Involuntary manslaughter- The death of 3-month old baby due to hyperthermia by mother.

My Criminal Anaysis

Fact of the case:

18 year old, Brigit L. Hippen has been charged with second degree murder. Her 3- month old baby died in February of 2010 due to hyperthermia. On a cold night Hippen thought to warm her baby up (or keeping the baby warm) by placing a blow-dryer on a nearby counter on low facing the baby’s crib. A while after officers were called out to an apartment near 23rd & Lorraine in northeast Hutchinson by relatives. The officers were called out due to the baby not responding. However, before officers arrived the baby had been taken to the hospital. Promise Regional Medical Center pronounced the baby girl dead prior to the arrival. 3-month baby, Karina Perez, had a temperature of 108 degrees prior to her death.

Legal Elements:

The best fit of the case in the Kansas Statue would be K.S.A 21-3404(a). This statue is for involuntary manslaughter. K.S.A 21-34-04(a) states: Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of a human being committed :(a) Recklessly.

This is the best fit due to the fact that the mother, Brigit Hippen, caused the death of the baby by accident

Factual Elements:

The act of the case is that Hippen was trying to keep the baby warm by placing a handheld blow-dryer near the baby crib. The defendants’ intent stands at negligence. This is because of the fact that the defendant meant to keep the heat of the blow-dryer on the baby. However, she did not intend to kill the child. The harm which was the baby dying, was due from hyperthermia was caused by the act of the blow-dryer being used to keep the baby warm. Therefore the act did concur with the intent.

Independent Evaluation:

In this case the prosecutors’ are struggling between involuntary manslaughter and second degree murder. The initial charge was involuntary manslaughter, which would be a lesser charge than the second degree murder. Both charges are defined with “recklessness or reckless behavior” however second degree murder includes “extreme indifference to the value of human life”. This would create a struggle to decide based off of the only facts given. In contrast I would argue that it shows Hippen was trying to care for the baby not harm her, which should be a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, and this too would be based off of the facts provided.

First Degree Murder- Man dies from shot wound by accomplice during robbery

New paper Artical: 

Finger, Stan. "Man with Two Gunshot Wounds Dies”. Wichita Eagle, Local and Breaking News for Wichita and Kansas.The Wichita Eagle, 21 Jan. 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2011.

WICHITA — Andre Lovett was in the midst of a robbery when he was inadvertently shot and fatally wounded by his accomplice, Wichita police said today.
Lovett, 30, died at about 11 a.m. Thursday at Wesley Medical Center, where he had been dropped off the night before by someone driving a blue Chevy Uplander, Lt. Ken Landwehr said.
"We believe the individual that drove the Uplander is the partner in the robbery," Landwehr said.
The vehicle was found in southeast Wichita Thursday, but police are still looking for the shooter.
Lovett and his partner were in the process of robbing four people at a rental house at 1822 N. Minneapolis when the shooting occurred, Landwehr said.
The four victims in the house scattered after the shooting, but police have since been able to interview three of them. They're still looking for the fourth victim.
The victims told police the shooting appeared to be accidental, Landwehr said.
The suspect is described as a black man in his 30s, about 6-foot-3 and between 280 and 300 pounds.
Lovett's death is the first homicide of 2011 in Wichita, Landwehr said.

My Criminal Analysis:

Andre Lovett and another man attempted to rob a residence with four individuals inside at the address of 1822 N. Minneapolis. In the process of the robbery Andre’s accomplice shot him, which seemed to be by mistake. The four victims in the house ran when the shoots went off. Andre was dropped off at the Wesley Medical Center. The security camera caught the victim being dropped off at the ER in a blue Chevy Uplander.

 Later while in surgery, Andre Lovett (age 30) died due to the two gunshot wounds. Andre was wounded once in his left arm and there was another wound in his left lower side. Surgeons could not determine if he was shot twice or if the same bullets struck him twice, through his arm then the torso. The victims in the house said it seemed that his accomplice shot him by accident. However there have been no further clues or information. Investigators are still search for the driver of the blue Chevy Uplander and the homicide victims accomplice.

Legal Elements:

K.S.A 21-3401(b) would be the best fit for this case of the suspect once caught. The Kansas statue is for Murder in the first degree. K.S.A 21-3401(b)- Murder in the first degree is the killing of a human being committed: in the commission of, attempt to commit, or flight from an inherently dangerous felony as defined in K.S.A. 21-3436 and amendments thereto. Murder in the first degree is an off-grid person felony. This statue is the best fit for this crime due to the fact that the suspect was in the process of an armed robbery, which is a felony.

