P. v. Warren
Defendant Elizabeth Lucille Warren woke up, still drunk from the night before, and found her infant son Jared dying or dead. According to an expert forensic pathologist, the pattern of redness on the baby’s body indicated that something heavy was compressing it when he died. Had the pathologist known that an intoxicated adult was sleeping in the same bed with the baby, he would have concluded that the baby died because the adult lay on him, and he was unable to breathe. Defendant insisted, however, that she had put the baby to sleep in a reclining stroller.
A jury found defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. (b)) and felony child endangerment (Pen. Code, § 273a, subd. (a)), with an enhancement for causing harm resulting in death (Pen. Code, § 12022.95). As a result, defendant was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison, along with the usual fines and fees.
Defendant’s sole appellate contention is that there was insufficient evidence that she caused the death of her son. Defendant’s adult daughter, however, testified that defendant habitually slept in the same bed with her infant children. This, along with the pathologist’s testimony, plus other evidence showing defendant’s consciousness of guilt, constituted sufficient evidence that defendant caused the baby’s death.
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