Sabrina Allison Allen and Mason William Allen were indicted jointly on three counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, which alleged that they willfully withheld food from their three minor children to the extent that the children’s health was jeopardized. After the close of the State’s evidence, the trial court granted the Allens’ motion for a directed verdict on Counts 2 and 3 of the indictment, which addressed their treatment of the two older children, whose ages at the time were approximately five and three. The remaining count, which addressed the Allens’ treatment of their youngest child the victim, was sent to the jury, which found the Allens guilty. The Allens’ motion for new trial was denied, and they appeal, raising three enumerations of error. In their enumeration of errors, the Allens contend that the trial court should have directed a verdict on Count 1 as well, and that the trial court erred in denying their motion for new trial because their trial counsel had a conflict of interest and provided ineffective assistance. We find no merit in any of the Allens’ enumerations of error and affirm the judgment below.
Viewed to support the jury’s verdict, the evidence presented at trial showed that although considered a full-term baby, the victim weighed four pounds ten ounces at birth and was small for his gestational age. The pediatrician who attended him at birth, Dr. Kulangara, was qualified as an expert in pediatrics and testified as both a fact witness and an expert. He testified that the victim was a “normal but . . . small infant.” The victim gained some weight shortly after birth, and the pediatrician testified that at a few weeks old the victim was “looking good” and was “very healthy.” Approximately one month after birth he was still gaining weight, but “there was a complaint of vomiting a lot.” An upper G.I. series of X-rays revealed “a trace of gastro reflux,” which is “fairly common,” for which medication was prescribed. The victim’s next visit to the pediatrician, at two months and 20 days, showed he was “doing well.” His pediatrician did not see the victim again until approximately eight months later, when he was diagnosed with “severe failure to thrive” and had gained only three ounces since his last visit, eight months before.
