State v. Rinehart

• Decision Date: 13 November 2012
• Docket Number: No. WD 72587.,WD 72587.
• Citation: 383 S.W.3d 95
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Danial Morgan RINEHART, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

383 S.W.3d 95

STATE of Missouri, Respondent,

v.Danial Morgan RINEHART, Appellant.

No. WD 72587.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.

Nov. 13, 2012.

Samuel Buffaloe, Assistant Public Defender, Columbia, MO, for Appellant.

Chris Koster, Attorney General, Karen L. Kramer, Assistant Attorney General, Jefferson City, MO, for Respondent.

Before Division Two: LISA WHITE HARDWICK, Presiding Judge, and JAMES M. SMART, JR., and KAREN KING MITCHELL, Judges.

KAREN KING MITCHELL, Judge.

Appellant, Danial Rinehart, was convicted by a jury of murder in the second degree pursuant to § 565.021 (felony murder),¹ child endangerment in the first degree pursuant to § 568.045,² statutory rape in the second degree pursuant to § 566.034, two counts of incest pursuant to § 568.020, and two counts of abandonment of a corpse pursuant to § 194.425. Rinehart's motions for judgment of acquittal were denied by the trial court. Rinehart filed a timely appeal. On appeal, Rinehart argues that the trial court erred in denying his motions for judgment of acquittal on the crimes of felony murder and child endangerment because the evidence was insufficient to support the element that he “knew” he was creating a substantial risk to the life, body, or health of a child. Finding no error of law, we affirm.

Factual Background³

Danial Rinehart (“Rinehart”) and his wife Linda had four daughters: T.R., A.R., H.R., and D.R. Rinehart began having an incestuous relationship with A.R. when she was five years old. He fathered four children with A.R. Three of the four children, Ethel, Jack, and Goldie, died at birth or in infancy. A.R. did not receive any medical care during or after any of her four pregnancies. All of A.R.'s children were delivered at home, and Rinehart, who had no medical training, assisted with each delivery. None of the children who died were ever seen by a doctor or taken to a hospital.

A.R. and Rinehart's first child, Ethel, was born on March 4, 2004, when A.R. was fourteen years old. Ethel was delivered in an overhead camper—the kind that attaches to the back of a pickup truck—on property in Dustin, Oklahoma, where the family was staying. Rinehart and A.R.'s older sister, T.R., were the only people present when Ethel was delivered. After Ethel was born, A.R. and the rest of the family moved to Montrose, Missouri. While staying in Montrose, Ethel rolled off a couch onto the floor in the overhead camper. Despite the fact that Rinehart knew about Ethel's fall and her crying, Ethel was not taken anywhere for medical treatment. On July 8, 2004, the morning after the fall, A.R. woke to find that Ethel had died. Rinehart took Ethel's body to Ivy Bend, Missouri, and buried her on a friend's property. Ethel's body was later moved to Oklahoma.

The family continued to live in Montrose until May 2005 when Rinehart, his wife, and their four daughters, moved to Rinehart's mother's property on Taylor Road in Harrisonville, Missouri. A.R. and Rinehart had a second child, I.R., who was born on August 2, 2005, when A.R. was sixteen years old. I.R. was delivered in a pickup truck at the property on Taylor Road. Other than Rinehart, no one was with A.R. during the delivery. At the time of trial, I.R. was four years old.

A.R. and Rinehart had a third child, Jack, who was born on November 17, 2006, when A.R. was seventeen years old. A.R. gave birth to Jack in the overhead camper at the property on Taylor Road. Again, no one but Rinehart was with A.R. during the delivery. A.R. testified that Rinehart's help during Jack's delivery consisted of pumping on A.R.'s stomach to get the placenta to come out and cutting the umbilical cord with scissors and tying it off with a thread. Jack's delivery was longer than the previous two deliveries, and he was smaller at birth than both Ethel and I.R. A.R. noticed that, when Jack was born, he was wheezing. In December 2006, Jack became very ill. A.R. observed that he was pale, he could barely move his arms, he was congested in his chest and lungs, he had a fever, he was throwing up his milk, and there was mucus in his vomit.

