People v. Gilliam

• Decision Date: 23 May 1996
• Docket Number: No. 77771,77771
• Parties: , 218 Ill.Dec. 884 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Oasby GILLIAM, Appellant.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 606

670 N.E.2d 606

172 Ill.2d 484, 218 Ill.Dec. 884

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Oasby GILLIAM, Appellant.

No. 77771.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

May 23, 1996.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 30, 1996.

Charles M. Schiedel, State Appellate Defender-Sup. Ct. Unit, Allen H. Andrews, Asst. State Appellate Defender, Springfield, for Oasby Gilliam.

Jack O'Malley, State's Attorney Cook Co., Crim Appeals Div., Jim Ryan, Attorney General, Criminal Appeals Div., Chicago, State's Attorney Jefferson County, Mt. Vernon, Sally Dilgart, Asst. State's Attorney Cook County, Chicago, for People of the State of Illinois.

Justice FREEMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Jefferson County, defendant, Oasby Gilliam, was convicted of first degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and robbery. 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1), 10-2(a)(3), 18-1(a) (West 1992). At a separate sentencing hearing, the same jury found defendant eligible for the death penalty and further determined that there were no mitigating circumstances sufficient to preclude imposition of that sentence.

The trial court sentenced defendant to death on the murder conviction and to concurrent, extended 30-year prison terms on the aggravated kidnapping and robbery convictions. The death sentence has been stayed pending direct review by this court. Ill. Const.1970, art. VI, § 4(b); 134 Ill.2d Rs. 603, 609(a). We affirm defendant's convictions and sentences.

BACKGROUND

Defendant was charged in a seven-count information with four counts of first degree murder based on intent, recklessness, and the predicate felonies of robbery and aggravated kidnapping; one count of aggravated kidnapping; and two counts of robbery alleging the taking of an automobile and a wristwatch. Defendant was tried on all counts.

The State's evidence at trial was essentially as follows. On June 19, 1992, at approximately 2:15 p.m., bartender Russell Turner was alone at work at Sovereign Liquors, at 6202 N. Broadway in Chicago. Defendant entered the tavern and asked to use the restroom. Before he left, defendant put down a plastic grocery bag and ordered a beer. The bag contained a paper bag that held two bricks. When he returned, defendant changed his order. As Turner leaned over to fill a glass with ice, defendant struck Turner over the head with the bag, and a vicious struggle ensued. Defendant repeatedly pounded and stamped on Turner and struck him with a brick and a liquor bottle.

Turner eventually maneuvered himself such that he struggled to pull defendant out the tavern door, while defendant pulled Turner to keep him inside. Because Turner was covered in his own blood, defendant slipped out of Turner's hands and Turner went out the door. Once Turner was outside, defendant immediately ran out of the tavern. Defendant ran south on Broadway and then west on nearby Granville Avenue.

The victim in this case, Aileen D'Elia, lived on the first floor of a two-flat building at 6223 N. Lakewood Avenue. The victim was 79 years old, 5 feet 2 inches tall, and wore dentures. She wore a Medic Alert bracelet, wedding and engagement rings, a ring containing an aquamarine stone, earrings, a On June 19, 1992, between 2:20 and 2:40 p.m., the victim returned home, driving her car onto a cement slab next to her garage. At approximately 4:30 p.m., the victim's granddaughter, who lived on the second floor of the building, noticed that the victim's apartment door was ajar and her car was missing.

[218 Ill.Dec. 889] wristwatch, and a silver bracelet. Also, the victim owned a brown 1986 Chevrolet Caprice. The car was in good condition because the victim kept it in the garage behind her home.

On July 1, the victim's corpse was found in a field near Illinois Route 15, approximately 2 1/2 miles from Interstate 57, in Jefferson County. The body was in a wooded area not visible from an access road 30 yards away. Near the body, crime technicians found the victim's Medic Alert bracelet and dentures, and a watch crystal. Technicians also found two plastic grocery bags from the grocery store where the victim shopped. One of the bags had a red substance with gray hairs on it. Subsequent laboratory examination revealed the hairs to be consistent with those of the victim. The hairs were broken off at the roots, consistent with having been struck by a blunt object. The victim's identification and driver's license were subsequently found in a bushy area next to an exit ramp of Interstate 57.

The victim died from multiple skull fractures caused by multiple blows to the head and face. The fractures were consistent with being struck by a tire iron. Manual strangulation possibly contributed to the victim's death. The victim may have lived for several hours after the attack.

