Jennie Bain Ducker

Case details

Jennie Bain Ducker was convicted of aggravated child abuse for the hyperthermia deaths of her toddler children, Devin and Dustin Ducker. She left the boys in her parked car with the windows rolled up for at least eight hours.

The offence

Ducker drove with her two children, ages twenty-three months and twelve months, to the McMinnville Holiday Inn on June 6, 1995. She securely fastened her children into their car seats, closed the windows, and locked the doors, then left the children alone in the car and went to her boyfriend’s hotel room. She entered the hotel room where her boyfriend and three other individuals were playing video games, and the record indicated she drank some wine.

The children died of systemic hyperthermia, a condition that results when a human body severely overheats and is unable to cool itself. The record established that Ducker knowingly parked her car, rolled up the windows, securely fastened the children in the car, locked the car and left them inside the parked car from approximately 3:45 a.m. to between 12 and 1 p.m. on June 6. The evidence supports a finding that Ducker knowingly and other than by accidental means neglected the children, and that the neglect adversely affected the children’s health and welfare. The children were pronounced dead on arrival after Ducker drove them to the hospital where they were pronounced dead at approximately 1:20 p.m.

Ducker’s indictment charged first degree murder for the reckless killing of her children as the reckless killing of a child resulting from aggravated child abuse. The indictment counts stated:

• Count one read, in pertinent part, that the defendant: unlawfully and recklessly did kill Devin Lee Ducker, D.O.B. 7-2-93 a child less than sixteen (16) years of age as a result of aggravated child abuse, as defined by T.C.A. 39-15-402, ․ in violation of T.C.A. 39-13-202.
• Count two was identical to count one except that count two was for the murder of “Dustin Jay Ducker, D.O.B. 5-10-94.”

A jury acquitted Ducker of murder charges but convicted her on two counts of aggravated child abuse. She was sentenced to eighteen years on each count to run concurrently for an effective sentence of eighteen years.

Investigation

The jury heard that Ducker told police different accounts of what had happened, including that she left the boys in the car for only four hours while she went shopping.

During the proceedings, the trial included psychiatric and evidentiary disputes involving Ducker’s condition and intoxication:

• Ducker’s defense was that she was not impaired by alcohol that night and was suffering from Manic Depression and Bipolar Disorder.
• Ducker claimed she suffered from hallucinations since childhood and that she had made several attempts at suicide.
• Psychiatric testimony said that her conditions caused her to have severe mood swing and that she suffered from a sleep disorder.
• Other testimony said that her sleep disorder caused her to be up for over 22 hours the previous night and that had been the cause of her crashing and not waking up in time to save her children.
• Defense experts would testify that the blood alcohol test was not accurate and that Ducker had a fungal infection in her arm that caused the faulty blood alcohol level.

The record also included testimony and accounts from individuals present at the hotel and later described:

• Ducker entered the hotel room where her boyfriend and three other individuals were playing video games and drinking beer.
• The testimony of individuals present indicated Ducker left the room on two occasions, once to get ice and once to get analgesics.
• Ducker testified that she left the room on five occasions to check on her children.
• The defendant apparently never mentioned to anyone that she had left her children locked in her car.
• The gathering broke up at approximately 5:00 a.m.
• Ducker and her boyfriend remained at the hotel room, fell asleep shortly thereafter, and Ducker awoke between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m., returning to her car and discovering her lifeless children.

Expert testimony at trial indicated that her blood alcohol level could have been as high as .1925 that morning.

Arrest and charges

Ducker was arrested and charged with two counts of first degree murder.

The prosecution’s position was that Ducker was drunk and left the children in the car so she could party with her friends. The defense’s position was that Ducker was not impaired by alcohol and was suffering from mental health conditions.

Trial

Judge Charles Haston presided over the case.

The jury found Ducker guilty of aggravated child abuse on October 3, 1995, and sentenced her.

During the sentencing proceedings, Judge Charles Haston said he was not convinced that Ducker was remorseful over the deaths of her sons, Devin and Dustin Ducker, and indicated she would have to serve at least six years before eligibility for parole. In sentencing, the judge made the following statement:

"Stolen moments with this man in this motel room were more important than her babies"

The judge also voiced his opinion that he was not at all sure that Ducker was sorry for what she had done to her children and that her attitude at her sentencing seemed hostile to him.

Ducker’s attorney disagreed, stating:

"I think she wants punishment. She feels very guilty. It's her parents that are hurting. They've lost two grandchildren and a daughter"

During trial, the indictment included the victims’ dates of birth:

• Devin Lee Ducker, D.O.B. 7-2-93
• Dustin Jay Ducker, D.O.B. 5-10-94

The record included evidence from medical examiner autopsy reports listing Dustin J. Ducker as twelve months old and Devin L. Ducker as twenty-three months old. The trial court instructed the jury that a “child” is defined as being less than eighteen years old, and instructed the jury regarding the possible sentence for Class A aggravated child abuse.

Ducker’s defense at trial centered on whether she knowingly caused injuries or harm to her children. The defense did not focus on the ages of the children.

Sentencing

Judge Charles Haston sentenced Jennie Bain Ducker to an 18-year prison term on November 10, 1995. She was convicted on Oct. 3 of aggravated child abuse in her sons’ deaths.

