State v. Lowe, 2023 Ohio 1747

On August 4, 2020, two-year-old Z.B. became unresponsive while in the care of defendant Raynell Lowe; he died August 7, 2020, at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.
Lowe was the only adult present when the fatal injury is believed to have occurred; a six-year-old sibling (M.N.) later gave a videotaped statement claiming he "squished" Z.B. under a box.
Medical evidence (autopsy and treating physicians) showed retinal hemorrhages, retinal detachment, brainstem injury, and intracranial bleeding consistent with violent shaking by an adult and inconsistent with a fall or a child jumping on a box.
Police investigation shifted focus from M.N. to Lowe after medical consultation; Lowe delayed seeking medical help for several hours and presented a video of M.N.’s statement to others.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury charged Lowe with murder and related felonies; a jury convicted him and the trial court sentenced him to 15 years-to-life on murder (concurrent with other terms).
Lowe appealed, raising (1) ineffective assistance for failure to object to alleged hearsay police testimony, (2) trial-court error admitting hearsay, and (3) that convictions were against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Lowe)	Held
Whether convictions were against the manifest weight of the evidence	Medical and testimonial evidence support that an adult violently shook Z.B., Lowe was the sole adult present, and his delay and conduct supported guilt	M.N. admitted causing the injury; prior injury could explain death; medical testimony was inconsistent; no direct proof Lowe inflicted harm	Affirmed — weight of credible medical and circumstantial evidence supported convictions and jury did not lose its way
Whether admission of police testimony recounting doctors’ statements was plain error / hearsay	Officers’ testimony was investigatory (explaining police conduct) and nonhearsay or, if hearsay, cumulative after doctors testified	Admission of doctors’ statements through officers was hearsay and prejudicial	Affirmed — majority of challenged statements admissible as nonhearsay (investigative explanation); one remark was hearsay but harmless given prior direct medical testimony
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the challenged police testimony	Counsel’s failure to object had no prejudicial effect because the testimony was admissible or cumulative	Counsel erred by not objecting to hearsay, undermining fairness	Affirmed — Strickland standard not met: two challenged statements were properly admissible and the remaining hearsay was cumulative, so no reasonable probability of a different outcome

State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380, 678 N.E.2d 541 (1997) (explains manifest-weight-of-the-evidence standard)
State v. Martin, 20 Ohio App.3d 172, 485 N.E.2d 717 (1st Dist. 1983) (discretion to grant new trial limited to exceptional cases)
State v. Monroe, 105 Ohio St.3d 384, 827 N.E.2d 285 (2005) (jury may convict if substantial evidence proves elements beyond reasonable doubt)
State v. Getsy, 84 Ohio St.3d 180, 702 N.E.2d 866 (1998) (substantial-evidence discussion cited for weight review)
State v. Barnes, 94 Ohio St.3d 21, 759 N.E.2d 1240 (2002) (plain-error framework for Crim.R. 52(B))
United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725 (1993) (plain-error doctrine from federal context cited)
State v. Sanders, 92 Ohio St.3d 245, 750 N.E.2d 90 (2001) (plain-error and obvious-defect discussion)
State v. McKelton, 148 Ohio St.3d 261, 70 N.E.3d 508 (2016) (officer recounting out-of-court statements admissible to explain police conduct under conditions)
State v. Ricks, 136 Ohio St.3d 356, 995 N.E.2d 1181 (2013) (tests for admissibility when officers explain investigative conduct)
State v. Osie, 140 Ohio St.3d 131, 16 N.E.3d 588 (2014) (definition and limits of hearsay)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-part ineffective-assistance-of-counsel standard)