Benson v. State, 86-2431
| Decision Date | 20 May 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 86-2431,86-2431 |
| Parties | 13 Fla. L. Weekly 1235 Steven Wayne BENSON, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee/Cross-Appellant. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Michael R.N. McDonnell and Jerry Berry of McDonnell & Berry, Naples, for appellant/cross-appellee.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Lauren Hafner Sewell, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee/cross-appellant.
Defendant appeals from convictions and sentences for the first-degree murders of his mother and adopted brother, the attempted first-degree murder of his sister, and other related crimes. The crimes involved the placing and detonations on July 9, 1985, of two pipe bombs in a motor vehicle, a Suburban, which was occupied by the victims. We affirm the convictions and sentences.
There were two explosions, one shortly after the other. The murders and the injuries which were inflicted upon the sister were caused by the first explosion which occurred between the vehicle's two front seats. The second occurred under the left rear passenger seat. The sister, who was in the left rear passenger seat at the time of the first explosion, was the sole occupant of the vehicle who survived the bombings. Her testimony for the state included the following:
--Defendant arranged for the mother, the sister, the brother, and himself on July 9, 1985, to measure and stake out property on which the mother planned to build a new house. That morning between 7:45 and 8:00 a.m. defendant arrived in his van at the mother's residence in Naples where the brother lived with the mother and where the sister was visiting. Defendant parked the van in the driveway close to the Suburban. From the house the sister saw him standing at the opened rear doors of the van. His shoulders were moving as though his hands were moving. About five minutes after his arrival, he entered the house, said he was going out to get coffee, and left in the Suburban. He was gone considerably longer than expected. (Other testimony was that he was gone for about an hour.)
--Upon defendant's return, the family members went out to the Suburban. The mother, the brother, and defendant went out before the sister did. It was unusual that defendant had asked that the brother come along. Unusual too was the seating arrangement in the Suburban. Defendant, the eldest son, would normally do the driving when the family traveled together. The brother didn't like to drive. However, when the sister arrived at the Suburban shortly before their planned departure, the brother was sitting in the driver's seat. Although the sister normally sat in the front passenger seat to alleviate her tendency to get car sick and the mother normally sat in the back seat to avoid the air conditioner blowing on her, the mother was sitting in the front passenger seat. Defendant was at first standing next to the vehicle at the opened right rear passenger door and then sat partially inside on the edge of the right rear passenger seat. The sister, who was to sit in the only other available seat, the left rear passenger seat, was entering from the left rear door.
--The mother asked who had the car keys. At that point defendant exited the vehicle, walked around its rear, gave the sister a boost into the vehicle, and started to close the left rear door. But the sister asked him to leave it open. Defendant handed the brother the keys through the driver's open window. Defendant then said he was going back to the house to get a tape measure he had forgotten. The sister saw him pass the front of the vehicle. After she straightened up from having bent over to pick up a drink glass which she had brought with her, he was no longer in view.
--The brother moved as if to start the vehicle. Suddenly the sister was surrounded by an orange cloud. Flames came up from the front seat. The force of the explosion pressed her back into the seat. When she opened her eyes, she could see the body of the brother lying on the ground. She threw herself out of the vehicle. Her clothing was on fire, and she rolled on the ground to try to put out the flames.
--When the sister thereafter sat up, she saw defendant standing on the walk in front of the house. He was standing still, staring toward the vehicle. The sister could not understand why he did not come over to help. Then his eyes opened wide, his mouth dropped, and he said, "Oh, my God, my God." He ran back toward the house. Two men approached the sister and helped her across the street. She could then see defendant moving about near the Suburban in an agitated state. A man approached and dragged him away. She had no recollection of the second explosion.
Defendant, who did not testify at the trial, was not hurt by the explosions. A police officer testified that defendant said that he had taken the Suburban to get coffee because his van didn't have enough fuel to go for coffee and get to work later. The evidence showed that the fuel tank on defendant's van was about one-quarter full. The trip to the Shop 'N Go, where defendant said he went for coffee when he was gone for about an hour, was 7.2 miles round trip. The record does not appear to contain the distance to his office but does show that it was about a twenty minute drive to his office from his mother's house. Among the debris near the Suburban after the explosions was a tape measure.
