Oldman v. State

998 P.2d 957 (2000)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D and the victim had four children together, and although never formally married, they held themselves out as husband and wife. They had lived together on and off for 12 years. The victim was six months pregnant bearing the couple's fifth child. The victim's neighbor heard a male voice yelling and screaming in the victim's apartment. At about 3:00 a.m. the next day, the neighbor heard a male yelling, which was followed by the sound of a woman or a child crying. The neighbor called 911 and reported what he had overheard. He then heard a voice outside in the alley and looking out his window, he saw a man walking away. the neighbor described him as having the same build, hair color, and skin tone as D. Police officers were dispatched. The dispatcher informed the officers that a badly beaten woman had arrived at the police station. The woman told the dispatcher that she had just left the apartment where the officers had been sent. The officers found the victim badly beaten, bleeding, crying, and hysterical at the police station. One of the officers asked what had happened, and the victim replied, 'My husband beat me up.' She then was asked, 'Who is your husband'? The victim replied that it was 'D.' The victim eventually informed them she was pregnant. The officers called an ambulance which took the victim to the hospital. The attending physician, who saw the victim in the emergency room, noted a black and blue eye; facial bruising; and a 'significant number of human bite marks' on her back, arm, thigh, hands, and feet. Although the physician did not ask, the victim told him that her husband had beaten her and bitten her. D was tried before a jury. The victim did not appear, but a police officer and the attending physician in the emergency room both testified about the statements she made to them identifying D as her assailant. D objected to the testimony of the attending physician as hearsay, but the trial court overruled the objection, invoking Rule 803(4). D was found guilty. D appealed.