JAMES MAPPS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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James Mapps was convicted of first-degree felony murder based on an underlying charge of aggravated child abuse resulting in the death of a ten-month-old child. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, rejecting the defendant's argument that the felony murder statute does not apply when the underlying felony (child abuse) is not separate and independent from the killing itself.
The court held that the defendant was validly convicted of first-degree felony murder based on aggravated child abuse as the underlying felony, and that the merger doctrine does not apply under Florida law to preclude such a conviction. The court also held that intent to kill is not an element of felony murder and that the legislature did not intend for the specified felonies to merge with the homicide.
[1] Intent to kill is not an element of felony murder.
[2] Aggravated child abuse can serve as the underlying felony for first-degree felony murder.
Previewing 2 of 6 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Intent to kill, however, is not an element of felony murder.”
Establishes that first-degree murder can be charged under the felony murder rule without proof of intent to kill
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA ten-month-old child died from a fractured skull caused by the defendant throwing, shaking, or striking the child. The defendant was convicted of fir…
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STONE, Judge.
The defendant was convicted of first-degree felony murder in a non-jury trial. The underlying felony, specified in the indictment, was aggravated child abuse. In this case, a ten month-old child died of a fractured skull, caused by the defendant throwing, shaking, or striking the child.
Defendant contends that he cannot be convicted of felony murder for a death occurring in the course of committing aggravated child abuse, since the act of abuse was not separate and independent of the killing. The state concedes that there was no specific intent to kill and that the first-degree murder charge was founded entirely on felony murder. Defendant argues that the conviction cannot stand because the trial court stated that defendant did not intend to kill the child. Intent to kill, however, is not an element of felony murder. § 782.04, Fla. Stat. (1985). See also 2 C. Torcia, Wharton’s Criminal Law § 145 (14th ed. 1979).
Aggravated child abuse has been added to the list of specific underlying felonies that support a charge of first degree felony murder. See § 782.04(1), Fla.Stat. (1985). It is committed by an accused who:
(a) commits aggravated battery on a child;
(b) willfully tortures a child;
(c) maliciously punishes a child; or
(d) willfully and unlawfully cages a child.
§ 827.03(1), Fla.Stat. (1985).
Defendant contends that the wording of the indictment, which included a statement that the offense was committed “by intentionally or knowingly causing great bodily harm ...,” limited the state to proving that the killing was the result of an aggravated battery which “merged” into the homicide, and could not constitute a valid basis for a felony murder charge.1 See Robles v. State, 188 So. 2d 789 (Fla.1966).
In Robles, the Florida Supreme Court rejected the argument that an underlying felony must always be independent of the killing as a prerequisite to conviction under the felony murder statute. In People v. Moran, 246 N.Y. 100, 158 N.E. 35 (1927), the New York court had held that a merger occurs, precluding a felony murder conviction, when a killing results from a felonious assault. The Robles court recognized that the New York statute, in Moran, was worded so broadly that all assaults resulting in death could serve as the underlying basis for felony murder. Thus, New York adopted a merger doctrine which precluded conviction for felony murder unless the underlying felony was distinct from the act of killing. The Florida court recognized that, unlike New York, the Florida felony murder statute was limited to certain specific felonies. Therefore, the problem motivating the New York court to adopt the merger doctrine did not exist in Florida.
In Doyle v. State, 513 So. 2d 188 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), this court held that the merger doctrine does not preclude convictions of third-degree felony murder, where aggravated battery is the underlying felony.2 The Florida Supreme Court has also upheld a third-degree murder conviction where the underlying felony was aggravated child abuse. Mahaun v. State, 377 So. 2d 1158 (Fla.1979). The merger doctrine, however, was not an issue in that case.
It is obvious that our legislature did not intend that the felonies specified in the felony-murder statute merge with the homicide to prevent conviction of the more serious charge of first-degree murder. See Carawan v. State, 515 So. 2d 161 (Fla.1987). We further reject defendant’s argu ment that the felony murder section in question, 782.04(2)(h), is unconstitutional. Cf. Mahaun, 377 So. 2d 1158. We conclude, therefore, that the defendant was validly convicted of felony murder founded upon aggravated child abuse.
Additionally, we find no error in denying the motion to suppress defendant’s first statement, keeping in mind that the judgment of the trial court on a motion to suppress is presumed correct. McNamara v. State, 357 So. 2d 410 (Fla.1978).
A few hours after the baby died, defendant was taken to the police station and interviewed. He made a statement without being warned pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). This statement, which was essentially exculpatory, was used in trial as impeachment.
The evidence supports a conclusion that the statement was voluntary and that a reasonable person would have felt free to leave the station. There was no coercion. Defendant was not a suspect at the time of the initial questioning, as the autopsy had not been conducted and the cause of death was not known. The police did not yet know that a crime had been committed, but were attempting to determine the circumstances of death. After the interview the defendant went home.
Simply because the questioning occurred at the station does not require a finding by the court that the interview constituted custodial interrogation. See Oregon v. Mathiason, 429 U.S. 492, 97 S.Ct. 711, 50 L.Ed.2d 714 (1977); Drake v. State, 441 So. 2d 1079 (Fla.1983), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 978, 104 S.Ct. 2361, 80 L.Ed.2d 832 (1984); Williams v. State, 403 So. 2d 453 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), rev. denied, 412 So. 2d 471 (Fla.1982). Since police officers are not required to administer warnings in the absence of “custodial interrogation”, the court did not err in denying defendant’s motion.