Expert testimony for the state was that the explosions were caused by two pipe bombs filled with gunpowder. From their examinations of fragments, experts concluded that galvanized steel pipes were used in the bombs and were 12"' in length and 4"' in diameter and that galvanized steel end caps were also used in the bombs and were for 4"' pipe. One expert, Albert Gleason, testified that the end caps appeared to have been secured onto the ends of the pipes to contain the gunpowder and that the bombs probably had been detonated electronically or electrically.
At Hughes Supply, a business which sold plumbing supplies and which was located a few hundred yards from defendant's office, investigators located receipts for the purchases of galvanized steel pipes and end caps having the same dimensions as those used in the bombs. One receipt, dated July 5, 1985, was for two 4"' end caps. The other, dated July 8, 1985, the day before the bombing, was for two 4"' by 12"' pipes. Palm prints were found on each receipt. Before defendant's arrest a search warrant was obtained for his palm prints. His palm prints matched those on the receipts.
Salesmen at Hughes Supply were unable to identify defendant from photographs, but they could not rule out defendant as the purchaser. A composite sketch was prepared by the police as being based upon the description of the purchaser by one of the salesmen. The sketch resembled defendant, and the salesman's testimony was that the sketch resembled the purchaser.
There was testimony by another witness that at the funeral for the mother and the brother defendant stated that in the past he had made and exploded bombs composed of copper pipe and gunpowder. Defendant argues to the effect that the statement, if made, could have referred only to firecrackers. He also argues other interpretations of other aspects of the evidence. However, on appeal from the convictions we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the state as it could reasonably have been interpreted by the jury. See Baker v. State, 506 So.2d 1056, 1057 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Buenoano v. State, 478 So.2d 387, 390 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985).
The mother's estate, of which defendant was an heir, was valued at $10 million. There was testimony that the mother had been suspicious about defendant's sloppy bookkeeping and possible misappropriations of money from family businesses which he ran, which she owned and financed, and which were losing money. The mother had been paying defendant's compensation for running the businesses. The businesses included the marketing of burglar alarm systems. Also, the mother had learned that without her knowledge defendant had started up another business. Other evidence showed that on July 8, 1985, she had for the first time seen defendant's new home in Fort Myers and was surprised by its large size and its tennis courts and swimming pool. She was angry about another business having been started without her knowledge and about the size of defendant's home. On July 8 she had a heated discussion with defendant. She asked defendant whether he had sold a Datsun 280Z which he had owned. When defendant said yes, she shook her head. When she told defendant that she had seen the car parked at his home earlier that day, defendant had no response. The mother had also learned that funds from one of the businesses had been put into defendant's personal bank account. Blank checks signed by the mother and intended for household expenses while she had been in Europe had gone toward, among other things, the down payment on defendant's home.
At the time of the crimes the mother's attorney was in town at her request and was looking into defendant's suspected mismanagement of the businesses. On July 8, 1985, the day before the bombings and the day of the purchase of the pipe at Hughes Supply, the mother and the attorney had been looking at the books of those businesses. The mother had asked defendant to complete the books and bring them to the attorney the next day, July 9, 1985. When the mother told defendant that she and the attorney planned to work late that night, defendant appears to have feigned a prearranged social engagement.
On appeal defendant raises various contentions of reversible error with which we do not agree. The general nature of those contentions is summarized as follows. First, he contends that the evidence in this circumstantial evidence case was insufficient to establish his guilt. Second, he contends that the expert...
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...be rejected when the facts from which the primary inference is drawn are susceptible of another reasonable inference. Benson v. State , 526 So.2d 948 (Fla. App. 1988). Defendant was convicted of murdering his mother and adopted brother and the attempted murder of his sister. Defendant chall......
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...be rejected when the facts from which the primary inference is drawn are susceptible of another reasonable inference. Benson v. State , 526 So.2d 948 (Fla. App. 1988). Defendant was convicted of murdering his mother and adopted brother and the attempted murder of his sister. Defendant chall......
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Other evidence rules
...be rejected when the facts from which the primary inference is drawn are susceptible of another reasonable inference. Benson v. State , 526 So.2d 948 (Fla. App. 1988). Defendant was convicted of murdering his mother and adopted brother and the attempted murder of his sister. Defendant chall......
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Other Evidence Rules
...be rejected when the facts from which the primary inference is drawn are susceptible of another reasonable inference. Benson v. State , 526 So.2d 948 (Fla. App. 1988). Defendant was convicted of murdering his mother and adopted brother and the attempted murder of his sister. Defendant chall......