Avila-Nunez v. State

Judge Harold R. Banke.

Maria Avila-Nunez was convicted of two counts of cruelty to children. She enumerates six errors on appeal.

This case arose after Avila-Nunez and her husband (and codefendant) drove their two-year-old daughter to the emergency room of a local hospital. The child was near death due to a tear in her small intestine usually caused by a focused blow to the upper abdomen. Over time, waste had emptied into her abdominal cavity, causing infection and noticeable swelling. Her doctor theorized that the injury had occurred as long as three days before and serious distress would have…