Norwood v. State
Norwood v. State
Opinion of the Court
Appellant Cassandra Norwood appeals her convictions for crimes related to the death of her newborn child, Josiah Lucas Norwood.
Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the jury's verdicts, the record shows that, at the time of the incident, unbeknownst to her family and the father of the child, Appellant was 40 weeks pregnant (full term). She was also unemployed and living at her parents' house along with her two sisters, Ginger and Bethany Norwood, and Ginger's two young daughters.
On the night of October 31, 2012, Appellant went trick-or-treating with her sisters and nieces, went out to dinner, and then went to bed upon returning home. The next morning, when Ginger went into the bathroom she shared with her sisters, she noticed small amounts of blood on the toilet and near the drain in the bathtub. Ginger did not think anything of the blood and continued to get ready for work. When Ginger asked Appellant the location of her work shoes, she recalled that Appellant was acting strange, and
"just seemed kind of spacey." Upon entering Appellant's room to look for her shoes, Ginger *557noticed a strong smell of body spray and saw more bloodstains on the floor.
Ginger mentioned Appellant's strange behavior and the blood to their sister Bethany, a trained nurse. When Bethany entered Appellant's room, she also noticed blood on the floor and dried blood on Appellant's feet. A plastic garbage bag filled with bedding was situated in the corner; a comforter with spots of clotted blood was visible from the top of the bag. When Bethany tried to examine the contents of the garbage bag, Appellant would not let her, explaining that the presence of the blood was due to an accident associated with her heavy menstrual cycle. But Bethany believed the amount of blood to be abnormal. Eventually Appellant agreed to go to the hospital and, as Appellant left the house with her parents, Bethany found the newborn baby, along with the placenta and the umbilical cord, inside the garbage bag. Bethany administered CPR to the child while Ginger called 911.
When police and paramedics arrived, they confirmed that the child was deceased. Two bloodied knives were found in the room-one was behind the child's leg and the other was located underneath a pile of sheets on the bed in Appellant's room. DNA samples taken by officers during their investigation confirmed that the Appellant was the child's biological mother. Appellant's gynecological records indicated that she had visited a doctor on August 22, 2012, believing, at that time, that she was 10 weeks pregnant. After some tests and a sonogram, Appellant learned that she was 30 weeks pregnant. Prior to leaving the doctor's office, Appellant changed her HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) form, removing her parents' names so they would not be privy to the results of her medical exam. Appellant failed to return to the doctor for her scheduled follow-up appointment.
The autopsy report showed that the infant was born alive and then suffered dozens of stab wounds to the neck, torso, and back. The medical examiner testified that the cause of death was sharp force wounds to the neck and abdomen, and that the manner of death was homicide.
While in recovery at the hospital, Appellant spoke with law enforcement on two separate occasions. During these interviews, Appellant told officers that she had previously visited the doctor and discovered she was pregnant; however, Appellant hid this information from her family and the father of her child. Regarding the incident, Appellant stated that, sometime after she fell asleep the night of October 31, she began experiencing contractions. Eventually, because of the pains, Appellant got out of bed and took a bath. Upon returning to her room, Appellant went into labor and, sometime before 10:00 a.m. on November 1, 2012, she gave birth to her son. Appellant told officers that during the delivery, she obtained a kitchen knife in order to cut the umbilical cord. According to Appellant, she accidentally cut the infant's neck while cutting the cord and, once she noticed the cut, she wrapped the baby in some bedding and placed a compress on the child's neck in an attempt to stop any potential bleeding. Appellant also acknowledged that she hid the pregnancy from her family and the father of her child, and that she did not take any actions in preparation for the birth of the child, such as obtaining prenatal care or buying items for the newborn.
1. Though not enumerated by Appellant, we find that the evidence as summarized above was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Appellant was guilty of the crimes for which she was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia,
2. Appellant's sole enumeration of error concerns the admission into evidence of the two audio-recorded statements she made to police while at the hospital.
