Linson v. State

The trial court erred in convicting the defendant of both felony and malice murder in the death of her 16-month-old son, since there was but a single victim.

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Appellant Vickie Faye Linson was charged with malice murder, felony murder, and cruelty to children, and, after a jury trial, she was found guilty of each offense. The trial court entered judgments of conviction on the guilty verdicts and imposed concurrent sentences of life imprisonment for malice murder and felony murder and 20 years for cruelty to children. A motion for new trial was denied, and Appellant appeals. 1. Construed most strongly in support of the verdicts, the evidence shows that the victim of all crimes charged was Zi’Terrian Linson, who was Appellant’s 16-month-old son, was afraid of her, and had been physically abused by her on numerous occasions. Mario Johnson, who was Appellant’s co-defendant at trial, was her boyfriend and lived in the same apartment. On the morning of January 2, 2008, Appellant awakened Johnson and asked him to take care of the victim. She did not follow her usual practice of notifying her child care provider that the victim would not be coming that day. Although Appellant claimed that she heard the victim fall out of bed, she left for work, later telling friends that she heard him crying and knew that he was dying.

Johnson tried to console the victim, finally realized something was wrong, and sought help in a panicked and distraught manner. Emergency personnel found the victim cool to the touch and in a very grave condition. Appellant arrived and was unemotional, trying to obtain information from Johnson, and declining to ride in the ambulance or with the police escort. Having learned that the victim’s body was cool, Appellant falsely reported a problem with the apartment’s heating unit. She later incorrectly told police that she did not have a phone number for the child care provider. At the hospital, Johnson continued to be distraught and Appellant was unconcerned. Several witnesses testified to Appellant’s lack of grief and apparently insincere displays of grief when the victim’s death was announced and at the time of the funeral.

Linson v. State

The trial court erred in convicting the defendant of both felony and malice murder in the death of her 16-month-old son, since there was but a single victim.

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