Over-the-counter medicine was used to treat Jack's illness in December and he initially appeared to improve, but, over time, Jack's condition deteriorated. By February 6, 2007, Jack's symptoms had become noticeably worse. Yet, Jack was only given over-the-counter medicine to treat his illness. The night before Jack died, he was obviously having a lot of difficulty breathing. A.R. talked to Rinehart about Jack's worsening symptoms, but Rinehart still refused to take Jack to a doctor or to a hospital. A.R. stayed up with Jack for two nights in a row, and, when she dozed off the second night, she woke to find that he had died in her arms. Jack's body was left in the overhead camper for two weeks before it was placed into a plastic container. Later, the boy's body was placed in a cooler and buried in a garage on the property.

Rinehart lived at the property with A.R. from the time Jack was born until Jack's death in February 2007, and Rinehart was aware of Jack's condition. The property on Taylor Road was located in close proximity to several hospitals and clinics, and there was a phone at the property that Rinehart could have used to call for medical assistance. A.R. testified that she talked with Rinehart about taking Jack to see a doctor, and Rinehart “said he didn't want him to go to the hospital to see his son with hoses hanging out of him.” In a police interview, Rinehart provided several reasons why he never took Jack to see a doctor, all of which differed from the reason he gave A.R. For example, Rinehart said that he did not take Jack to the doctor because his father (A.R.'s grandfather) had died of a heart attack while waiting for an ambulance to arrive, there was no insurance to cover the cost, he perceived his own previous medical treatment of his foot to have been done very poorly, and he did not think Jack's condition was that bad.

Dr. Ariel Goldschmidt, the doctor who examined Jack's remains on January 2, 2009, testified that Jack's symptoms (chest congestion, throwing up milk, difficulties moving his arms, pale complexion, and a fever) were consistent with respiratory illness, though they could be caused by other life-threatening illnesses as well. Dr. Goldschmidt testified that the respiratory illness “could be infection of the lungs, virus or bacteria, which could eventually lead to infection of the bloodstream and an eventual overwhelming of the body's defenses.” He testified that these types of illnesses can be treated by medical professionals and that treatment may include antibiotics, hydration, and assisted respiration. When asked whether this type of illness could be cured with over-the-counter medicine once it became life threatening, Dr. Goldschmidt indicated, “probably not.” He further testified that a child who does not receive immunization shots “would be more susceptible to those kind [s] of infections.” Dr. Goldschmidt testified that, due to the state of Jack's remains, he could not determine the exact cause or manner of Jack's death.

A.R.'s fourth child with Rinehart, Goldie, was born on April 6, 2008, when A.R. was eighteen years old. Goldie was also delivered in the overhead camper on the Taylor Road property. Rinehart and I.R. were the only people in the camper with A.R. when Goldie was born. It was a long, hard, and painful delivery. Goldie was stillborn. Rinehart did not call an ambulance, a doctor, or the police, and he did not take Goldie to the hospital. Rather, he put Goldie's body inside a cooler and sealed it shut.

In October 2008, an investigation was opened after the Cass County Sheriff's Office received a report that Rinehart was having an inappropriate sexual relationship with his daughter and that there might be human remains on the Taylor Road property. On January 1, 2009, the two coolers containing the remains of Jack and Goldie were discovered on the property. Rinehart was tried and convicted by a jury of second-degree (felony) murder, first-degree child endangerment, second-degree statutory rape, two counts of incest, and two counts of abandonment of a corpse.⁴He was sentenced to a total term of life imprisonment plus twenty-two years. This appeal followed.

Standard of Review

In his single point on appeal, Rinehart argues that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction of child endangerment in the first degree. Child endangerment in the first degree was the predicate offense for the felony murder charge; thus, if there was insufficient evidence to support the child endangerment in the first degree conviction, the felony murder conviction would also have to be vacated. When reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we are “limited to determining whether there is sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror might have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” State v. Crawford, 68 S.W.3d 406, 408 (Mo. banc 2002). We view the evidence “in the light most favorable to the verdict, making all reasonable inferences therefrom, and disregard[ing] all evidence and inferences contrary to that finding.” State v. Uptegrove, 330 S.W.3d 586, 590 (Mo.App. W.D.2011).

When the record contains facts supporting conflicting inferences, we presume “that the trier of fact resolved any such conflicts in favor of the prosecution, and [we] must defer to that resolution.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 326, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). “The fact-finder may believe all, some, or none of the testimony of a witness when considered with the facts, circumstances and other testimony in the case.” Crawford, 68 S.W.3d at 408. “We defer to the superior position of the jury to assess the credibility of witnesses and the weight and value of their testimony.” State v. Davis, 219 S.W.3d 863, 866 (Mo.App. S.D.2007).

Analysis

Rinehart challenges his first-degree child endangerment conviction, arguing that...