2020-2021 Case Information

Defendant Dane Krukowski and defendant Codie Lynn Stevens were the parents of RK, an infant child.  While Krukowski was giving RK a bath, RK struck his head on the bathtub.  The defendants did not immediately seek professional medical treatment for RK, but applied a cold compress.  There was conflicting evidence as to whether Stevens told RK’s doctor about the bathtub incident at a regularly scheduled well-visit two days later.  Two weeks later, RK began vomiting excessively.  The next morning, the defendants took RK to the hospital when it appeared that he was having a seizure.  A CAT showed that RK’s brain was bleeding.  He also had multiple rib fractures, ongoing seizure activity, and retinal hemorrhages.  A jury convicted each defendant, as charged, of second-degree child abuse.  The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for judgments of acquittals, holding that there was insufficient evidence to support the convictions.  The Supreme Court has ordered oral argument on the application to address:  (1) whether there is sufficient evidence for a rational juror to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants committed the offense of second-degree child abuse, MCL 750.136b(3)(a) and MCL 750.136b(3)(b); and (2) whether the phrase “willful abandonment” in MCL 750.136b(1)(c) encompasses a parent’s failure to timely seek professional medical care for his or her child.​