Following a bench trial, Robert Earl Bizzard was convicted of aggravated battery in violation of OCGA § 16-5-24 a, for attacking and seriously injuring his wife. Bizzard now appeals from the denial of his motion for a new trial. He contends that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction because the State failed to prove either that Bizzard acted with the requisite criminal intent or that venue was proper in Liberty County. Although we find that the evidence is enough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bizzard committed aggravated battery, we also find that the State failed to present any evidence of venue. Accordingly, we must reverse the judgment below and remand for a new trial. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict,1 the evidence shows that on the night in question, the victim attended a church revival meeting and then returned to the home she shared with Bizzard on Strickland Street. There she found a note from Bizzard, stating that he had seen the victim with another man and that she should expect a beating when Bizzard returned. Later that evening, Bizzard called the victim and asked her to pick him up at a local bar. The victim refused his request, and Bizzard found another way home. Soon after he arrived home, Bizzard began physically assaulting the victim and repeatedly told her that he was going to kill her. Eventually, the victim was able to flee the house and began running towards her mother’s house, which was also located on Strickland Street. When it appeared that Bizzard would catch her before she made it to her mother’s house, the victim instead went to the home of a neighbor. Bizzard reached the victim as she was standing on the neighbor’s porch, banging on the door and screaming for help. He hit the victim in the face with such force that she lost consciousness. The force of the blow also split the skin above the victim’s upper lip, and the injury was so severe that it required more than 20 stitches to close, the victim was unable to eat for approximately 10 days after the incident, and she was left with a permanent scar.2 Bizzard left the scene and went to the home of the victim’s mother, where he informed the mother that the victim needed medical attention. The victim’s mother called 911. Officers with the City of Hinesville Police Department responded and arrested Bizzard.
1. A person commits aggravated battery when he “maliciously causes bodily harm to another by depriving him or her of a member of his or her body, by rendering a member of his or her body useless, or by seriously disfiguring his or her body or a member thereof.” OCGA § 16-5-24 a. Here, Bizzard contends that the State failed to prove that he possessed the requisite criminal intent for aggravated battery because it did not show that he intended to injure the victim as seriously as he did; that is, he argues that the State failed to prove that he specifically intended to maim or disfigure the victim. This argument misapprehends the intent necessary for aggravated battery.
