ARTHUR JENNINGS - 5 yo (1996) - Apple Valley (N of San Bernardino) CA

by TomTerrific0420 Sat Aug 14, 2010 3:39 am

The California Supreme Court yesterday upheld the death sentence for an Apple Valley area man convicted of
killing his 5-year-old son in 1996.
Chief Justice Ronald M. George, writing for a unanimous court, said there was sufficient evidence for a
jury to find Martin Carl Jennings guilty of first degree murder on theories of
premeditation, murder-by-torture, and murder-by-poisoning, and to find that he
tortured Arthur Jennings, making him eligible for the death penalty.
Jennings denied any intent to kill his son, claiming the boy died as a result of being fed powerful sedatives by
his mother. But the totality of the evidence, George said, showed that Arthur
died as a result of an ongoing series of beatings and deprivations for which
his father was at least as responsible as his mother.
Martin and Michelle Jennings were tried together for murder, and both were found guilty of murder in the first degree.
A special-circumstance allegation of torture was found true as to Martin Jennings, but jurors could
not agree as to whether it was true as to his wife as well. A
special-circumstance allegation of murder-by-poison was found not true, as to both defendants.
San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Rufus L. Yent declared a mistrial as to Michelle Jennings, and the
penalty phase of the trial went forward as to Martin Jennings only. Michelle
Jennings was later sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, after the parties
agreed to allow the judge to give a verdict on the poisoning allegation based
on the testimony, and he concluded that she lacked the requisite intent.
The body of Arthur Jennings was found at the bottom of an abandoned desert mine shaft. Among his
wounds was a blow to the head, and Martin Jennings later admitted hitting the
boy in the head with a shovel, about an hour before he died.
The Jenningses reported their son missing on Feb. 6, but ultimately admitted to sheriff’s detectives
that he had died at home and that the body was hidden in the mine shaft. In a
joint interview, they detailed having abused the boy, although Martin Jennings
said he did not want the boy to die.
Prosecution witnesses detailed how the Jenningses were ill-prepared to care for the child, who had
returned to their home about three months earlier after having spent most of his
young life in the care of Martin Jennings’ half-sister in Montana. The boy had what the
parents described as “fits” or temper tantrums, but what experts said were likely epileptic seizures.
The parents acknowledged giving the boy the over-the-counter sleep aid Unisom, as well as Vicodin and
Valium, and Martin Jennings acknowledged having personal acquaintance with the
effect of those drugs. Asked what effect he thought they would have on his
young son, he said he “didn’t think about it.”
Rejecting Jennings’ challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence, the chief justice said there was
enough proof to convict him on all three theories—premeditation, poisoning, and
torture—given the testimony establishing that the boy died from a concurrence
of events over a period of a number of months.
The jury’s rejection of the special circumstance of murder-by-poisoning, the chief justice said, was
not inconsistent with the first-degree murder verdict. Jurors, George said,
could have found that Martin Jennings gave the boy the medications—knowing what
effect they would have and thus helping bring about his death—or that he aided
and abetted his wife in doing so, or both.