On the afternoon of June 20, 1992, defendant arrived in Greenwood, Mississippi, to visit an aunt, Theresa Caruthers, and a cousin, Thelma Scott-Robinson. Defendant drove a brown, four-door Chevrolet in good condition with Illinois license plates. Robinson asked defendant about stains in the back seat of the car that appeared to her to be blood. Defendant replied that children had spilled juice on the seat. She also noticed "a costume jewelry * * * old-time Indian like ring" on the front seat of the car. Defendant said that he bought it. At one point during his visit, defendant appeared to Robinson to be nervous and restless. She asked him what was wrong and defendant replied, "If you only knew."

Chicago Police Detective Ray Kaminski investigated the attempted robbery at Sovereign Liquors. The attack on Turner lasted approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Defendant struck Turner approximately 20 times in the head with a brick. Turner received 48 stitches on his head at a nearby hospital. Defendant's wallet was subsequently found in the tavern; the wallet contained his identification and photograph. Turner subsequently identified defendant from a photograph array and a police lineup, and in court. Although defendant was charged with the attempted robbery of Turner, the charge was dismissed when the State proceeded on the first degree murder charge in this case.

Inspecting defendant's wallet, Kaminski found a slip for a nearby pawn shop where defendant's girlfriend, Daphne "Trina" Townsend, worked. Townsend told Kaminski that she had last seen defendant on the morning of June 19.

Detective Kaminski also interviewed one of defendant's sisters, Jill Traylor; defendant's employer, Charles Mickins; and Turner. The police then sought through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) a federal warrant for defendant's arrest. The police also contacted Caruthers in Greenwood. Kaminski also maintained contact with Townsend and another of defendant's sisters, Edna Bridges.

During the week of August 11, 1992, defendant returned to Chicago and stayed with Bridges. On the morning of August 18, defendant directed Bridges and Townsend to telephone police and arrange for his surrender. Townsend first attempted to telephone Chicago Police Detective Anne Chambers, who had investigated the murder of Townsend's and defendant's son. Chambers had known Townsend for approximately one year and had met defendant two days prior to the victim's disappearance. Chambers, however, was not at the station. Townsend then attempted to telephone Detective Kaminski, but he too was unavailable. Bridges then At approximately 12:30 p.m., Detective Kaminski and three additional officers arrived at Bridges' apartment building. The officers arrested defendant and, pursuant to Bridges' request, took him down the back stairs. When they reached the squad car, Kaminski handcuffed defendant, gave him his Miranda warnings, and put him in the car.

[218 Ill.Dec. 890] telephoned Area 6 police headquarters and talked to someone else.

Defendant arrived at Area 6 police headquarters at approximately 1:30 p.m. At approximately 1:30 a.m. on August 19, 1992, he confessed.

Defendant's confession was essentially as follows. On June 19, 1992, as defendant left a Broadway bus at Granville Avenue, he saw Turner enter Sovereign Liquors. Defendant believed that Turner had punched defendant's pregnant girlfriend in the stomach the preceding week. Defendant entered the tavern with a brick and a fight ensued.

As defendant ran out of the tavern, two unknown men chased him into an alley. Defendant happened upon the victim getting in or out of her car. He approached her and ordered her to get in the car. The victim did, with defendant, who ordered her to drive. Defendant eventually ordered the victim to drive to a parking area at the Foster Avenue beach. Defendant then ordered the victim to get out of the car and to get in the trunk. She did, and defendant locked her in the trunk.

As defendant drove south on Interstate 57, he considered what to do with the victim, who could identify him. Between 7:30 and 8 p.m., defendant exited the interstate and drove to a field bordered by trees. He released the victim from the trunk. While she stood near the car, defendant took a tire iron from the trunk. Defendant then struck the victim two or three times on the head with the tire iron. The victim fell to the ground, but continued to move. Defendant struck the victim several more times on the head with the tire iron until she was still. Defendant then dragged the victim into a wooded area. He returned to the car, cleaned the tire iron, replaced it in the trunk, and continued south on Interstate 57. Defendant also took $10 that he found in the car.

Defendant arrived in Greenwood, Mississippi, the next day. He stayed for five or six hours and visited relatives. Defendant then drove to Dallas, Texas, where he stayed for five weeks. At the end of that time, defendant sold the victim's car for $150. The buyer subsequently told defendant that the car was shipped to Mexico. It has never been found.

After selling the victim's car, defendant traveled through Louisiana,...