4D03-4737-MichelleLeigh Sparkman v. State of Florida

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State: Florida

Court: Florida Fourth District Court

Docket No: 4D03-4737

Case Date: 05/18/2005

Preview:DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FOURTH DISTRICT January Term 2005 MICHELLE LEIGH SPARKMAN, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. No. 4D03-4737 [May 18, 2005] POLEN , J. Michelle Leigh Sparkman appeals her conviction for manslaughter and sentence of fifteen years in prison. Because the trial court committed harmful error in admitting Detective Brock's out-of-court comments regarding his beliefs and theories that Sparkman killed the child, we reverse and remand this case to the trial court. Sparkman and William Jason Mikus began living together in June of 2000. Mikus had a child, Courtney, who was 14 months old. Sparkman had two children, Jeremiah, age four, and Kaley, who was five or six months old. Courtney had a history of sleep apnea and was hospitalized in the past for what Mikus believed to be seizures. She would stop breathing and her body would stiffen up. It had been recommended that Courtney be evaluated by a neurologist but Mikus did not take her to see one. On September 1, 2000, Mikus went to work around 7 a.m. Sparkman brought him lunch and took Courtney along with her. Courtney appeared playful and a little tired. Later, Sparkman called Mikus and said Courtney had fallen off the bed onto a table, breaking an ashtray. Sparkman said Courtney was not hurt and had gotten back up smiling and laughing. Joseph Hubbard, Jeremiah's father, went to the house that evening from nine-thirty to eleven. He did not notice any unusual behavior by Courtney. She was walking around drinking her bottle, climbed onto a

sofa, and was playing. He had occasion to see Courtney's head and face and he did not notice any injuries. However, he wasn't really paying attention to Courtney because he was playing with Jeremiah. When Mikus arrived home from work late that evening, Courtney was in bed asleep, and he looked at her briefly as he was going to bed. He was the last person to see Courtney that night. The next day, September 2, 2000, Mikus did not notice any unusual behavior from Courtney. When Mikus left for work around 11:15 a.m., Courtney was playing but getting tired. Mikus and Sparkman told her to go to bed and Courtney cried but got up and got in her bed. Sparkman went back to check on her and Mikus left for work. Mikus called around noon and he could hear Courtney screaming and crying in the background. Mikus asked if everything was all right and Sparkman told him yes, but that Courtney did not want to go to sleep. At about 12:15 p.m., Sparkman called Mikus and told him that something was wrong with Courtney. She said that Courtney was not moving and was barely breathing and that Mikus needed to come home now. Mikus arrived home five to seven minutes later. He ran into the bathroom and saw Sparkman washing vomit off of Courtney, who was slumped over. Mikus told Sparkman to call 911 and he began to perform CPR on Courtney. Her heartbeat was very weak and her breathing was very shallow. She looked like a rag doll. Right before the ambulance arrived, Courtney had a seizure

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