Man guilty of abandoning corpse

FIVE-YEAR MAXIMUM

James Bratina left his 3-year-old daughter with the body and went to work

By Mike Wells ~ Southeast Missourian

A Jackson father was found guilty Wednesday of leaving his 3-year-old daughter alone in an apartment with his wife's corpse and a kitchen littered with anti-psychotic pills.

James E. Bratina, 30, awoke to find his dead wife face down on a baby mattress on the floor next to their bed on Jan. 15, 2001. Instead of immediately seeking help, he left his daughter and went to work, returning nearly four hours later to call 911.

An autopsy revealed his wife, 24-year-old Suyapa "Sushila" Bratina, died from drug and alcohol intoxication. She had been taking several prescriptions for emotional problems.

The body's stiffening and settling of blood showed she had been dead for many hours before paramedics arrived.

It was a case that affirmed Missouri law. Bratina was charged Aug. 29, 2001, with a felony for abandoning a corpse without reporting the location of the body to law enforcement and a misdemeanor for child endangerment.

He nearly avoided the felony conviction in October, when Associate Circuit Judge Gary A. Kamp dismissed the charge, saying the 1995 statute concerning it was unconstitutionally vague. However, prosecutors appealed Kamp's ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court, and the justices unanimously overruled the lower court, saying the statute in question was clear in meaning.

After hearing testimony from 12 witnesses and viewing 75 items of evidence, including bottles and packages of pills and 47 photographs, Circuit Judge William Syler declared Bratina guilty of both charges and set sentencing for Oct. 7 in Jackson.

Bratina could receive a maximum of five years in prison on the felony charge. For the misdemeanor of endangering his daughter, he could receive up to a year in county jail and be ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said the Division of Family Services conducted a screening of the home after the incident and decided to leave the child in Bratina's custody. After the verdict, Swingle said he believed DFS would probably review the situation again.

Uncertain future

When asked whether his client would appeal Syler's decision, attorney Stephen Wilson was unsure.

"We're considering an appeal," Wilson said. "... Obviously, I disagree with the legal issue. We'll just have to see."

Because Bratina eventually did notify authorities, Supreme Court justices said a jury should decide whether he actually broke the law. However, Bratina waived his right to a jury trial in favor of a bench trial.

Several witnesses gave detailed accounts Wednesday of the scene at Bratina's home and of subsequent interviews.

FBI Special Agent Mike McComas brought notes from the second interview he and Jackson police Lt. James Humphreys conducted with Bratina two weeks after the death. The officers testified Bratina admitted he initially lied when he said he didn't know his wife was dead when he left for work.

Humphreys said Bratina later told him he feared becoming a suspect in his wife's death because of a fight the couple had the night before her death, in which he slapped her three times, held her wrists, kicked her in the stomach and held her tightly to restrain her.

Also at issue was whether Bratina knew his wife was drunk when he gave her medications the previous night. Police found no alcohol in the home during their initial search, but Bratina later turned in a nearly empty vodka bottle he said he had found in the home.

Bratina reportedly wavered during an interview about whether he wanted to admit to knowing his wife had been drinking, McComas said.

"He said, 'If I tell you that I know she was drinking and I gave her the medications, would I be charged with involuntary manslaughter?'" McComas said.

Bratina did not testify and spoke rarely during the trial, occasionally whispering to his attorney. He maintained his quiet demeanor when exiting the courthouse.

Two of Bratina's co-workers at Rubbermaid in Jackson testified about their friend. William Atchison and Brent Whitaker said they had not had noticed anything unusual about Bratina's behavior before he returned home the morning of his wife's death.

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 160