State v. Johnson

344 S.E.2d 775 (1986)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D and his wife, Brenda Johnson, separated in March 1984. D retained custody of the two children. D and Brenda had engaged in a heated confrontation concerning Brenda's access to the children. D asked Brenda if she 'remembered Jim Ward and what he done to his family.' Approximately ten years earlier, Ward had killed his children and then committed suicide. Brenda stated that D threatened to do the same thing. In June 1984, D's eleven-year-old son, Christopher, was brought to the Hospital. He was sweating profusely, his pupils were pinpointed, his chest muscles were fluctuating violently, and his speech was slurred. He was suffering from organophosphate poisoning. An antidote was administered, and Christopher soon began to recover. He was released the following day. On 15 June, Joyce, the five-year-old daughter, was brought to the hospital suffering from nausea, abdominal pain, headaches, and pain during urination. She was diagnosed as suffering from a urinary tract infection, and the doctor prescribed an antibiotic which was described as a sweet-odored, dark-orange liquid. Two days later, D told Christopher to look after Joyce while he went into town. D then gave Joyce a teaspoon of white liquid. Christopher testified at trial that the liquid which D administered had an odor similar to bug poison. A few minutes after D's departure, Joyce became very ill. White foam was coming from her mouth, her stomach was growling, she was staggering, and her conversation made no sense at all. Christopher stated that Joyce eventually laid down on the bed and stopped moving. D went to a cafe and ate breakfast. As he was leaving, he approached a local emergency medical technician (E.M.T.) who was also in the cafe. D asked the E.M.T. where the town ambulance was located. The E.M.T. inquired as to why D was concerned about the whereabouts of the ambulance. D responded, 'I might need it later.' Upon his return home, D immediately took Joyce to the ambulance hut in Hot Springs. The E.M.T.s placed Joyce in the ambulance and proceeded to the hospital. Upon arrival, Joyce was not breathing and had no pulse. Dr. Howald stated that the bubblous secretions or foam had an odor that he associated with an organophosphate insecticide such as Malathion or Diazinon. He detected the same odor in her vomit. He stated that the poison was introduced into Joyce's system orally as opposed to being absorbed through the skin. Joyce would have had to orally ingest the poison within thirty minutes to two hours of the onset of the symptoms. He also stated that the symptoms he observed could not have been the result of a periodic, chronic exposure to organophosphate poisoning. Joyce suffered irreversible brain death. Life support systems were withdrawn on the afternoon of 20 June 1984, and Joyce died approximately thirty minutes later without ever regaining consciousness. Tim Ramsey testified that D told him that the doctors had said Joyce 'had got in some kind of poisoning.' D offered to take him to his house and show him what Joyce 'had gotten into.' D said half a teaspoon of the poison would kill a person. Ramsey further testified that approximately one month after D and his wife separated, the defendant told him that he 'would rather see the kids in hell as his wife have them.' The autopsy concluded that Joyce's death was caused by organophosphate poisoning. Joyce's stomach contained 18.9 micrograms of Diazinon per gram of liquid. Dr. Hudson was of the opinion that a teaspoon of Diazinon, taken orally, would be fatal to a child of Joyce's age and size; all of Joyce's symptoms were consistent with organophosphate poisoning. D denied administering poison to Joyce. Carol Johnson, D's sister-in-law, testified that she was present during the confrontation during which D was alleged to have threatened to kill his children. Carol testified that D made no statement with regard to a 'Ward man from Hot Springs.' D also produced several witnesses who testified that D had a good relationship with his children. D's mother testified that after Christopher was poisoned, D scrubbed the entire house in an effort to remove all traces of the poison. D was found guilty of first-degree murder.