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State v. Combs9/25/2002
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On February 18, 1997, the Bristol Tennessee Fire Department was alerted that a 911 call for assistance was received from the Emanuel Baptist Church ("EBC") located on Weaver Pike in Bristol, Tennessee. Timothy Estes, James Gouge, and Jewel Rogers, paramedics with the Bristol Fire Department, arrived at EBC at approximately 11:10 a.m. to discover a nineteen-year-old woman, later identified as the victim, Esther Combs, laying on the back seat of a van in the parking lot of the church. Estes testified at trial that Esther was demonstrating "seizure-like activity" and "thrashing about," with her arms and legs waving when he found her. Although she was awake and talking, Estes believed that she was not coherent or aware of her surroundings.
Defendant Joseph Combs was present when the paramedics arrived. He told Estes that Esther was initially discovered in the bathroom. The family removed her from the bathroom, placed her in the van, and then telephoned 911. Estes asked Joseph to show him where they discovered her. Joseph unlocked the door to a yellow building nearby. They entered a foyer, traveled through a second door and proceeded through the fellowship hall. Estes testified that the hall was windowless and contained two or three sofa beds, flanked by a regular wall and two large plastic sheets. Clothes and trash were strewn about the floor, with pathways formed between the piles of debris. Estes found nothing extraordinary in the bathroom and returned to the parking lot. Meanwhile, James Gouge, another paramedic, had been working with Esther. Gouge testified that he asked a young man who was sitting on the other side of the seat near Esther's head how long she had been like this. The young man turned away and said nothing. Gouge repeated the question, but again received no answer. When Estes returned, the paramedics transported Esther to Wellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center ("Medical Center").
Esther turned away from the paramedics and curled up into a fetal position on the way to the Medical Center. As she did this, her shirt raised a bit. Estes and Gouge observed scars on her back. When Gouge and Estes lifted the shirt a bit further, they noted additional scarring. Her hands, arms, chin, and forehead were also scarred. The paramedics reported their observations to the medical personnel once they arrived at the hospital and to the deputy police chief when they returned to the fire station. Estes testified that, during his seventeen years as a paramedic, he had never before observed that many scars on a single person.
Esther Combs arrived at the Medical Center at approximately 11:30 a.m. Dr. Gregory Allen Gerlock, the emergency room physician on duty at that time, was the first person to examine her. At trial, he described Esther's initial condition as "acutely ill" and somewhat delirious. Her vital signs were stable, but Dr. Gerlock was concerned about her "mentation" and the "numerous scars all across her body." He testified that there were "scars on top of scars all over" but, given the emergency nature of the encounter and the number of scars, it was not practical to map them during the exam. Unable to extract any coherent answers or information from Esther regarding her condition, Dr. Gerlock asked Joseph Combs whether he knew how she had acquired the marks on her body. Joseph responded, "What marks?" When Dr. Gerlock replied, "All the scars over her body," Joseph informed him that Esther "falls a lot." At trial, the prosecutor asked Dr. Gerlock whether, based on his experience and training, he considered the explanation received from Joseph Combs (i.e., that the injuries were caused by falls) to be consistent with the scars and cond
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