Campbell v. State
| Decision Date | 05 September 1973 |
| Docket Number | No. 27968,27968 |
| Citation | 200 S.E.2d 690,231 Ga. 69 |
| Parties | Robert CAMPBELL, Jr. v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. The evidence authorized the verdicts of guilty of murder and rape.
2. The denial of the motion for continuance was not shown to be an abuse of discretion and hence is not cause for reversal.
3. No error was committed in rulings made upon the trial as to rebuttal and impeaching evidence.
4. Failure to give the requested charges to the jury was not error since they were covered in the charge which was given.
F. Robert Raley, Macon, for appellant.
Fred M. Hasty, Dist. Atty., Walker P. Johnson, Jr., Stephen Pace, Jr., Macon, Ga., Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., Courtney Wilder Stanton, William F. Bartee, Jr., Asst. Attys. Gen., Atlanta, for appellee.
This appeal by Robert Campbell, Jr. is from the judgment of conviction for murder and rape and from the imposition of sentences of life imprisonment and four years confinement therefor. He was indicted by the Grand Jury of Bibb County and was tried together for both offenses for the murder of William Cross and the rape of a named female. Separate motions for new trial were filed and overruled. His consolidated appeal involves 21 enumerations of error.
The evidence adduced upon the trial, was, insofar as we deem necessary for purposes of review, that which follows.
James Bryson Dawson, a representative of the State Crime Laboratory, testified insofar as necessary to recite here that a .32 caliber lead bullet which was established to be the murder bullet was fired from the .32 caliber pistol found in the deceased Cross' car; that he had examined a sheet and found that it had on it several medium brown and light brown Caucasian hairs, but that none having Negroid characteristics was found. The evidence was that Cross was a Caucasian and the appellant is a Negro.
Donald F. Arnett, a criminal investigator from the Bibb County Sheriff's office, testified essentially that he found the alleged rape victim's torn panties on the floor in the bedroom occupied by the appellant; that he also found the sheet in the same bedroom to contain hairs described by the witness Dawson; that he saw her at the hospital at about 3:45 that morning; that she had been crying a lot; that he saw blood on her nightgown; that he questioned the appellant and noted he had been drinking, 'but he was not inebriated'; that he observed scratch marks on his neck and on his side and bruises on his body; that he noticed that the deceased Cross had 'no fingernails at all' because they had been bitten or cut off at the quick; and that upon request the appellant gave him a urine specimen which he delivered to a state medical examiner.
Lieutenant Jerry Modena of the Bibb County Sheriff's Department interviewed the appellant after he brought Cross to the hospital and detected a strong odor of alcohol, but the appellant did not appear to be drunk. He advised him of his Miranda rights and the appellant gave him a statement which in pertinent part was as follows: that Cross told him 'somebody was messing around his house and gave me his pistol'; that he and Cross went around different sides of the house; that shortly thereafter he saw someone running; that he shot one time; that he went to the other side of the house and found that it was Cross; and that they put him in the car and brought him to the hospital. In his statement to Modena the appellant claimed that both he and the deceased had been drinking and that the appellant was so 'high' he could hardly stand up. Modena also said he noticed scratches on the appellant and that the pistol was removed from the car.
Dr. Leonard Campbell, a physician and state medical examiner, testified that Cross' death was caused by a gunshot wound in the back of the head; that a urine specimen from the appellant contained sperm; that there were scratches over the appellant's back and several bruises on his cheek, chest and shoulders; that the examination of the alleged rape victim revealed that there were no significant bruises on her body; that her genitalia had not been recently hurt from any trauma; that a vaginal smear taken revealed spermatozoa; that there was no indication that she had been forced into intercourse with anyone, because there were no bruises and the vagina was patent.