Defendant further asserts that the court erred in admitting certain autopsy slides into evidence. During the trial, these slides were introduced over the objection that a discovery violation occurred. Defense counsel asserted that he had not previously seen the slides and that the state failed to bring them to his attention. Additionally, defendant argues that the court’s inquiry into this issue was inadequate under Richardson v. State, 246 So. 2d 771 (Fla.1971). After a review of the record, we conclude that the trial court could determine that the slides had been disclosed and made available to the defense, and that there was no discovery violation.
The defense had demanded discovery of “photographs,” but no separate demand was made for “slides.” Both are “still” pictures. There is no requirement that the state specify, in response to the demand for discovery, that there are “slides” available for inspection in addition to “photographs.” The state insists that all photographs, including these slides, were made available to counsel at the time of the inspection.
The defense says that the state had a duty to specifically bring the slides to their attention. The state, however, alleged that the defense did not even seek copies of the items furnished for inspection, and that it was up to defense counsel to insure that they had reviewed all of the evidence produced for inspection. Furthermore, the slides were specifically mentioned in the autopsy report furnished to the defense.
The trial court offered the defendant the opportunity to review the slides in advance of their introduction. The defense declined this offer and insisted that the only remedy should be their exclusion from evidence. We recognize that the trial court, in overruling the objection, did not expressly find that no discovery violation occurred. However, this determination is implicit in the colloquy on the record. In any event, a sufficient hearing was conducted to meet the Richardson requirements and to satisfy the trial court that the state had acted in good faith, and that there was no prejudice that could not be cured short of excluding evidence. See Justus v. State, 438 So. 2d 358 (Fla.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1052, 104 S.Ct. 1332, 79 L.Ed.2d 726 (1984). Consequently, we find no error or abuse of discretion in the admission of the autopsy slides.
Defendant also argues that the court did not use the phrase “aggravated child abuse,” but simply “child abuse,” in the finding of guilt. This was not required, and, in any event, the court did find that the defendant was guilty as charged.
The state concedes error in the imposition of costs. With respect to the other issues raised, we find no merit.
The judgment and sentence are, therefore, affirmed, except that all costs in the judgment are hereby stricken.
GLICKSTEIN and DELL, JJ., concur. . The state notes that a statement of particulars was furnished to the defendant specifying the methods of committing the child abuse charged. In addition to reciting some elements of aggravated battery in the indictment, it also included willful torture and malicious punishment. The court did not specify which elements constituted the basis for his factual determination of guilt. See Lightbourne v. State, 438 So. 2d 380 (Fla. 1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1051, 104 S.Ct. 1330, 79 L.Ed.2d 725 (1984).
. In this case, as in Robles and Doyle, there is no issue of a dual conviction of both the homicide and the underlying felony. See Mills v. State, 476 So. 2d 172 (Fla.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1031, 106 S.Ct. 1241, 89 L.Ed.2d 349 (1986).
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Brooks v. State, 918 So. 2d 181 (Fla. 2005)…the act constituting the aggravated child abuse merged into the infant’s homicide. Generally, aggravated child abuse can be a separate charge and serve as the felony in a felony murder charge. This is the situation that occurred in Mapps v. State, 520 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988), in which the defendant was convicted of felony murder with the underlying felony being aggravated child abuse. In Mapps, the defendant threw, shook, or struck a ten-month old child causing a skull fracture which killed the child…1 / 2
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Caylor v. State, 78 So. 3d 482 (Fla. 2011)…mportantly, however, we also stated that “[gjenerally, aggravated child abuse can be a separate charge and serve as the felony in a felony murder charge.” Id. at 198 (emphasis added). We compared the facts of Brooks’ case to those in Mapps v. State, 520 So. 2d 92, 93 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988), where the defendant was convicted of felony murder with the underlying offense of aggravated child abuse after committing numerous separate acts of striking, throwing, and shaking a ten-month-old child, leading to a skull fr…
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Taylor v. State, 640 So. 2d 1127 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)…offenses which will support a first-degree murder verdict if a death occurs during the commission, or attempt to commit, aggravated child abuse. § 782.04(1)(a)2, Fla.Stat. (1987); Pugh v. State, 624 So. 2d 277 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). In Mapps v. State, 520 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 4th DCA), review denied, 528 So. 2d 1182 (Fla.1988), the court expressly rejected an argument that the felonies specified in the felony-murder statute merge with the homicide to prevent conviction of the first-degree murder charge. See also Fr…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (22 total)
- Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (U.S. 1966)
- Richardson v. State, 246 So. 2d 771 (Fla. 1971)
- Dion Michael Carawan v. State, 515 So. 2d 161 (Fla. 1987)
- Oregon v. Mathiason, 429 U.S. 492 (U.S. 1977)
- McNAMARA v. State, 357 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 1978)
- Lightbourne v. State, 438 So. 2d 380 (Fla. 1983)
- Griffin v. Texas, 465 U.S. 1051 (U.S. 1984)
- Kinnett Dairies, Inc. v. Dairymen, Inc., 465 U.S. 1051 (U.S. 1984)
- Mills v. State, 476 So. 2d 172 (Fla. 1985)
- Buddy Earl Justus v. State, 438 So. 2d 358 (Fla. 1983)