State v. Thomas

300 So.3d 517

STATE of Louisiana

v.Twyena THOMAS

NO. 19-KA-582

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

July 29, 2020

COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, Honorable Paul D. Connick, Jr., Thomas J. Butler, Anne M. Wallis, Jennifer C. Voss, Matthew Whitworth

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT, TWYENA THOMAS, Bertha M. Hillman

Panel composed of Judges Fredericka Homberg Wicker, Stephen J. Windhorst, and Hans J. Liljeberg

LILJEBERG, J.

Defendant, Twyena Thomas, appeals her conviction and sentence for second degree murder. For the reasons that follow, we affirm defendant's conviction and sentence.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On January 25, 2018, a Jefferson Parish Grand Jury indicted defendant, Twyena Thomas, with second degree murder of a juvenile in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. Defendant was arraigned and pled not guilty to the charged offense on January 26, 2018.

On August 12, 2019, the State filed a notice of intent to offer evidence of similar crimes, wrongs or acts engaged in by defendant pursuant to La. C.E. art. 412.4. In its notice, the State explained that defendant was charged with the second degree murder of her juvenile son while engaged in the perpetration of cruelty to a juvenile. The State indicated its intention to introduce evidence that on October 15, 2015, defendant committed a prior act of cruelty to a juvenile against this same son. Evidence pertaining to this incident, including medical records from Children's Hospital and statements from witnesses, were previously provided to defendant in open file discovery. The trial court overruled defendant's objection to the introduction of evidence of the prior act.

On August 20, 2019, trial began before a twelve-person jury, and on August 22, 2019, the jury reached a verdict of guilty as charged. On September 24, 2019, defendant filed a motion for new trial and a motion for acquittal notwithstanding the verdict. The trial court denied both motions on September 30, 2019. That same day, defendant was sentenced to life in prison at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

On October 1, 2019, defendant filed a motion to reconsider sentence and a motion for appeal. That same day, the trial court denied the motion to reconsider sentence and granted the motion for appeal. On appeal, defendant challenges the admissibility of the evidence of the prior act occurring on October 15, 2015, pursuant to La. C.E. art. 412.4.

FACTS

At 8:22 p.m. on September 30, 2017, Officer Alexandre Corey Monssen with the Kenner Police Department was dispatched on a medical call for assistance regarding a two-year-old having difficulty breathing. Five minutes after receiving the dispatch call, Officer Monssen knocked on the door to defendant's apartment in Kenner, Louisiana. Officer Monssen testified that defendant opened the door and "told [him] three statements: That [C.T.]¹ had eaten dinner earlier that night and thrown his red dinner bowl; that [C.T.] had dropped out and hit the floor with his head; and that [C.T.] self induces vomiting so she has to tie his wrists as a method of prevention." Officer Monssen stated that he then asked where the person needing medical attention was; he was told that he was in the rear bedroom, so he followed defendant through the living room to that bedroom. Officer Monssen testified that there were three other young children present in the apartment; the eldest was crying and stated, "please don't take my mommy away."

Officer Monssen testified that once in the bedroom, he observed a young child lying on his back on a mattress in a minimally furnished room. Officer Monssen identified himself to the child, C.T., and, when he received no response, touched his shoulder. Officer Monssen stated that he could see C.T. was not breathing and that he felt cold. He also noticed that the child had a large bruise over his right eye. Officer Monssen radioed for emergency medical services, who advised him they were already on scene. Officer Monssen testified that he then saw paramedics enter the complex and signaled them to where he was located.

Rogelio Lopez, a paramedic with East Jefferson Hospital, responded to a 9-1-1 call about difficulty breathing at the apartment complex on 31st Street in Kenner. Mr. Lopez testified that after making contact with Officer Monssen, he proceeded to the bedroom. Mr. Lopez stated that defendant told him "the baby had something in his mouth or something like that." Mr. Lopez stated that he could immediately tell C.T. was not breathing and proceeded to pick him up to check for a pulse; he found none. He did not find any obstructions in C.T's mouth or throat. He testified that the body was "room temperature," that there was bruising around the whole body, and that he appeared "almost dehydrated and malnutritioned to the point to where he was basically just desiccated. [He] looked like one of those Egyptian mummies to where they are just so dried and so withered away." Mr. Lopez observed some "pooling of the blood," which indicated a lapse of a half an hour to an hour since the child's death. Defendant asked Mr. Lopez how "her baby" was doing and was pacing back and forth and seemed a little nervous. In response, Mr. Lopez testified that he pointed at her, and said "You know what you did. You know exactly what you did."

