Com. v. Hetzel

• Decision Date: 14 March 2003
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Michelle M. HETZEL, Appellant. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Brandon Bloss, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

822 A.2d 747

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Michelle M. HETZEL, Appellant.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Brandon Bloss, Appellant.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued December 4, 2002.

Filed March 14, 2003.

Reargument Denied May 21, 2003.

Victor E. Scomillio, Easton, for Hetzel, appellant.

Kepler B. Funk, Melbourne, for Bloss, appellant.

John M. Morganelli, Asst. Dist. Atty., Easton, for Com., appellee.

BEFORE: JOYCE, BENDER and BECK, JJ.

OPINION BY BECK, J.:

¶ 1 These companion appeals attack the validity of two first-degree murder verdicts handed down to husband and wife, appellants Brandon Bloss and Michelle Hetzel. The facts are lengthy and complex. Because the spouses were tried together and several of their issues overlap, we will address both appeals in this single opinion.¹ Our review leads us to affirm the judgment of sentence for each appellant.

FACTS

¶ 2 Despite being married to Brandon Bloss (Bloss), Michelle Hetzel (Hetzel) was involved in a sexual relationship with the victim, a 19 year-old woman, Devon Guzman (Devon). Bloss was aware of the women's relationship and was angry about the attention and money Hetzel expended on Devon. He was contemplating divorce. Devon simultaneously was involved in a relationship with another woman named Keary Renner (Renner), with whom she lived. Hetzel, Renner and Devon were high school friends. Although Devon and Renner lived together, Devon met with Hetzel on a regular basis. Typically, Hetzel would arrive at Devon's father's house and ask him to call Devon. Mr. Guzman would oblige and Devon would arrive shortly thereafter.

¶ 3 On the night of June 14, 2000, Hetzel and Devon were at Mr. Guzman's home with him, his girlfriend and his sister. Everyone was drinking alcohol. Hetzel and Devon had just returned from a vacation in Puerto Rico, where they had exchanged rings.² Hetzel paid for the trip. At some point the two women began arguing. Apparently, Hetzel was upset that Devon had not moved out of Renner's residence and did not intend to do so. The women ultimately left Mr. Guzman's house, each departing in her own car.

¶ 4 When Devon arrived home, she told Renner that Hetzel had proposed to her, but that she had broken up with Hetzel and returned the rings Hetzel had given her. Renner noticed that Devon had been drinking and the women argued about Hetzel. They began a physical fight, but were interrupted by a series of pages from Hetzel's home.³ Devon called Hetzel's number and spoke with Bloss. Renner could hear Bloss speaking to Devon and Hetzel screaming in the background. After the call, Devon informed Renner that Hetzel was sick and needed her attention. Renner insisted on accompanying Devon to Hetzel's home. When the women arrived at Hetzel's, Renner stayed in the car and heard Bloss tell Devon at the doorway that Renner would have to leave because Hetzel did not want her there. Devon came back to the car and told Renner that she was taking her home and would return to Hetzel's house. A neighbor saw Devon at the doorway and watched as she approached her car, banged on the hood, and told her passenger that she was taking her home.

¶ 5 Devon dropped Renner at their home at approximately 11:30 PM, told her there was nothing to worry about and explained that she would be back soon. Over an hour later, at approximately 12:45 AM, Renner received a call from Hetzel who told her that Devon had never returned to Hetzel's home. At 2:30 AM, Hetzel arrived at Renner's residence with Bloss. Bloss stayed in the car while Hetzel and Renner talked about Devon's disappearance. Hetzel asked Renner to call the police and report Devon as a missing person, but Renner refused to do so because Devon "left before but she always came home." Hetzel then called the Forks Township Police Department and reported Devon as missing. After giving a description of Devon to police, the women called some friends and family members in an effort to find Devon. Several times, Hetzel called police to learn whether they located Devon. Hetzel left Renner's place at about 6:30 AM.

¶ 6 Later that morning, Hetzel returned to Renner's residence with food and suggested that the women drive around Easton looking for Devon's car. At some point, Hetzel suggested they search Canal Park, a place she and Devon often visited together. At the park, they saw Devon's car. Inside the car they discovered Devon. She was covered with a green jacket and lying across the backseat with her back toward the front seat. Renner noticed that Devon's eyebrows and lips were purple and so she told Hetzel that they should take her to get help. A city employee who was present at the park told the women that police were on their way and that they shouldn't move the body. Police arrived, checked for a pulse and, finding none, called the coroner.