 Therefore an attempt of statue: K.S.A 21-3427. Aggravated robbery will also be included. Which stated that aggravated robbery is a robbery, as defined in K.S.A. 21-3426 and amendments thereto, committed by a person who is armed with a dangerous weapon or who inflicts bodily harm upon any person in the course of such robbery. Therefore the suspect will be charged with first degree murder and attempt aggravated robbery.

21-3301. Attempt. (a) An attempt is any overt act toward the perpetration of a crime done by a person who intends to commit such crime but fails in the perpetration thereof or is prevented or intercepted in executing such crime.

Factual Elements:

The act of the case is that the two men were in the process of robbing a house with four people in it. The intent shows to be recklessness. Due to the suspect/accomplice bringing a loaded gun into the scene, it would be known that someone could have gotten injured or they had planned on hurting someone while robbing the residence not realizing it could be one of them. This shows the two men meant to do the act of the robbery, but the harm of Andre by his accomplice was not expected from him. Due to the reckless behavior during the robbery the victim, Andre Lovett, ended up getting shot and later dying from the wounds, which is the harm of the case. Therefore the act did concur with the intent, which caused the harm.

Independent Evaluation

The difficult finding would be to figure out the factual elements of the suspect’s intent. This is because without more information or the half of the suspect’s story the intent cannot be fully figured out. With the only evidence there is at this time we would assume that the accomplice did not mean to shoot Andre. We can only assume that this was done by accident

Case of Scott Falater killing his wife: Defense of Sleep walking

In 1997 another Phoenix man, 43-year-old Scott Falater, was accused of murdering his wife. On the night of January 16, 1997, neighbor Greg Koons saw Mr. Falater hold his wife's head under water. Not clear on what was going on, but having heard screaming, Koons called the police. The police arrived to a gruesome crime scene -- a bloodied pool and Mrs. Falater dead with 44 stab wounds. Scott Falater, present at the crime scene, with blood on his neck and band-aids on his hands, was brought to the police station to undergo questioning. He denied any knowledge of the brutal murder and thus began his celebrated sleepwalking defense. Police video from the night of the murder shows Falater saying he is unaware why he is being questioned

Martin, Lawrence. "Sleepwalking, Sleep Murder, Sleep Walking, Automatism, Sleep Apnea, Insanity Defense, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Narcolepsy, Insomnia, Cataplexy, Sleepiness, Sleep Walking, Daytime Sleepiness, Lawrence Martin, M.D." Lakeside Press Home Page. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. http://www.lakesidepress.com/pulmonary/Sleep/sleep-murder.htm.


My Findings:

Based off of the element s of the second case, the charge of the defendant killing his wife, second degree murder is most applicable, 21-3402. This is found due to the facts of the defendant repeatedly stabbing his wife then drowned her. This is because there is no evidence of premeditation of the killing (a clear motivation was not found either). Second degree murder has the elements of a killing, of a human being, committed intentionally.
The defense may use the claim of sleepwalking, due to the fact that he may have had a history of sleepwalking. This would mean that the defendant was unconscious at the time.
However, I feel that this would not be convincing to the jurors. Because the defendant tried to hind the evidence in a Tupperware container hidden in his car this shows he knew what had happened when it happened, and instead of calling the police he tried to get away with it. The thought process and the planning of hiding the evidence require consciousness.

Elements of a Case

In order  to figure out if a defendent is guilty or not you have to look into the elements of the case. The first thing you must do is break down the facts of the case. Know what exactly happened, when it happened, why it happened, and where the crime took place. Next you must find the legal elements of the case. This means finding the State Statue that covers the facts of the case. Finally you you look into the factual elements of the case; the act, intent, concurrence, causation, and the harm.

 In the criminal Justice field there are many different job opportunities. The criminal justice system consists of three main parts: (1) Legislative (create laws); (2) adjudication (courts); and (3) corrections (jails, prisons, probation and parole).

Wichita Police Department

The Wichita Police Department is committed to reducing crime in the city, however we may not be aware of potential criminal activity that may be occurring in your neighborhood. Since you are most familiar with what is typical or normal activity in the area that you live, you have the opportunity to identify potential problems at the onset. Therefore, we encourage you to get involved and notify us of activity you are suspicious of.