State v. Rainey

Citations

• 2023 Ohio 4043

Syllabus

EVIDENCE – SUFFICIENCY – MANIFEST WEIGHT – MURDER – INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL: Defendant's conviction for murder was supported by sufficient evidence and not against the weight of the evidence where the evidence established that the child was healthy when left with defendant, defendant was the only adult present, the child died due to blunt force trauma to the head, the state's experts testified that the injuries were caused by physical abuse and not an accidental fall, and the factfinder found the testimony of the state's experts to be credible. Defense counsel was not ineffective for failing to call a psychologist to present expert testimony on defendant's lack of propensity for violence because any testimony that a psychologist would have provided was purely speculative.