DODSON v. STATE (2013)

John Dodson, Jr. was tried by a Dougherty County jury and convicted of the murder of his 82–year–old neighbor, Willie Wright, Sr. Dodson appeals, contending that the State failed to show at trial that Wright died as a result of Dodson assaulting him. Upon our review of the record and briefs, we affirm the judgment below.¹

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that on August 31, 2007, Dodson was seen beating Wright in the head, face, and chest with a stick, which was, an eyewitness thought, the handle of a hoe. That witness called out to her sister, saying that Dodson was killing Wright, and the sister called 911. The witness then saw Dodson going through Wright's pockets as Wright lay bloodied on the ground. When police officers arrived, Dodson was still at the scene, and Wright, who was unable to speak, was taken to the hospital.

A neurosurgeon who treated Wright testified that, as a result of the assault, Wright suffered severe head injuries and that his skull was broken “from one ear to the other.” Because Wright was generally unresponsive—other than occasional moaning or flailing—his condition required the insertion of a feeding tube. By September 20, Wright still was generally unresponsive, but his vital signs had improved enough that he was discharged to a nursing home. He subsequently developed pneumonia, however, and was readmitted to the hospital on September 29. After the pneumonia was successfully treated with antibiotics—which were administered through the feeding tube—Wright was sent back to the nursing home. Around October 16, the feeding tube was dislodged, but because Wright was unable to communicate about any problem with the feeding tube, it remained dislodged for as many as several days before the problem was discovered. Wright developed sepsis and died from the infection on October 17, 2007, which was 47 days after he was attacked.

Dodson claims that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Wright died as a result of the assault and not from intervening circumstances that arose during the course of his treatment. But it was for the jury to determine the cause of Wright's death, and the jury understandably resolved the issue of causation adversely to Dodson. See Shields v. State, 285 Ga. 372, 374(1), 677 S.E.2d 100 (2009). See also Green v. State, 266 Ga. 758, 759(2)(b), 470 S.E.2d 884 (1996) (an “unlawful injury may be the cause of death if the injury directly and materially contributed to the happening of a secondary or consequential cause of death.”) (punctuation and footnote omitted). Evidence was presented to the jury that elderly and bedridden patients such as Wright often die as a result of pneumonia or infections that they develop during their treatment, such as infections from a dislodged feeding tube. And while Dodson blames Wright's caregivers for failing to notice in a timely manner that Wright's feeding tube had become dislodged, the evidence shows that it was because of the brain injuries inflicted upon Wright by Dodson that a feeding tube was required and that Wright was unable to inform anyone when the tube became dislodged. As a result, we find that the evidence is sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find Dodson guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of felony murder. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); Shields, 285 Ga. at 375(1), 677 S.E.2d 100; Lynch v. State, 268 Ga. 899, 494 S.E.2d 667 (1998).²

Judgment affirmed.

BLACKWELL, Justice.

All the Justices concur.