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crime itself leaves no trace. weekend. In addition, the State presented
evidence that Appellant was fasting after the
As we have said in the context of a murder case target weekend (which signaled some internal
with no body: “‘The notion that the careful and religious turmoil); Appellant was emotionally
meticulous murderer might escape punishment by withdrawn after the weekend (which also
destroying or forever concealing the body of his signaled that something in fact had occurred); and
victim is a distasteful one,’ and the murderer’s Appellant confessed consistently and voluntarily
successful disposition of the victim’s remains to two separate individuals (neither of whom held
should not be rewarded.” In the same way, we coercive powers of the State over him). These
cannot say that a defendant should be rewarded facts and circumstances provided sufficient
because he picked a particular victim and crime corroboration of the confessions at issue in this
that would result in his word being the only case.
evidence of the ‘body of the crime,’ which could
be forever concealed by strict application of the When the evidence introduced at trial shows that
corpus delicti rule. Accordingly, we agree with a defendant confessed to committing conduct
the State and recognize a discrete and limited against a pre-verbal child, who is incapable of
exception to the corpus delicti rule in Texas. This outcry, and the confessed conduct constitutes a
exception applies in cases in which the evidence sexual offense that would not result in any
introduced at trial shows that the defendant perceptible harm, a defendant’s sufficiently
voluntarily confessed to a sexual offense against corroborated confession to the conduct should not
an infant who was incapable of outcry and that result in an acquittal simply because of an
the confessed conduct did not result in any inability to satisfy the corpus delicti rule. As
perceptible harm. In such a case, if the record shown in this particular case, the victim was
reflects sufficient corroborating facts and unable to provide independent evidence of the
circumstances of the confession itself, then crime due to her inability to relate the existence of
reviewing courts should uphold the conviction so the crime and the crime constituted a sexual
long as there is legally sufficient evidence under offense that did not result in any perceptible
the standard set out in Jackson v. Virginia. harm. Because the State presented sufficient
corroborating evidence of the confessions, the
In the present case, the State introduced sufficient corpus delicti rule should not bar Appellant’s
evidence to meet both preliminary requirements. convictions. We affirm.
The infant child was not able to communicate that
a crime occurred against her and the specific Shumway v. State, Tex. Crim App., Nos. PD-
criminal conduct to which Appellant confessed 0108-20 & PD-0109-20, February 2, 2022.
was a sexual offense that would not have resulted
in any perceptible harm. The State also
corroborated key facts of Appellant’s confessions
through the testimony of other witnesses,
including: (1) Appellant watched the child at a
time consistent with his confession; (2)
Appellant’s wife took the child’s shorts off for a
portion of the weekend; (3) Appellant’s wife left
Appellant with the child while she was in the
backyard with her daughter; and (4) Appellant’s
wife left Appellant to watch the children while
she met with friends for lunch during the
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