Douglas E. Dowden v. Commonwealth of Virginia

Summary

The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed Dowden's conviction for the involuntary manslaughter of his seven-month-old son, holding that the circumstantial evidence — including that the defendant was the only person alone with the healthy baby during the interval when the infant became gravely injured, his 'hypothetical' remarks about kicking the crib, his silence when accused, and medical testimony that the fatal injuries were blunt-force trauma unrelated to CPR — excluded every hypothesis of innocence flowing from the evidence. The court further held the evidence sufficient on the gross-negligence element, permitting the jury to infer that the unintended killing resulted from carelessness so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a callous disregard for human life.