State v. John

CROCKETT, Justice:

Defendant Charles John appeals from his conviction by a jury of manslaughter in causing the death of his 20-month old stepson, Ethan Arnold.1 In attacking the conviction he asserts that the only evidence pointing to his guilt is circumstantial and that it is not sufficient to justify submitting the case to the jury, nor to support the verdict.

The events upon which this conviction is based occurred on July 18, 1977. At about 9:00 that morning, the defendant and his wife (Ethan’s mother) dropped the child off with a babysitter, Pam Mills, and drove to a *411medical clinic in…