State v. Perry

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 2054

Syllabus

EVIDENCE — FORFEITURE BY WRONGDOING — EVID.R. 804(B)(6) — DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EXPERT TESTIMONY — SUFFICIENCY — MANIFEST WEIGHT: The trial court did not err in finding, prior to trial, that the defendant actively engaged in wrongdoing with the purpose of persuading the victim to stop cooperating with the state, to recant, and not to testify against him at trial and, thus, forfeited his confrontation right. Thus, the trial court did not err in admitting, in the victim's absence, the victim's out-of-court statements at trial. Although the state did not establish an adequate foundation to admit testimony from the state's domestic violence expert about the characteristics of domestic violence victims, in the absence of an objection from the defense and given the considerable evidence supporting the defendant's guilt, the trial court did not plainly err in failing to exclude, sua sponte, the domestic violence expert's testimony at trial. Defendant's convictions for felonious assault, abduction, and domestic violence were supported by sufficient evidence and were not against the manifest weight of the evidence where the jury believed the victim's testimony and the nature of her injuries was supported by testimony from first responders who encountered the victim, photographs, and medical evidence. Judgment affirmed.