Cecelia Leigh Burnette v. Commonwealth of Virginia

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• holding that evidence of prior bruising on a child— considered alongside the defendant’s inconsistent explanations—was admissible in a child abuse trial because it demonstrated the defendant’s prior relationship with and feelings toward the child
• noting that a defendant cannot sanitize the evidence or preclude the Commonwealth from introducing photographs of a dead victim even though they are gruesome
• holding evidence was sufficient to support defendant’s conviction for felony child abuse, as fact finder was entitled to believe defendant’s boyfriend’s testimony that he had not injured child and then reasonably infer defendant had harmed child
• upholding trial court’s admission of child autopsy photographs over defendant’s unfair prejudice objection
• evidence of a baby’s prior injuries was relevant and admissible to show the defendant’s “prior relationship with and feelings toward” the infant
• evidence of a baby’s prior injuries was relevant and admissible to show the defendant’s “prior relationship with and feelings toward” the infant

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).