State v. Goff

686 P.2d 1023 (1984)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was living with her two children, ages eight years and 22 months, and two other adults. D and the other adults left the children alone in the house to attend a Halloween party at a tavern several blocks away. The eight-year-old child was watching television in the living room, and the 22-month-old child was asleep in the back bedroom. D claimed that the older child was able to use the telephone and D left the phone numbers of the tavern and a neighbor with the child. The two adult friends of D drove from the tavern to D's house to pick up a camera and, while there, checked on the children. The older child was still watching television, and the younger child was not observed. The tavern closed, D returned to her house to find it filled with heavy smoke. Attempts to resuscitate the older child failed. The younger child was already dead. Both died from asphyxiation. The adults in the house were cigarette smokers. The fire marshal testified that there were 'matches lying around and candles around.' Some of the matches had been struck but not ignited. Although the cause of the fire was not explained, the fire marshal testified that in his opinion the fire began in the back bedroom and that the fire started from an open flame brought into the area. D was convicted by a district court jury of child neglect. The Court of Appeals reversed because it found no substantial evidence to support the verdict. Child neglect was statutorily defined as: A person having custody or control of a child under 10 years of age commits the crime of child neglect if, with criminal negligence, he leaves the child unattended in or at any place for such period of time as may be likely to endanger the health or welfare of such child.