Appellant Darrell Thomas Collum was convicted of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, and one count of cruelty to children for the beating death of Jacob Rhodes, the 20-month-old son of his girlfriend and co-defendant, Tammie Lynn Rhodes.1 He was sentenced to three concurrent life terms on the malice murder and felony murder counts, and a consecutive 20-year term for cruelty to children. We affirmed Rhodes’s convictions on two counts of felony murder and one count of cruelty to children, but vacated her concurrent life sentences as improperly subjecting her to multiple punishments for the same crime, and remanded for resentencing. Rhodes v. State , 279 Ga. 587 619 SE2d 659 2005. Here, we also affirm Collum’s judgments of conviction, but vacate his sentence and remand for resentencing. 1. In Rhodes , we set forth the relevant facts as follows: In November 2000 Rhodes and her three sons moved in with her boyfriend, co-defendant Darrell Collum, and his three daughters. Rhodes and Collum met over the internet and had known each other for only a short time. Within days of moving into Collum’s home, 20-month-old Jacob Rhodes started receiving bruises to his head and body. Thereafter, Jacob’s leg was fractured to the extent that he could neither walk nor wear a shoe, and he suffered a broken rib. Although both injuries would have been extremely painful, Jacob received no medical attention. The day before he died, Jacob was seen with new bruises and a black eye, injuries so severe they caused at least one witness to call Rhodes and Collum and demand that they take the child to a doctor. They refused. That evening, Rhodes noticed Jacob’s head was swelling. Instead of seeking medical attention . . . she and Collum placed Jacob on the couch with several bags of ice around his head and a steak over his face in an attempt to stop the swelling and bruising. Jacob remained in this position until the next afternoon when he was discovered shivering and visibly cold, the ice having melted all around him. At this time, Jacob’s hands were clenched shut and his feet were visibly stiff and extended. Again, rather than seek medical attention, Rhodes left to buy a heating pad, which she used to try to warm Jacob. Hours later, after Jacob began vomiting a brown substance and gasping for air, Rhodes and Collum called 911. Despite efforts to resuscitate him, Jacob was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital. The medical examiner testified that Jacob had been severely beaten and ultimately died of blunt force trauma injuries to the head. At the time of his death, Jacob’s head, face, and scrotum were severely swollen and bruised. He had extensive hemorrhaging and injuries to the brain, bruising to the eyes, abrasions to the chin and mouth and blunt force injuries to the collarbone, chest, abdomen, legs, and arms. Expert testimony revealed that Jacob might have survived had he received appropriate medical attention. Although Rhodes blamed her six- and four-year-old sons for Jacob’s injuries, experts opined that the severity of Jacob’s injuries were the result of an “adult strength” force. Id., 279 Ga. at 588. Jacob had not experienced any unusual injuries prior to the time he moved in with Collum. Collum was alone in the house with Rhodes’s three sons prior to the time Jacob’s head began to swell and at various times on the night Jacob died. Collum told a co-worker that he was beating the boys. He also told his uncle that he could not do anything with Jacob and felt like punching him in the head as hard as he could. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, we conclude the evidence amply enabled a rational trier of fact to find Collum guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes charged. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.
2. Collum contends that the trial court erred by denying his motions to sever his trial from that of Rhodes and that numerous violations of his Sixth Amendment confrontation right occurred as a result. See Bruton v. United States , 391 U.S. 123 88 SC 1620, 20 LE2d 476 1968. A defendant seeking severance must show clearly that he will be prejudiced by a joint trial; in the absence of such a showing, the trial court’s denial of a motion to sever will not be disturbed. Rhodes , supra, 279 Ga. at 589 3.
