## Facts

- Brian Patrick Hern lived with Kimla Huddleston and acted in a parental role toward her three-year-old son, Curtis Wayne Fausett.
- Evidence showed Hern had previously beaten Curtis in a manner amounting to child abuse.
- Hern and Huddleston had agreed Hern would not physically discipline Curtis.
- On February 17, 1979, Huddleston left for work, leaving Hern in charge of Curtis.
- After Curtis spilled milk, Hern began to “spank” him; the discipline escalated into a severe beating.
- Curtis died from internal hemorrhaging; multiple bruises and abrasions were also observed.
- Hern did not dispute that he inflicted the fatal injuries; he contested only whether the killing was first-degree (willful, deliberate, premeditated) rather than second-degree murder.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence, viewed most favorably to the State, was sufficient to allow a rational jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the killing was willful, deliberate, and premeditated under NRS 200.030(1)(a).
2. Whether the appellate court should reduce the conviction from first-degree to second-degree murder under NRS 177.265.

## Decision

- The judgment of conviction for first-degree murder and the sentence of life without parole were affirmed.
- The court held that substantial evidence permitted the jury to infer willfulness, deliberation, and premeditation from the circumstances of the beating and Hern’s prior abuse of the child.
- The court declined to modify the conviction to second-degree murder under NRS 177.265.

## Legal Principles

- First-degree murder under NRS 200.030(1)(a) requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt of willfulness, deliberation, and premeditation.
- Premeditation and deliberation may be formed in a short time, but require an intent to kill (or intent to engage in deadly conduct) formed upon reflection rather than a purely impulsive act.
- On appeal challenging the degree of homicide, the court reviews the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and asks whether a rational jury could find the required elements beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The jury may draw reasonable, logical inferences from the nature of the attack and surrounding circumstances.
- The power to reduce the degree of conviction under NRS 177.265 is exercised sparingly and is not used when the evidence reasonably supports the jury’s first-degree determination.

## Conclusion

Sustained, brutal physical abuse of a child—especially against a backdrop of prior beatings and a conscious decision to use forbidden physical discipline—can support a jury’s finding that the killing was willful, deliberate, and premeditated, and an appellate court will not reduce the conviction where substantial evidence supports the first-degree verdict.


Hern v. State, 97 Nev. 529, 635 P.2d 278 (Nev. 1981)