HESTER SPANN v. STATE (2024)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

[1] Shane Michael Hester-Spann was convicted of Level 5 felony domestic battery for battering his pregnant wife. On appeal, Hester-Spann acknowledges that the State presented sufficient evidence to prove that he battered his wife while knowing that she was pregnant. He claims, however, that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his wife experienced “physical pain,” which is required for a Level 5 felony conviction. See Appellant's App. Vol. II p. 14 (charging information); Ind. Code §§ 35-42-2-1.3(c)(3) (providing that domestic battery is a Level 5 felony if “[t]he offense results in bodily injury to a pregnant family or household member if the person knew of the pregnancy”), 35-31.5-2-29 (defining “bodily injury” as “any impairment of physical condition, including physical pain”).

[2] At the jury trial, the investigating officer testified that the victim told him on the scene that Hester-Spann picked her up, threw her down, got on top of her, grabbed her hair, and pulled her head back by her hair. The officer also testified that the victim told him that “it hurt,” that she had “goose eggs from the incident,” and that “she had pain in the bump in the area of her head from where [Hester-Spann] grabbed her hair.” Tr. Vol. II pp. 215, 238, 242. Hester-Spann claims that “ ‘pain’ is not necessarily the same as ‘physical pain,’ ” as it can “also be emotional/psychogenic.” Appellant's Br. p. 14. Although the officer didn't use the words “physical pain,” the reasonable inference from his testimony is that the victim suffered physical pain because the pain she complained of came from the bump on her head from where Hester-Spann grabbed her hair. We therefore affirm Hester-Spann's conviction for Level 5 felony domestic battery.

[3] Affirmed.

Vaidik, Judge.

Weissmann, J., and Foley, J., concur.