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Criminal Law Keyed to Capers
State v. Ducker
Citation:
1999 WL 160981 (Tenn. Ct. Crim. App. 1999)Facts
The events leading to the tragic deaths of thirteen month old Dustin Ducker and twenty-three month old Devin Ducker began in the early evening hours of June 5, 1995. At 1:03 p.m., the appellant arrived at the emergency room of the River Park Hospital in McMinnville. While she was attempting to get one child out of the car, David Smith, a bystander, heard her say, “Somebody help me. My babies have been in the car for four hours.” He responded to her plea for assistance. Dr. Charles Harlan, the medical examiner, testified that the two young boys died of systemic hyperthermia, a condition where the entire body is overheated and unable to cool itself, as a result of being locked in the appellant’s vehicle. Dr. Terry Holmes, a psychiatrist testified that, based upon his evaluation of the appellant in August, 1995, she suffered from Bipolar Disorder, marked by periods of depression and mania, which in her case included a sleep disorder.
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