Tammy Lou Kelly v. State of Indiana
2014 Ind. App. LEXIS 31
| Ind. Ct. App. | 2014Background
- On March 6, 2011, Tammy Kelley stabbed 12‑year‑old D.S. multiple times; D.S. suffered serious injuries and required ICU care.
- Police found Kelley in the apartment with blood on her and a blood‑stained steak knife nearby; she resisted officers and kicked/kneed two officers.
- Kelley was charged with attempted murder, criminal confinement (child under 14), three counts of battery resulting in bodily injury (including two against officers), and resisting law enforcement.
- Two court‑appointed psychiatrists reviewed records and interviewed Kelley and both concluded she was legally insane (unable to appreciate wrongfulness) at the time of the offense; both found her competent to stand trial.
- Kelley waived a jury; the bench trial was submitted on stipulated police reports, psychiatrist reports, and medical records. The trial court found Kelley not guilty on attempted murder but guilty but mentally ill on remaining counts and sentenced her.
- The Court of Appeals reversed, holding the trial court’s guilty but mentally ill finding was contrary to law and remanded with instructions to enter a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity; it also concluded confinement conviction lacked sufficient evidence (and would implicate double jeopardy).
Issues
| Issue | State's Argument | Kelley’s Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the trial court’s verdict of guilty but mentally ill was contrary to law | Trier of fact may reject experts and rely on demeanor/other evidence; judge entitled to prefer other evidence over psychiatric reports | Two unanimous psychiatrists found Kelley legally insane and no contradictory lay testimony existed, so court could not override experts | Reversed: no sufficient probative contrary evidence existed; court must enter not guilty by reason of insanity |
| Sufficiency of evidence for criminal confinement (child under 14) | Number/severity of injuries and use of a knife/locked door showed restraint beyond the battery | No evidence Kelley knowingly confined or removed D.S.; injuries alone insufficient to infer confinement | Reversed on confinement: evidence insufficient to show confinement beyond that necessary for the underlying assault |
| Sufficiency of evidence for battery of officers (bodily injury) | Officers reported pain/discomfort from groin strikes, and any degree of bodily pain satisfies bodily‑injury element | Argued officers did not suffer bodily pain as required | Affirmed for officer batteries: reports of pain supported bodily‑injury element |
| Double jeopardy (battery and confinement same‑evidence test) | State relied on separate facts to support charges | Kelley argued actual evidence overlapped and convictions could be based on same facts | Court concluded reasonable possibility the same facts were used; confinement conviction would be barred by double jeopardy if it had been upheld |
Key Cases Cited
- Barany v. State, 658 N.E.2d 60 (Ind. 1995) (jury may credit lay testimony over unanimous expert opinions about sanity)
- Thompson v. State, 804 N.E.2d 1146 (Ind. 2004) (trier of fact may reject expert insanity opinions and rely on demeanor/lay evidence)
- Galloway v. State, 938 N.E.2d 699 (Ind. 2010) (upholding sanity findings requires other sufficient probative evidence to conflict with unanimous experts; demeanor evidence has limits when long history of illness exists)
- Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32 (Ind. 1999) (actual evidence test for double jeopardy assesses whether fact‑finder may have used identical evidentiary facts for separate convictions)
- Bailey v. State, 979 N.E.2d 133 (Ind. 2012) (any degree of bodily pain may constitute bodily injury for battery)