¶ 7 The coroner removed the green jacket from atop Devon's body and saw that Devon's throat had been cut and she had a "massive gaping laceration" to her neck. The wound was a "four inch long cut that went almost to her spine; it severed Devon's tongue and cut in half the right carotid artery and the right jugular vein." Also found on the body was a syringe containing a clear liquid. There was no cap on the syringe. Police secured the scene, insisting that Hetzel's vehicle remain in the lot. Both women were interviewed and released. Bloss too was interviewed by police later that day.

¶ 8 After their interviews with police and for a period of about six weeks, Hetzel and Bloss continued their marriage. Hetzel announced to family and friends that she was pregnant with twins, an assertion that was not true. The couple also took a vacation to Mexico together. Meanwhile, the police investigation focused on Hetzel and Bloss. Hetzel's car was searched, as was the home she and Bloss shared. The searches yielded a number of items of physical evidence. From the trunk of Hetzel's car police recovered two pairs of rubber gloves, Bloss's T-shirt and a pair of his jeans with blood that was consistent with Devon's blood, and Bloss's sweatshirt, socks and sneakers, all of which had indications of human blood, but were too weak for further testing. At the couple's home on the day after the murder, police found a pair of Hetzel's jeans soaking in the washing machine. There were no other items in the washer and the tub was filled with soapy water. In a presumptive test, the water tested positive for blood. In the pocket of Hetzel's jeans was a syringe cap that matched the open syringe found on Devon's body.⁴

¶ 9 Police also recovered physical evidence from Devon's body and her car. On the green jacket that covered her were hairs consistent with Hetzel's hair. In the car were hairs consistent with Bloss's hair.⁵ Devon's pager was not clipped to her pants as Renner described last seeing it; it was found unclipped under the waistband of her pants. Police seized telephone records from the Hetzel/Bloss residence and learned that there had been numerous calls from that address to Devon's pager on the night of the murder. However, all of those calls had been erased on the pager.⁶

¶ 10 Police examination of trash set out by Hetzel and Bloss revealed numerous bandages, one of which appeared to have the pattern of a bite mark on it. Police sought and received a warrant authorizing them to photograph Bloss and the photographs that were taken revealed an injury on Bloss's left forearm. A forensic odontologist concluded that the injury was a human bite mark that was consistent with Devon's dental records.

TRIAL

¶ 11 Hetzel and Bloss were charged with first degree murder and despite Hetzel's effort to sever the cases, they were tried jointly. In addition to the witnesses who described the course of events set out above and those who testified with regard to the investigation and forensic evidence, the Commonwealth presented other witnesses.

¶ 12 Cara Judd, a woman who had dated one of Bloss's sisters, testified that Hetzel admitted she killed Devon. According to Judd, Hetzel explained that she was very angry that Devon brought Renner to her home on the night they argued. When Devon returned alone, the two women began to fight in Hetzel's home. Devon bit Bloss when he attempted to intervene on Hetzel's behalf. Thereafter, Hetzel grabbed a knife and the next thing she knew there was blood everywhere. Judd also testified that Hetzel told her about soaking her jeans in the washer and that Bloss had hosed down the garage where the murder had taken place.⁷

¶ 13 George Vine, a friend of Hetzel and Devon, testified that Hetzel offered him sex or money to get rid of Devon approximately two or three months before the murder.

¶ 14 Bloss presented no evidence in his defense. Hetzel, however, offered the testimony of several witnesses, including her mother, who told the jury that Bloss admitted to her that he killed Devon. Hetzel herself took the stand and testified that she was not involved in Devon's murder and that she believed Bloss committed the crime.⁸

¶ 15 The jury found both appellants guilty of first-degree murder and they were sentenced to life in prison.⁹ These appeals follow the denial of post-sentence motions.

JOINT ISSUES ON APPEAL

¶ 16 Hetzel raises eleven claims of error, one of which has two subparts. Bloss makes four allegations of error; three of them mirror claims raised by Hetzel. We address first the couple's mutual claim that the evidence presented was insufficient to sustain the verdicts. Should either Hetzel or Bloss be successful on this claim they would be entitled to a discharge, making all of their other claims moot.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

¶ 17 When considering whether the evidence proffered at a criminal trial was sufficient to support the guilty verdict, we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth to determine whether every element of the crime has been established beyond...