State v. Smith

JOHNSON, Judge.

The State’s evidence tended to show that on 8 November 1980 defendant’s infant daughter, Jessie Elaine Smith, six and a half weeks old, was brought by defendant and his wife to the Cape Fear Valley Hospital. The baby was barely breathing at the time. The efforts made to resuscitate the baby were unsuccessful, and she died. The baby had bruises on her head, back, and thighs; both eyes were swollen, and she had puncture marks on her body. The defendant told several law enforcement officers that he had been changing Jessie’s diaper, left her unattended on a bed, and upon returning…