury returned an indictment for all charges, except first-degree assault and added a charge for neglect of a minor.

II. Legal Proceedings

A. The Circuit Court Proceeding

At trial, the State called as its first witness, Jamel Jones ("Mr. Jones"), one of the paramedics who responded to the 911 call. Mr. Jones testified that the four-year-old advised him that her younger sister had stopped breathing. As Mr. Jones approached the top of the stairs, he observed Ms. Morrison carrying an unresponsive I.M. in her arms. When his efforts to resuscitate I.M. proved unsuccessful, he transported I.M. to the hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased.

Ms. Morrison's four-year-old daughter—who was seven years old at the time of trial—testified that she woke up and went downstairs to get some juice. When she returned to the bedroom, she observed her mother lying on top of I.M. The four-year-old alleged that she threw unidentified items at her mother and yelled, "Mom, you're on my baby sister," but Ms. Morrison remained in a "deep sleep." She testified that I.M. slept in the middle between her and her mother. She described her mother as laying on her left side, facing I.M.—a position that defense counsel regarded in closing argument as consistent with "care feeding[.]" That is "where the baby is just on the nipple...resting and relaxing."⁸ The four-year-old also testified that her father called on Ms. Morrison's cell phone while the four-year-old attempted to awaken Ms. Morrison, but the ringing of the phone did not awaken her. She further advised that I.M. was crying when Ms. Morrison laid on top of her, but she was not making any noise when the phone rang. Additionally, the four-year-old indicated that her mother appeared to have "woke[n] up out of her deep, deep sleep[,]" only briefly, after the phone call ended, but Ms. Morrison continued laying on I.M. and purportedly told the four-year-old that I.M. was okay before going back to sleep. The four-year-old also testified that she again tried to awaken Ms. Morrison, but was "too tired" and fell back asleep.

Sergeant Laron Wilson ("Sgt. Wilson"), the police officer who responded to the 911 call, testified that he received a call for a "child non-breather" around 8:37 a.m. on September 2, 2013. According to Sgt. Wilson, the paramedics had already taken I.M. to the hospital, but Ms. Morrison remained upstairs, where she sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly. Sgt. Wilson asked Ms. Morrison if she was alright, and Ms. Morrison responded, "No. I killed my baby." She further stated: "I got drunk and killed my baby." Sgt. Wilson did not recall observing any behavior consistent with being under the influence of alcohol.

Latonya Townsend ("Ms. Townsend"), a licensed clinical social worker in the Pediatric Emergency Department at the hospital, testified regarding her interview of Ms. Morrison. According to Ms. Townsend, Ms. Morrison informed her that she drank "a few beers" the night before, after putting the children to bed. Ms. Townsend also recalled Ms. Morrison telling her that she had not consumed alcohol in quite some time prior to that evening. She also informed Ms. Townsend that when she woke up the next morning, she noticed that I.M.’s lips were blue and her body was cold. In addition, Ms. Townsend testified that Ms. Morrison told her she was not sure what happened to I.M. and that Ms. Townsend would have to talk to her four-year-old.

Detective Jonathan Jones ("Det. Jones"), a homicide detective with the Baltimore City Police Department ("BPD"), was also called as a witness.⁹ He testified that at the hospital, Ms. Morrison told him

she had laid her children ... her baby down in the bed with her four-year-old. Then she went on to begin drinking between that---she laid her children down between ... 10 p.m. and 12 a.m., and then she began to drink. She doesn't know what happened after that. She woke up, and ... the baby was unresponsive.

Additionally, the State introduced recorded statements that Ms. Morrison made to Det. Jones and Sgt. Richard Purtell at the police station after being advised of her Miranda rights.¹⁰

In her recorded statement to the police, Ms. Morrison advised that she did not know what happened, that she had been "drinking a 40^{[11 ]} like for ... maybe an hour" earlier that evening, and that her four-year-old told her that she "rolled over" on I.M. Ms. Morrison recalled changing I.M.’s diaper around 2:30 a.m. She also stated that she drank more than half of the 40-ounce.¹² Det. Jones later transferred Ms. Morrison to Mercy Hospital for a blood alcohol concentration test. However, the collected blood sample was not tested because the "window of opportunity to ... accurately test the blood for alcohol had already gone through the window."¹³ Det. Jones also testified that he never detected the smell of alcohol on her breath or person.¹⁴

Next, the State introduced videotaped deposition testimony from the medical examiner, Dr. Ana Rubio ("Dr. Rubio").¹⁵ Although Dr. Rubio was unable to conclusively determine the infant's cause of death, Dr. Rubio opined that it was likely caused by "asphyxiation from overlay[,]" because the police investigative report reflected that I.M. was found unconscious under her mother¹⁶ and the autopsy did not reveal the presence of any traumatic injuries or "natural disease processes[.]" Regarding the manner of death, Dr. Rubio determined that I.M.’s death was accidental. When asked about other potential causes of death, such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome¹⁷ ("SIDS"), Dr. Rubio testified that she was unable to either identify or rule out SIDS as the cause of death, since the possibility of asphyxiation is enhanced when the infant is sleeping with others.

At the close of the State's case, Ms. Morrison moved for judgment of acquittal, but the motion was denied.¹⁸ Following the denial of her motion, Ms. Morrison was called as the sole witness for the defense. She testified that during the day on September 1, 2013, she and her daughters had a "tire out day, which is a day [she] spen[t][ ] doing activities all day[,] instead of keeping them in the house." She further testified that, later that evening, she was on her porch drinking, while participating in "a [virtual] mom[‘s] night out" with...