Kindred v. State
Kindred v. State
Opinion of the Court
The appellant, Patricia Kindred, was charged with the felony murder of her own daughter, but was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. On appeal, she contends that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence a statement she made to investigators, and in charging the jury about flight. Held:
1. On the evening following the death of her infant daughter, the appellant was interviewed at the sheriff’s office by an investigator and a GBI agent. At that time, the circumstances of the child’s death were still being investigated, and no charges had been made against the appellant. The investigators explained her rights to remain silent and to have counsel present, and the appellant acknowledged that she understood those rights and signed a waiver of those rights. At trial, in contesting the voluntariness of the statement that followed, the appellant claimed that she had been distraught and confused, and had not really understood that she could have had counsel with her at the interview.
Following the Jackson-Denno hearing, the trial court concluded that the appellant had waived her rights to remain silent and to have counsel present at the interview, arid that her statement was thus freely and voluntarily given. The trial court’s findings, absent a showing that the determination was clearly erroneous, must be accepted by this court. Frymyer v. State, 179 Ga. App. 391 (346 SE2d 573) (1986). Considering the totality of the circumstances, there certainly was ample evidence to support the trial court’s determination. White v. State, 251 Ga. 482 (306 SE2d 636) (1983).
2. The appellant’s fourteen-month-old daughter died on Tues
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.