Christian v. State

CARLEY, Justice.

After a bench trial, Appellant Cheryl Christian was found guilty of felony murder of her three-year-old daughter. She was also found guilty on separate counts of cruelty to children and aggravated assault on the young victim. The predicate felony for the murder conviction was cruelty to children, which offense, as alleged in the indictment, consisted of Appellant’s act of striking her daughter in the abdomen with an unknown object. After entering judgments of conviction on its findings of guilt, the trial court imposed a life sentence for murder, and concurrent 20-year…