Marian Fraser v. the State of Texas
07-23-00131-CR
| Tex. App. | Oct 1, 2024Background
- Marian Fraser, owner/operator of a licensed daycare in Waco, Texas, was convicted of felony murder after a four-month-old infant (C.F.) died from a lethal dose of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) while in Fraser’s care.
- Fraser was solely responsible for preparing and administering bottles/medications to the children, including C.F.; C.F.’s parents denied administering the drug to her.
- An autopsy revealed a fatal level of diphenhydramine in C.F.’s system; subsequent investigation found similar evidence or symptoms among other children at the daycare.
- Fraser was indicted and convicted under the felony murder statute, with the underlying felony being injury to a child or endangering a child.
- On appeal, Fraser raised multiple challenges, including sufficiency of the evidence, search warrant validity, jury charge error, evidentiary issues, change of venue, and a Confrontation Clause violation.
- The appellate court affirmed her conviction, overruling all issues.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held (Court's Ruling) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency: Whether Fraser gave C.F. diphenhydramine | Evidence insufficient Fraser gave drug | Circumstantial evidence supports jury finding | Evidence sufficient; overruled |
| Sufficiency: Administration was clearly dangerous to life | Diphenhydramine not per se dangerous; label warnings ignored | Expert: drug clearly dangerous in infants | Evidence sufficient; overruled |
| Motion to Suppress: Search warrants | Affidavit lacked particularized probable cause | Affidavit + facts established nexus to electronics | Probable cause established; overruled |
| Admission of Extraneous Offenses | No admissible proof other children ingested drug | Testimony of other parents' observations admissible | Error not preserved; overruled |
| Jury Charge Error | Instructions deficient on elements and "in furtherance of" | Charge tracked previous authoritatively-resolved law | Prior holdings binding; overruled |
| Change of Venue | Prejudicial publicity prevented fair trial | Venue precautions and voir dire cured prejudice | No abuse of discretion; overruled |
| Confrontation Clause: Second autopsy report | Report relied on unchallenged, discredited evidence | Report cumulative, not critical to verdict | Error harmless; overruled |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (Only standard for sufficiency of evidence in criminal cases)
- Lomax v. State, 233 S.W.3d 302 (Defines felony murder under Texas law)
- Rodriguez v. State, 454 S.W.3d 503 (Felony murder not requiring proof of culpable mental state for murder)
- Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Standard of review for sufficiency of evidence)
- Williams v. State, 235 S.W.3d 742 (Injury to a child is result-oriented)
- Lopez v. State, 582 S.W.3d 377 (No mental state required for murder in felony murder cases)
- Swearingen v. State, 143 S.W.3d 808 (Search warrant affidavit standard)
- Gonzalez v. State, 222 S.W.3d 446 (Standard of abuse of discretion for change of venue motions)
- Scott v. State, 227 S.W.3d 670 (Harmless error analysis for Confrontation Clause violations)
- Renteria v. State, 206 S.W.3d 689 (Change of venue for community prejudice)