State v. Grube, 987 N.E.2d 287

Grube was indicted in 2010 on aggravated murder (age <13), murder, and child endangering; trial yielded convictions for aggravated murder and child endangering, with murder verdict unresolved and count two later dismissed.
Autopsy revealed two skull fractures in J.G., with expert testimony deeming death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma.
State presented doctors and detectives who connected the injuries to intentional abuse; defense portrayed Grube as loving mother with husband having possible abusive history.
Grube gave a videotaped statement contradicting some trial testimony; multiple witnesses testified about Grube’s behavior and possible culpability.
Appellant challenged sufficiency, requested lesser-included offenses, argued non-merger of counts for sentencing, and claimed ineffective assistance of counsel; the court remanded on merger-related issues but otherwise affirmed in part.
Final judgment: affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for aggravated murder	Grube contends no purposeful act toward J.G. caused death.	Grube argues the evidence centers on recklessness rather than purpose.	Sufficient evidence supports aggravated murder
Lesser-included offenses instruction	Grube entitled to reckless homicide/involuntary manslaughter instructions.	No such instruction required given the record.	No plain error in omitting lesser offenses
Merger for sentencing	Count one (aggravated murder) and count three (endangering children) should merge under R.C. 2941.25.	Counts should merge if committed with single act and single animus.	Remanded to determine whether the offenses were committed with a single conduct/animus; not decided on the record
Effective assistance of counsel	Ineffective assistance due to evidentiary and procedural handling	Counsel acted within reasonable trial strategy	No reversible ineffective-assistance violation established

State v. Johnson, 128 Ohio St.3d 153, 942 N.E.2d 1061 (2010) (allied-offense/merger framework; single vs separate animus inquiry)
State v. Underwood, 124 Ohio St.3d 365, 922 N.E.2d 923 (2010) (plain-error/merger analysis; decision impact on sentencing)
State v. Campbell, 69 Ohio St.3d 38, 630 N.E.2d 339 (1994) (lesser-included offense instructions; standard for instructing)
State v. McGhee, 79 Ohio St.3d 193, 680 N.E.2d 975 (1997) (recklessness as the mental state for endangering a child)