State v. Scroggs
2017 WL 1229924, 521 S.W.3d 649, 2017 Mo. App. LEXIS 270 (2017)
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Rule of Law:
Under Missouri's foreseeability-proximate cause theory of felony murder, a defendant is responsible for any death that is the natural and proximate result of the commission of a felony, and the defendant's conduct need only be a contributing cause of death, not the immediate or sole cause.
Facts:
- In 2013, Krystal Scroggs was pregnant but concealed the pregnancy, angrily denying it when questioned by her mother-in-law.
- Scroggs did not obtain any prenatal care or medical treatment during her pregnancy and admitted to using methamphetamine and marijuana throughout.
- Around October 7, 2013, Scroggs gave birth at home without any medical or professional assistance.
- After birth, the baby would not feed and was heard making a whimpering sound.
- Instead of seeking medical attention for the distressed newborn, Scroggs went to sleep.
- Upon waking, Scroggs found the baby had died. An autopsy later determined the baby was born alive, was full-term, and died from 'methamphetamine intoxication due to maternal methamphetamine use.'
- Scroggs placed the baby's body in a box and instructed her husband, Matthew, to bury it.
- Matthew placed the box containing the baby's body inside a bucket and filled it with concrete, hiding it in the family's garage.
Procedural Posture:
- The State charged Krystal Scroggs in the Circuit Court of Johnson County, Missouri (the trial court) with second-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child, and abandonment of a corpse.
- Following a trial, a jury found Scroggs guilty on all three counts.
- The trial court entered a judgment of conviction and sentenced Scroggs to concurrent prison terms, including life for the murder conviction.
- Scroggs (as appellant) appealed the judgment to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, arguing insufficiency of the evidence.
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Issue:
Does a mother's failure to obtain medical care for her newborn constitute a sufficient cause of the baby's death to support a felony-murder conviction, where the underlying felony is child endangerment and the immediate cause of death is methamphetamine intoxication from maternal drug use?
Opinions:
Majority - Gary D. Witt, Judge
Yes, the failure to obtain medical care is a sufficient contributing cause to support a felony-murder conviction. A death is considered a result of a felony if it is the natural and proximate consequence of that felony. The State was not required to prove that Scroggs's failure to seek care was the 'but for' cause of death. Instead, the court reasoned that the death of a newborn with high levels of methamphetamine is a foreseeable consequence of failing to provide medical care. Scroggs's underlying felony of child endangerment (knowingly creating a substantial risk by failing to get medical help) was a contributing cause of the death, which is sufficient under Missouri's 'foreseeability-proximate cause' theory. The court inferred her 'knowing' state of mind from the totality of circumstances, including her concealment of the pregnancy, illegal drug use, lack of any medical care, and subsequent disposal of the body.
Analysis:
This decision reinforces Missouri's adherence to the 'foreseeability-proximate cause' theory for felony murder, distinguishing it from stricter 'but for' causation standards used in other jurisdictions. It establishes that a defendant's felonious act of omission, such as failing to seek medical care, can serve as the legal cause of death even when another condition, like drug intoxication, is the immediate physiological cause. The case empowers prosecutors to bring felony-murder charges in complex child neglect cases where a parent's effort to conceal one crime (drug use) leads to another felony (child endangerment) that foreseeably results in death.
