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State v. Ducker7/14/2000
FOR PUBLICATION
We granted review to determine (1) whether aggravated child abuse is a lesser-included offense of the charged offense of first degree murder for the reckless killing of a child; (2) whether the knowing mens rea of aggravated child abuse refers to the conduct of the defendant or to the result of that conduct; (3) whether the evidence supports the defendant's convictions; and (4) whether the defendant was properly convicted of Class A felonies when the trial court failed to charge the jury on the age element contained in the aggravated child abuse statute. We conclude that aggravated child abuse is a lesser-included offense of the charged offense of first degree murder for the reckless killing of a child; that the knowing mens rea required for a conviction of aggravated child abuse refers to the conduct and not to the result of the conduct; that the evidence was sufficient to support the defendant's convictions in this case; and that the defendant was properly convicted of Class A felonies for injuries to children six years of age or less.
Tenn. R. App. P. 11 Appeal by Permission; Judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals Affirmed.
Holder, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Anderson, C.J., and Drowota, Birch, and Barker, JJ., joined.
OPINION
The defendant, Jennie Bain Ducker, drove with her two children, ages twenty-three months and twelve months, to the McMinnville Holiday Inn on June 6, 1995. The defendant's boyfriend had been temporarily residing at the hotel . The defendant and her two small children arrived at the hotel at approximately 3:45 a.m. She securely fastened her children into their car seats, closed the windows, and locked the doors. She then left the children alone in the car and went to her boyfriend's hotel room.
The defendant entered the hotel room where her boyfriend and three other individuals were playing video games. The record indicates that she drank some wine. Expert testimony at trial indicated that her blood alcohol level could have been as high as .1925 that morning.
The testimony of individuals present in the hotel room that night indicated that the defendant left the room on two occasions, once to get ice and once to get analgesics. The defendant, however, testified that she left the room on five occasions to check on her children. The defendant apparently never mentioned to anyone that she had left her children locked in her car.
The gathering broke up at approximately 5:00 a.m. The defendant and her boyfriend remained at the hotel room. They fell asleep shortly thereafter while the defendant's two children were still locked inside her automobile. The defendant awoke between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m. She returned to her car and discovered her lifeless children. She drove them to the hospital where they were pronounced dead at approximately 1:20 p.m. Both children died of systemic hyperthermia, a condition that results when a human body severely overheats and is unable to cool itself.
The defendant was indicted on two counts of first degree murder for the reckless killing of a child. At trial, the defendant introduced proof to establish that she suffered from bipolar disorder with periods of depression and mania. The defendant also offered evidence that she had a sleep disorder. The defendant's mother testified that the defendant would remain awake for two or three days at a time and then go into such a deep sleep that she could not be awakened. The defendant testified that she did not see any danger in leaving her sons in the car for more than nine hours. She also testified that she made no excuses for what happened and that she accepted resp
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