Henry Castleman, a Macon police officer, swore in summary that he was called to a hospital to pick up a prisoner and while there he heard a nurse shout that somebody had been shot; that he ran out of the front door and saw the car carrying the appellant, the deceased and the alleged rape victim; that he sent them to the emergency room entrance; that he drove the police car there and helped them unload Cross from the car. He also stated that the alleged rape victim was in a very hysterical state but attempted to provide information about what had transpired. She stated in the presence of the appellant that he had raped her and 'If my fiance dies, I want him to die.' The witness searched the appellant for weapons and found a holster in his pocket with a shotgun shell inside it. He later looked in the deceased's car and saw the revolver on the floor.
The alleged rape victim gave testimony which was in essential part that which follows:
On April 22, 1972, Cross and the appellant were engaged in painting a house where she and Cross planned to live after their marriage.
At approximately eleven o'clock that evening, when she and Cross were occupying one of the bedrooms of the house, she heard a noise. The appellant knocked on the bedroom door and stated that he thought he heard a prowler outside. Thereupon Cross picked up a shotgun and told her that he and the appellant were going outside and for her to lock the door and stay inside.
She testified that the appellant went out of the back door and Cross followed him. She believed that Cross had the shotgun then but was not certain whether the appellant had a weapon at that time. However, one of them had a flashlight. She remembered that Cross said something about going around one side of the house, that the appellant went around the other side and that she stood at her bedroom window and watched. She saw the two men meet from opposite directions near her window, seeing them plainly from a light in the yard. One of the men shined a flashlight toward the side of the house and called out, 'Anybody in there, come out,' or words to that effect. Finding no one there, the two men started back toward the house with Cross two or three feet in front of the appellant. She left the window and within a few seconds a shot rang out. She ran back to the bedroom window and saw Cross lying face down on the ground. She knew he had been shot and ran to the back door.
The appellant was there and grabbed her arm. She said, The appellant answered, 'No, he's o.k.' She said, Again the appellant said, 'No, he's o.k.,' and stopped her from going out to where Cross was lying. She remembered seeing the pistol then in the appellant's hand.
The appellant pushed her into the bedroom which he had occupied. She tried to get away but the appellant would not let her go and pushed her across the bed in that room. She fought, screamed, and told him that she had to go to Cross. During this time she was kicking and trying to claw and bite him. She continued telling him that Cross was his friend and that they had to get him to the hospital.
She testified further that he was still grabbing for her panties and finally ripped them off. At one time she had difficulty in breathing because he had his hands over her face. He told her if she didn't stop screaming he would shoot her. After that, he allowed her to get up but he still held her by the arm. She told him that they had to help Cross.
She then broke away and hurried to Cross. He was bleeding but his heart was still beating as he gasped for breath. She told the appellant that he had to help her get Cross to the hospital. She attempted to pick him up but was unsuccessful. The appellant finally began to help her. She got the keys to Cross' car from the inside of the house and started it to warm the motor. However, the appellant removed the key from the ignition.
When the two of them were finally able to get Cross into his car, she told the appellant that she would drive to the hospital because she knew the way. The appellant said he would drive and she got in the back seat and held Cross' head up. He said, 'we'll say it was a prowler,' or words to that effect. She agreed with him, hoping that he would think that she did not believe that he had shot Cross. The appellant then showed her the gun and told her three bullets were still in it.
They then started for the hospital. She urged him to drive faster but he replied that the car needed gas. She first argued with him but then told him to stop at the service station which they were approaching and to tell the attendants to hurry, that a man had been shot. After getting the gasoline, they had difficulty in locating the hospital. Someone finally directed them to go to 'Pine Street.'
Upon arriving at the hospital, a police officer came to the car, and told them to go to the back entrance. At first they were unable to locate it but an officer in a police car told the appellant to follow him. There hospital attendants placed Cross on a stretcher and took him into the hospital. At this point she told a police officer, 'Don't let that boy go out there,' that he had shot Cross; that he had raped her and that he had a gun. Cross died shortly thereafter.
The alleged rape victim also testified that she believed the appellant had reached a climax; that she and Cross had not had sexual intercourse since her last menstrual period on April 9; that she became pregnant from what happened and...
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