Once in the ambulance, C.T. was further examined. His body was photographed, and ligature marks on both arms were measured. Mr. Lopez testified that the marks appeared to be recent, but that he did not see C.T. tied up on the bed. He also noted many old marks and scarring on C.T.’s "back side" ranging from many months old to fairly new. Mr. Lopez explained that there was not a part of C.T.’s body that did not have bruising and multiple stages of healing. He testified that there were no injuries from that day or any bleeding. Mr. Lopez further observed wrinkling and a split lip on the young victim caused by severe dehydration. He testified that the child was so malnutritioned that the body was "cannibalizing" its own muscles.

Dr. Hauth, the attending physician at the East Jefferson Hospital emergency room, pronounced C.T. dead at 8:40 p.m. Sean Carl Carson, a crime scene technician with the Kenner Police Department, was called to the apartment to document the death. Mr. Carson testified that he photographed and collected a sample of what appeared to be blood on the wall in the living room and bedroom. A presumptive field-test of the substances came back positive for the presence of blood. Other areas of the apartment and a soiled rag contained a similar looking substance, all of which field-tested positive for the presence of blood. Mr. Carson collected an open diaper that appeared to contain a red, blood-like substance. Mr. Carson further documented and collected a sample of what appeared to be vomit on the back of the toilet.

Both the State and defendant stipulated that Marcela Zozaya, DNA analyst for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office crime lab, would testify that the swabs of blood-like substance collected from around the apartment and various items were, in fact, blood consistent with C.T.’s DNA and that the suspected vomit tested positive for saliva consistent with defendant's DNA.

Officer Monssen testified that after C.T. was put in the ambulance, defendant voluntarily accompanied him to the Kenner Police Department complex. Detective Jackson testified that he assisted Detective Peter Foltz, also with the Kenner Police Department, in interviewing defendant. Detective Jackson and Detective Foltz testified that they Mirandized² defendant prior to the interview. Detective Foltz stated that defendant was not under arrest at that time and it was a "pretty casual conversation" with "no real emotion involved."

During her statement, defendant explained that at the time of C.T.’s death, she lived in a three bedroom apartment in Kenner, which she moved into in July 2017, with her four children ranging in ages from nine to one. She stated that she only had two beds because she was not working and could not afford a third bed. When asked about C.T.’s medical conditions, she explained that he experienced acid reflux shortly after birth and could not keep milk down. She explained that this problem was continuous through C.T.’s first year and the pediatrician recommended she give C.T. PediaSure. She stated that the last time she brought C.T. to the doctor was in April or May 2017, because he was underweight at only 25 pounds and was regurgitating his food. She explained that she had not brought C.T. to the doctor since that time, because she moved to Kenner and did not have transportation.

Defendant further explained that in the months prior to his death, C.T. would frequently force himself to throw up. He would also remove his diaper and play with and place his feces in his mouth. He would also put urine on his head as if he was washing his hair. She tried to ask him why he was doing these things, but he would not answer or simply repeated the question she posed to him. She speculated that he was acting out because she became pregnant again in May 2017. When asked whether C.T. exhibited these same problems during her prior pregnancy for her youngest child, defendant explained that C.T. was not with her during this time because he was with his nanny and went to a day care.

During the interview with detectives, defendant admitted that she would bind C.T.’s hands in front of him with a bandana to stop him from making himself throw up, or from removing his diaper. When detectives asked defendant about the numerous scabs on C.T.’s back, she admitted that she also tied C.T.’s hands behind his back while lying on the bed, and he would "wiggle" and fall off the bed. When asked about all of the bruises on C.T.’s body, defendant admitted that she caused some of the bruises on his arms and legs, when she hit him with a slipper. She stated that she hit him in order to get C.T. to answer her...