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Criminal Law Keyed to Ohlin
State v. Small
Citation:
100 So. 3d 797 (2012)Facts
The defendant has two children: S.S., age six, and J.D., age seven. On January 20, 2008, the defendant left both children asleep unsupervised in their second-story apartment to go drink at the home of her friend at around 10pm.
At midnight, a neighbor had called the defendant to alert her of a fire in he apartment. Upon returning home, she learned that J.D. had escaped by jumping out of a window. However, S.S. was found unconscious due to smoke and soot inhalation. Firefighters were unable to revive her and she later died at the hospital.
The defendant was convicted of second degree murder, based on the underlying felony of cruelty to juveniles. She appealed, arguing that she is not guilty because the evidence was insufficient to prove that her absence from the home caused her daughter’s death.
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