State v. Sardeson

• Citation: 220 S.W.3d 458
• Decision Date: 27 April 2007
• Docket Number: No. 27724.,27724.
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Justin D. SARDESON, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)

220 S.W.3d 458

STATE of Missouri, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Justin D. SARDESON, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 27724.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, Division Two.

April 27, 2007.

Ellen H. Flottman, Columbia, for appellant.

Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen. and Jayne T. Woods, Assistant Attorney General, for respondent.

PHILLIP R. GARRISON, Judge.

Justin D. Sardeson ("Defendant") was convicted by a jury of second degree murder, a violation of Section 565.021,¹ for the death of his five-month-old son, Trey Crawford ("Victim"). He appeals his conviction, alleging that the trial court erred in (1) overruling his motion to suppress statements given to officers, because he was subject to custodial interrogation prior to having been informed of his Miranda² rights; and (2) admitting, over objection, his extrajudicial statements because there was no independent proof of the corpus delicti of homicide. We affirm.

On August 4, 2001, Defendant's girlfriend, Jennifer Crawford ("Jennifer"), gave birth to Victim. Jennifer and Victim lived with Jennifer's parents, Nikki and Larry Crawford ("Nikki" and "Larry"), for three weeks, before moving in with Defendant. Defendant and Jennifer married on October 1, 2001, and a week later they moved back in with Jennifer's parents. Victim was taken to the hospital on November 23 and December 16, 2001, for separate injuries. Due to suspected abuse, the Department of Social Services (the "Department") was contacted after the second trip to the hospital. After investigation, the Department determined that it was safe to return Victim to his family, and he was released from the hospital.

Without Jennifer or Defendant's consent, Nikki and Larry decided that Victim should stay with Nikki's father and step-mother, James and Mary Cathey. Jennifer and Defendant did not know where Victim had been taken, and Defendant moved out of the Crawford's home the next day. Eventually, Jennifer found out where Victim was, and Victim was returned to his parents. On December 20, 2001, Jennifer and Victim moved in with Defendant, who was then living with his mother, Betty Kammerer ("Kammerer").

On January 29, 2002, Larry picked up Jennifer and Victim at Kammerer's house, and he dropped Jennifer off for a class. While Jennifer was in class, Nikki and Larry took Victim to visit with other family members, and Victim appeared happy and playful. The Crawford's dropped Jennifer and Victim off at Kammerer's house around 9:15 p.m.

Around 2:00 a.m. the next morning, Jennifer called her parents crying and screaming and told them to come over because Victim was not breathing. At some point, Defendant had instructed Kammerer to call 911. When the paramedics arrived, Defendant was performing CPR on Victim in the living room. Jennifer's parents arrived later to find the paramedics attending to Victim, who was not breathing and did not have a pulse. While en route to the hospital, the paramedics were able to obtain a pulse for a brief period, but Victim was clinically dead when they arrived at the hospital, and the doctors were unable to revive him.

Officer Richard Neal ("Officer Neal") responded to the 911 call and was told by Defendant that he woke up and went to the bathroom, and as he was returning to bed, he noticed that Victim, who had been sleeping between himself and Jennifer, was not breathing. Defendant told him that he woke up Jennifer, and they moved Victim into the living room, where he began performing CPR.

The autopsy performed on Victim revealed a recent abrasion to Victim's forehead, and several bruises around Victim's right eye, chin, forehead, shoulder blades, and hip area. The autopsy also revealed a skull fracture that was several weeks old.

Pathologist, Dr. James Shelley ("Dr. Shelley"), found a number of hemorrhages in Victim's thymus gland and lungs, indicating that Victim died of asphyxiation. Dr. Shelley also discovered two rib fractures, one occurring within twelve hours of Victim's death, as well as internal hemorrhaging beneath the connective tissue of the chest cavity.

The next day, Officer Rick Hamilton ("Officer Hamilton") with the Webster County Sheriff's Department contacted the State Technical Assistance Team ("STAT Team"), a state agency that is required by statute to investigate the death of all children under sixteen. STAT Team investigators, Officer Vernon Taylor ("Officer Taylor") and Officer Dan Stewart ("Officer Stewart"), traveled to Webster County to assist in the investigation of Victim's death. Carolyn Roth,³ with the Division of Family Services ("DFS"), arranged for the STAT Team to conduct interviews with members of Victim's family at the DFS office in Marshfield, Missouri.

