State of Tennessee v. Johnny Owens and Sarah Owens

The defendants, Johnny Owens and Sarah Owens, who are husband and wife, were convicted of aggravated child abuse by a Haywood County Circuit Court jury. Johnny Owens was convicted on one count only, and Sarah Owens was convicted on five counts. Because Johnny Owens' motion for a new trial raised only issues of the sufficiency of the evidence, we review only that issue in his appeal. Sarah Owens raises evidentiary issues and claims that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the "missing witness" rule, in conditioning the defendants' release from custody during trial upon Ms. Owens' withdrawal of her motion to sequester the jury, and in imposing an excessive sentence. We affirm all convictions and sentences; however, we order Sarah Owens' sentences to be served concurrently.