Bennett v. State

The defendant, Ruth Ilene Bennett, was convicted of manslaughter in connection with the killing of her newborn baby. On appeal to this court she contends the evidence failed to prove the corpus delicti beyond a reasonable doubt.

To establish the corpus delicti in a prosecution for the killing of a newborn child two elements must concur. These elements arc (1) that the infant was born alive and (2) that death was caused by the criminal agency of the accused. These ingredients of crime must be proved beyond reasonable doubt and can be established by direct or circumstantial evidence. People v.…