Arrangements were made for Defendant to be interviewed on February 19, 2002. At that point, the STAT Team had already interviewed several other people regarding Victim's death. Defendant was having car trouble the morning of the interview, so his step-father drove both Defendant and Jennifer to the DFS office. The interview was conducted in a conference room in an unsecured area of the office. Defendant entered the conference room alone, where Officer Stewart, Officer Taylor, and Officer Hamilton were waiting to interview him. Defendant was immediately told he was not under arrest and he was free to leave at any time. Defendant was not restrained in any manner during questioning. Officer Stewart was not in uniform and was not carrying a firearm.⁴

Defendant was first asked about Victim's prior injuries. While discussing the circumstances surrounding those injuries, Officer Hamilton became suspicious because Defendant's answers were inconsistent with past investigations into those incidents. Officer Hamilton then employed the "third party" interrogation technique, telling Defendant that he had a family member involved in a similar situation, who had a person inside him that made him do things he normally would not do. Officer Hamilton suggested that Defendant might have a person inside him that caused him to do things that he normally would not do. Officer Hamilton also used the "assumption technique" telling Defendant that "you know I know what the truth is, don't you?" At that point, Defendant nodded "yes" and he started to cry. Officer Hamilton then asked Defendant to tell them what had happened.

Defendant explained that the night Victim died, he was really angry at Nikki for taking Victim out into the cold, and as he lay in bed he got even angrier. Defendant explained that "I rolled over, I put my elbow on the child's back and neck, I pushed and I pushed and I pushed, and I heard the baby wiggle and gasp." Defendant said that he pushed harder when he felt Victim struggle underneath him. Defendant explained that when he realized what he had done, he picked Victim up and started performing CPR. Defendant said that he woke Jennifer up and yelled for Kammerer to call 911.

Defendant was then asked again about Victim's prior injuries. Defendant explained that one of Victim's injuries occurred when he hit Victim with a closed fist on the right side of his head, and that on another occasion he had "karate-chopped" Victim in the back of his head. Defendant said that he had been angry with Jennifer and her parents, and he did not believe Victim was his child because he looked more like Jennifer's family. Defendant said that sometimes he would get so mad that he just felt like killing something. Defendant stated that he wanted to get everything out of his head, and every time he did something to Victim, he felt "like shit." Defendant then said he felt like killing himself. At that point, Officer Hamilton and Officer Stewart went outside the room and decided to officially place Defendant in custody. When they returned to the conference room, they arrested Defendant, advised him of his Miranda rights, and offered him a waiver form. At 12:05 p.m., Defendant agreed to waive his rights and make a statement. He then repeated to the investigators what had happened the night Victim died.

Defendant provided two written statements, the first of which read as follows:

All I want is someone to help me. I don't want this man in me now [sic] more. I was real, real angry with Nikki, Jen's mom, taking [Victim] out in the cold and she kept calling me a bastard, and I just wanted her to stop going behind my back, say [sic] those things about me. That night, I was so mad, so I took the anger out on [Victim]. I felt really bad for what I done, so I tried bringing him back. This was not me. I can't do this—this any more. I am feeling real sorry for what I done. I just want help. I was laying there and I rolled over and laid on him so he could not breathe, and when he stopped, I picked him up and started to cry because I felt really bad about what I[sic] done. This was the night he passed away.

Defendant provided a second written statement regarding the prior abuse of Victim, which read as follows:

I hit [Victim] in the head with the side of the [sic] my hand, and I also hit him with my fist one time. Then I felt real bad because [Nikki] made me very angry. Sometime[s] I can't control my anger and I would hit him, not meaning to. Sometime[s] I would burp him, I would use the hard part of my palm and use my fingers to help him burp. I bruised him one time. Jennifer sometimes would get angry and spank him because he would not go to sleep. He wanted to play, but not sleep. The handprint in the pictures are Jennifer's.

After providing the written statements, Defendant asked to speak to Jennifer so he could explain what happened. When Jennifer entered the conference room, Defendant told her, "I did it. I hurt [Victim]." Defendant was then taken to jail, where he was allowed to make a phone call to Kammerer, which was recorded and introduced at trial. In relevant part, Defendant's conversation with Kammerer was as follows:

Defendant: It wasn't my fault, mom.

Kammerer: I know it wasn't your fault[.]

Def...