The sentence required her to serve at least six years before she would be eligible for parole. She was sentenced under sentencing guidelines that allowed her eligibility for parole after serving only 30% of her sentence with credit for work and good behavior.

The temperature inside the car was estimated at 120 degrees, and the car was said to have reached a temperature of over 120 degrees.

Appeals

Ducker appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed both her convictions and her sentences.

The Tennessee Supreme Court granted review to determine:

1. Whether aggravated child abuse is a lesser-included offense of the charged offense of first degree murder for the reckless killing of a child;
2. Whether the knowing mens rea of aggravated child abuse refers to the conduct of the defendant or to the result of that conduct;
3. Whether the evidence supports the defendant's convictions; and
4. Whether the defendant was properly convicted of Class A felonies when the trial court failed to charge the jury on the age element contained in the aggravated child abuse statute.

Outcome

The Tennessee Supreme Court concluded:

• Aggravated child abuse was a lesser-included offense of the charged offense of first degree murder for the reckless killing of a child.
• The knowing mens rea required for a conviction of aggravated child abuse referred to the conduct and not to the result of the conduct.
• The evidence was sufficient to support Ducker’s convictions.
• The defendant was properly convicted of Class A felonies for injuries to children six years of age or less.

In addressing the age instruction issue, the Supreme Court held that the statutory provision regarding a victim six years of age or less was an essential element of the Class A felony of aggravated child abuse and that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury that it must find beyond a reasonable doubt that the victims were six years of age or less. The Supreme Court further held the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt and therefore did not overturn the convictions.

The Supreme Court’s conclusion also addressed that the offense’s elements included the aggravated child abuse offense into the murder offense for reckless killing of a child. It held that the mens rea of “knowing” referred only to the conduct elements of treatment or neglect and rejected the argument that the child abuse statute was a strict liability statute.

Costs of the appeal were taxed against Ducker.

Aftermath

Ducker was released on parole on April 9, 2007, after serving over 11 years in prison for aggravated child abuse for the hyperthermia deaths of her toddler children, Devin and Dustin Ducker.

She completed her parole supervision through the Memphis parole office. Her parole required she report to her parole officer regularly, not leave the area without permission, avoid any brushes with the law, and maintain employment. Provided she completed her parole, she would be free from supervision in a year and a half, although she would be listed as a convicted felon absent court restoration of rights.

Ducker was granted parole earlier in the year of release on her third try. At the time of the appeal and parole proceedings discussed, a juror at a parole hearing thought her punishment was harsh and said she went along with it only because she thought another jury would convict her of first degree murder. Her parole application was denied at that time, and she was eligible again in 2003.

When Ducker entered prison, she was 18 years old. Up for parole in March of 2007, she was 35. Four out of seven board members voted for her to be released, and the parole board recommended that she be released.

Other details

Ducker’s children:

• Devin Ducker, D.O.B. 7-2-93, age twenty-three months
• Dustin Ducker, D.O.B. 5-10-94, age twelve months

A police officer pulled Ducker over at about 3:00 a.m. She was sober and driving okay, and the police let her go and watched as she pulled into her grandmother’s driveway. By 3:30 a.m., Ducker had gone to the motel in McMinnville to see another boyfriend, Micah Majors. Ducker locked the door, claiming she intended not to stay long. At about 5:00 a.m., Micah’s friends decided to leave, and Ducker walked them out. Ducker returned to the room where Micah was and he went to sleep. Micah stated that when his alarm went off around noon, Ducker was still there and he said she patted him on the leg and told him she had to leave.

Ducker pulled up in from the E.R. at River Park Hospital. Ducker had Devin in her arms and was screaming for help when someone else grabbed Dustin and pulled him from the car seat. Both boys were pronounced dead on arrival. Temperatures taken on both boys were over 108 degrees.

Ducker took a blood alcohol test at about 2:00 p.m. and the results showed her level to be .06. Expert testimony indicated that earlier in the morning it would have been about .19, which was described as twice the legal limit in the proceedings discussed. Her car was searched and a half empty bottle of Crown Royal whiskey was found.

People who had babysat for Ducker described that she often left the children in their care for long periods of time and did not check on them. Pamela Ray said she would take care of the children for up to 25 hours at a time. Ducker showed up and said she had been drinking and that she needed to sober up before she could take her children home.

At the time, Ducker’s background described:

• By age 16, Ducker dropped out of school after finding out she was pregnant.
• She married the father of the baby and, after a miscarriage, they divorced.
• At age 18, she married for the second time; her marriage to James Ducker was described as short, and there was time for her to have Devin and Dustin.
• Eventually, Ducker and James Ducker divorced, and Ducker would not allow James to see the children in the year prior to their deaths.

The Tennessee Supreme Court’s opinion was delivered on July 14, 2000, and authored by HOLDER, J., with ANDERSON, C.J., and DROWOTA, BIRCH, and BARKER, JJ., joining. The named counsel in the opinion included David L. Raybin of Nashville, Tennessee, and Michael D. Galligan of McMinnville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jennie Bain Ducker; and Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General, and Kim R. Helper, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.