State v. Valley

Defendant appeals her conviction for manslaughter, 13 V.S.A. § 2304, in the death of her infant daughter. We affirm.

On June 25, 1981, Jordan Lee Valley, a seven month old infant, was found dead in defendant’s home. After an autopsy, the medical examiner determined that the cause of the child’s death was asphyxiation due to vomit in her air passages. The autopsy also revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.114% ethanol weight by volume.1 The medical examiner who performed the autopsy concluded — and later testified — that the ingestion of alcohol “almost certainly produced the vomiting problem…