Harold Henry Brown v. State Texas

The record reflects that the appellant was living with the mother of the deceased child and was taking care of the child while the mother was at work. When the mother returned home from work about 2:30 A.M. on Thursday, December 23, 1971, the child, 22 months old, was unconscious. The child never regained consciousness and was not taken for medical treatment until approximately 3:30 A.M., December 25, 1971, when the appellant and the childs mother took her to the emergency room at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. Both the mother and appellant, upon being questioned by Officer Layman about the childs condition, said a babysitter had caused the injuries while they were at a party. Detective Whistler arrived at the hospital to investigate the matter. As the result of a conversation between Whistler and the mother, the detective instructed Officer Layman to take appellant into custody at approximately 6:30 A.M. on Christmas morning. While still at the hospital, Officer Layman gave appellant the appropriate Miranda warnings. Appellant was then taken to the city jail, where he made and signed a written confession.