Prior to trial, Appellant filed a motion to suppress her two statements, claiming that they were not freely and voluntarily given. The evidence adduced at the pre-trial Jackson v. Denno
Almost 4 hours later, at 8:00 p.m., a different set of officers (Detective Richard Boyle and Detective Kim Johnson) went to Appellant's hospital room with a warrant for her arrest. The audio recording reveals that, upon entering the room, Detective Boyle informed Appellant she was under arrest and then immediately read her the Miranda rights. Appellant said she understood her rights and agreed to speak to the detectives without having an attorney present. The recording indicates that Appellant responded to the detectives' questions for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Though Appellant repeated the general story that she had initially told Sergeant Patterson, the detectives asked more probing and detailed questions during this subsequent interview, and Appellant provided more information in response to these questions. Specifically, Appellant discussed: the identity of the child's father and his lack of knowledge regarding her pregnancy; her lack of prenatal care and treatment during her pregnancy; hiding her pregnancy from her family; the events that had occurred earlier in the day, including that she had experienced contractions "off-and-on" throughout the entire day; interactions she had with her family after the baby was born; her alleged lack of a motive to injure or kill her child; and a description as to how she held and swung the knife as she, allegedly, cut the umbilical cord. The detectives also confronted Appellant with the physical evidence, including the number and locations of the stab wounds, the presence of two bloody knives in her bedroom, and the disposal of the body in a trash bag with bloody bedding. In response, Appellant denied cutting the child more than once, denied intentionally placing the infant in a trash bag, and denied any knowledge of a second knife. She remained adamant that the one injury she caused was purely accidental.
After the hearing, the trial court issued an order admitting both statements at trial, finding the first statement to be non-custodial, and further concluding that both statements were made freely and voluntarily. The State played both audio-recorded interviews for the jury at trial over Appellant's continued objection. This, Appellant claims, was error. Pretermitting whether the trial court erred in finding the first statement to be non-custodial in nature, we conclude that, because both statements were voluntary, and because the police did not engage in an improper "two-step" interrogation, the second statement was properly admitted at trial. Thus, even if the first statement was erroneously admitted in the State's case-in-chief, the second statement was properly admitted *559and rendered harmless any error related to the admission of the first statement.
(a) Voluntariness
It is well established that in order for a statement to be admitted against a defendant at a criminal trial, "[an] accused must be adequately and effectively apprised of his rights and the exercise of those rights must be fully honored." Miranda,
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has explained:
In determining whether a properly warned confession is admissible where the defendant has first given an unwarned or improperly warned confession, we turn to the Supreme Court's decisions in Oregon v. Elstad,470 U.S. 298 ,105 S.Ct. 1285 ,84 L.Ed.2d 222 (1985), and
Missouri v. Seibert,542 U.S. 600 ,124 S.Ct. 2601 ,159 L.Ed.2d 643 (2004). Elstad sets out the general rule that the existence of a pre-warning statement does not require suppression of a post-warning statement that was knowingly and voluntarily made,470 U.S. at 309 ,105 S.Ct. at 1293 , while Seibert sets out an exception for situations where police employ a deliberate "question first" strategy.542 U.S. at 617 ,124 S.Ct. at 2613 .
United States v. Street,
Here, the entire 17-minute exchange of the first interview was calm and civil; there is no evidence that Appellant was threatened, coerced, or given a hope of a benefit in exchange for this statement. The second statement was taken almost 4 hours later by a different set of officers. Prior to asking any questions, and without any reference to the first interview, the officers informed Appellant that she was under arrest and read the Miranda warnings. Thereafter, Appellant indicated that she understood her rights and wished to voluntarily waive the same in order to speak with law enforcement. "Whatever the reason for [Sergeant Patterson's] oversight, the [first interview] had none of the earmarks of coercion. ... Nor did the [second set of] officers exploit the unwarned admission to pressure [Appellant] into waiving [her] right to remain silent." Elstad,
*560("[I]f the suspect made the initial statement voluntarily, the fact that it was not preceded by Miranda warnings will not taint a subsequent voluntary statement which had the benefit of those warnings.").
(b) Seibert's"Two-Step" Interrogation
Appellant further argues that her statement was inadmissible because it was the product of the "question first" or "two-step" interrogation tactic disapproved of by the United States Supreme Court in Seibert,
"In deciding whether the agents used the 'question first' tactic ... we consider the totality of the circumstances including 'the timing, setting and completeness of the prewarning interrogation, the continuity of police personnel and the overlapping content of the pre- and post-warning statements.' " Street,
(c) Harmless Error
Because we have concluded that the second statement was properly admitted, any error that may have occurred by admitting the first statement would be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore would not require reversal. See Chapman v. California,
Judgment affirmed.
All the Justices concur, except Benham and Grant, JJ., who concur specially.
BENHAM, Justice, concurring specially.
I write because I respectfully disagree with any suggestion that the first police interview was custodial.
