        No. M2016-01222-CCA-R3-CD



The Defendant, Jacob Scott Hughes, was convicted of first degree felony murder and
aggravated child abuse, for which he was sentenced, respectively, to life and twenty-five
years, to be served consecutively, as a result of the death of the sixteen-month-old
daughter of his girlfriend. On appeal, he raises three issues: (1) the trial court erred in
ruling that he could not refer to his co-defendant, who was the mother of the child, as his
“co-defendant,” as well as to the fact that she had entered a guilty plea to lesser-included
offenses; (2) the trial court erred in not redacting from his Facebook message a racial
slur, which previously had been ruled inadmissible; and (3) whether autopsy photographs
were properly admitted as exhibits during the testimony of thereturned to the drive-in, he and Ms. Judkins went to the hospital where
the victim had been transported. Ms. Judkins described the Defendant’s demeanor at the
hospital: “He didn’t seem like [the victim’s condition] was bothering him at all, and he
was more concerned about his own well-being since he had been in the hospital the day
before, and when we were outside, he seemed totally fine, just smoking a cigarette,
walking around normal.” The Defendant told Ms. Judkins that because the victim had
“black tarry stools,” he had put her in the bathtub to clean her, and when he returned from
getting some bleach, the victim had fallen between the bathtub and toilet.

        Thomas Whitehead, the current manager of a Sonic Drive-In in Ocala, Florida,
testified that he