## Facts

- Virginia Lynnette Fabritz, a 20-year-old mother, lived with her three-year-old daughter, Windy, in the home of Thomas and Ann Crockett.
- Fabritz left Windy in the Crocketts’ sole care for two to three days while attending a funeral.
- Medical evidence showed Windy suffered a fatal abdominal blow from a blunt instrument about 18 to 24 hours before death, during Fabritz’s absence.
- When Fabritz returned, Windy appeared ill, had extensive bruising, and complained of cramps; Fabritz believed the illness was flu-like and provided home care (fluids and rest).
- A neighbor observed bruising; Fabritz remarked “Tommy hits hard,” but the record contained no proof she knew of a life-threatening internal injury.
- After observing the child for several hours, Fabritz and a neighbor sought medical advice; Windy died en route to the hospital.
- Maryland prosecuted Fabritz for child abuse on an omission theory: that she subjected Windy to cruel or inhumane treatment by delaying medical care.

## Issues

1. Whether due process permits a state conviction to stand when the trial record contains no relevant evidence of a crucial element of the offense.
2. Whether the evidence supported the element that Fabritz knew (or was on notice) of the critical gravity of Windy’s condition when she delayed seeking medical attention.

## Decision

- The Fourth Circuit reversed the federal district court’s denial of habeas corpus.
- The court held that the child-abuse conviction violated the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause because the record lacked relevant evidence that Fabritz knew of the child’s life-threatening condition at the time of the alleged delay.
- The court set aside the conviction because imprisonment for a serious offense cannot rest on a record devoid of evidence on an essential element.

## Legal Principles

- Due process is violated where a conviction is based on a record lacking any relevant evidence as to a crucial element of the charged offense.
- When criminal liability is premised on an omission (failure to obtain medical care), the State must present evidence supporting the required mental element, such as knowledge or notice of the condition requiring immediate action.
- Evidence of bruising or general illness symptoms, without proof connecting those observations to awareness of lethal peril, is insufficient to sustain a conviction requiring culpable awareness.

## Conclusion

The Fourth Circuit granted habeas relief because the State’s omission-based child-abuse theory required proof that the mother knew or was on notice of her child’s critical, life-threatening condition, and the trial record contained no relevant evidence supporting that essential element.


Fabritz v. Traurig, 583 F.2d 697 (4th Cir. 1978)