A person is considered to be in custody and Miranda [1 ] warnings are required when a person is (1) formally arrested or (2) restrained to the degree associated with a formal arrest. Unless a reasonable person in the suspect's situation would perceive that [she] was in custody, Miranda warnings are not necessary. Thus, the [relevant] inquiry is how a reasonable person in [appellant's] position would perceive [her] situation.
(Citations and punctuation omitted.) State v. Folsom,
The facts show appellant gave birth in secret in the midmorning hours of November 1, 2012, fatally stabbed her newborn infant, and placed him in a trash bag. She was cleaning up her bedroom when her family members confronted her about her strange behavior and blood they saw in the bathroom, in her bedroom, and on her person. Appellant went to the hospital with her parents only at the urging of her family, but still failed to mention anything about the infant. After appellant was on her way to the hospital, her sister Bethany found the fatally wounded infant in a trash bag and her sister Ginger called police.
As part of their investigation of the infant's death, officers went to where the evidence and witnesses were located-(1) the house where the child died and where appellant's sisters were located and (2) the hospital where appellant, appellant's parents, and appellant's medical providers were located. Sergeant Patterson testified he arrived at the hospital at about 1:45 in the afternoon and interviewed each of appellant's parents separately, as well as interviewed some doctors and nurses. After concluding those interviews sometime around 4:00 that afternoon, Sergeant Patterson went to appellant's hospital room to speak with her. At that point, appellant was sleeping and a female officer was inside appellant's hospital room. On the audio recording of the first interview, one can hear a door opening, Sergeant Patterson asking the female officer to leave the room, and the door closing. On the recording, Sergeant Patterson also asks appellant if she is awake, finds a light to turn on in the room, and proceeds to interview appellant for about 17 minutes. Sergeant Patterson testified that at the conclusion of the interview, he and the female officer left the hospital. For the next several hours following the first interview, there was no police presence around appellant ostensibly because, as Sergeant Patterson testified, and which testimony the trial court found to be credible, appellant was not *562under arrest at any time prior to the second interview.
The crux of appellant's argument on appeal is that awakening to a police officer in her hospital room would make a reasonable person believe she was in custody for the purpose of receiving Miranda warnings. I disagree. Our appellate courts have held that a person who is suspected of a crime is not in custody for the purpose of receiving Miranda warnings simply because she is approached and questioned by police in a hospital while receiving treatment. See, e.g., Freeman v. State,
For these reasons, I would uphold the trial court's determination that appellant was not in custody during the first interview. As such, appellant's arguments regarding the second interview being tainted by the first interview would necessarily be moot. Jennings v. State, supra, 282 Ga. at 681,
I am authorized to state that Justice Grant joins this special concurrence.
On January 29, 2013, a Clarke County grand jury indicted Appellant for malice murder, felony murder predicated on aggravated assault-family violence, aggravated assault-family violence, and three counts of possession of a knife during the commission of a crime. Following a trial that took place from May 19-21, 2014, the jury found Appellant guilty of all charges. The trial court sentenced Appellant to life in prison for malice murder and five years to be served consecutively for possession of a knife during the commission of a crime. The charge of felony murder was vacated as a matter of law and the remaining charges merged. On May 30, 2014, Appellant filed a motion for new trial. The trial court held a hearing on the motion on May 26, 2016, and denied the motion on December 15, 2016. Appellant filed a notice of appeal on December 20, 2016 and, upon receipt of the record, the case was docketed to the August 2017 term of this Court. The case was orally argued on August 28, 2017.
During oral argument, counsel withdrew Appellant's second enumeration of error as set forth in their brief; consequently, that issue will not be reviewed by this Court.
As explained by the Eleventh Circuit in Street, "[b]ecause Seibert is a plurality decision and Justice Kennedy concurred in the result on the narrowest grounds, it is his concurring opinion that provides the controlling law."
Miranda v. Arizona,
The handful of cases in which our appellate courts have determined that a defendant, who is receiving medical treatment in a hospital setting, is in custody and therefore entitled to Miranda warnings, have involved some overt action by the police limiting the defendant's ability to leave. See, e.g., Clay v. State,
In Sosniak, the defendant was handcuffed at his home and transported to the police station in a police car for an interview. He was released from handcuffs and placed in an unlocked interview room. The detective told him that he just wanted to talk and that he was not under arrest. In these circumstances, we upheld the trial court's conclusion that the defendant was not in custody for the interview, noting that the detective "did nothing that would indicate to Sosniak that he was not free to leave...." Id. at 281,
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- NORWOOD v. The STATE.
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