Com. v. Hughes

• Decision Date: 13 March 1989
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Kevin HUGHES, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Page 1264

555 A.2d 1264

521 Pa. 423

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Kevin HUGHES, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted Jan. 19, 1988.

Decided March 13, 1989.^*

[521 Pa. 428] Nino Tinari, Philadelphia, for appellant.

Gaele McLaughlin Barthold, Deputy Dist. Atty., Ronald Eisenberg, Chief, Appeals Div., Maxine Stotland, Philadelphia, and Robert A. Graci, Chief Deputy Atty. Gen., for appellee.

Before NIX, C.J., and LARSEN, FLAHERTY, McDERMOTT, ZAPPALA, PAPADAKOS and STOUT, JJ.

OPINION OF THE COURT

STOUT, Justice.

This direct appeal¹ arises from the conviction and death sentence of Kevin Hughes (Appellant) for murder of the first degree, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse Appellant challenges the verdicts below on numerous grounds. An analysis of Appellant's contentions, as well as an independent review of the sufficiency of the evidence in this death sentence case, as required by Commonwealth v. Zettlemoyer, 500 Pa. 16, 26 n. 3, 454 A.2d 937, 942 n. 3 (1982), cert. denied sub nom., Pennsylvania v. Zettlemoyer, 461 U.S. 970, 103 S.Ct. 2444, 77 L.Ed.2d 1327 (1983), compels us to affirm Appellant's murder conviction and to uphold the sentence of death.

and arson endangering persons.² Appellant, who was sixteen years, eleven months, and twenty-four days old at the time of the crimes, was arrested on January 12, 1980, for the March 1, 1979 killing of nine-year-old Rochelle Graham. After pre-trial motions were denied on February 13, 1981, Appellant was tried by a jury before the Honorable Robert Latrone of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, who also sat as the Suppression Court. On March 23, 1981, the jury convicted Appellant, and, at the sentencing proceeding,³ determined that Appellant should be sentenced to death on the murder conviction. Counsel argued post-trial motions, which the Trial Court denied on October 27, 1983. The Trial Court sentenced Appellant to death on [521 Pa. 430] the conviction for murder of the first degree, and to two concurrent sentences of ten to twenty years for rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse to run consecutively to the death penalty.⁴ This direct appeal followed.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

The test for the sufficiency of the evidence in a criminal case is whether the evidence is sufficient to prove every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. See Commonwealth v. Harper, 485 Pa. 572, 403 A.2d 536 (1979). In making this determination, the reviewing court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as the verdict winner, and accept as true all evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom upon which, if believed, the fact finder properly could have based its verdict. Commonwealth v. Davis, 491 Pa. 363, 421 A.2d 179 (1980).

The evidence adduced at trial discloses the following. On March 1, 1979, at about 10:30 a.m., authorities responded to a fire alarm at an abandoned building at 1617 Olive Street in Philadelphia. Detective Boyle of the Philadelphia Police Department testified that upon entering the third floor bedroom, he observed the body of Rochelle Graham laying on the floor. Her body was on its back in a spread-eagle fashion. The body was badly burned, with a partially burned pillow between its legs. There was a strong odor of burnt flesh in the room. N.T. at 99. The letters "PEA" were burned into the ceiling. Id. at 104-05.

The Commonwealth then called Captain William Shirar, Assistant Fire Marshal of the City of Philadelphia. He testified that the fire was of incendiary origin, and that Dr. Robert L. Catherman, Deputy Medical Examiner for Philadelphia, testified that he conducted an external examination of the body at 4:10 p.m. on March 1, 1979. He discovered bloody and pink fluid and mucus at the nose area and in the mouth, and general thermal burns of the body. Id. at 944-45. The body also showed bruising and superficial surface tearing of the soft tissues in the region of the vaginal opening. In addition, the body had fecal matter protruding from the anus, and there were bruises and tearing of the superficial areas at the anal opening that extended three inches into the anal canal. An internal examination showed soft tissue bruising in the neck with no indication of smoke inhalation. Id. at 945, 948. Dr. Catherman concluded that the injuries were consistent with attempted penetration of the vagina and actual penile penetration of the rectum. He further concluded that Ms. Graham died from manual strangulation, and that the manner of death was homicide. Id. at 952-54.

it had been set to the combustibles on top of the victim. Id. at 327, 332.

The Graham homicide went unsolved for approximately ten months.

Marie Oquendo, who was thirteen years old at the time of trial, then testified that around noon on January 5, 1980, Kevin Hughes grabbed her from behind, pushed her into a vacant house, and took her to a second floor bedroom. There, Hughes ordered her to undress and forced her to perform oral sex. He stomped on her face, then grabbed her from behind, and tried to choke her. She passed out and awoke in a closet a few minutes later. N.T. at 1079-89.

Detective John Chidester of the Central Detective Division of the Philadelphia Police Department, testified to the events on January 10-12, 1980. He stated that, accompanied by Homicide Detectives Frank O'Brien and Andrew English, he visited the home of Marie Oquendo. There he conducted a photo array, which included a picture of Appellant. Ms. Oquendo identified Appellant as her assailant.

The same day, Detective Chidester obtained an arrest warrant against Appellant for rape, attempted murder, and other charges stemming from the Oquendo incident. The next day, January 11, 1980, at 6:53 a.m., he executed this warrant by taking Appellant into custody from the third floor bedroom of his residence. While there, police personnel observed the name "PEANUT" burned into the ceiling of Appellant's bedroom.

Since Appellant was a juvenile, Detective Chidester requested that Mary Hawthorne, Appellant's grandmother, accompany Appellant and police personnel to police headquarters. She refused to go, but requested that thirty-three-year-old Edward Hawthorne and twenty-year-old Morris Hawthorne, her sons and Appellant's uncles, join Appellant at police headquarters.

From 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., before the uncles' arrival at police headquarters, Detective Ligato interviewed Appellant in order to obtain background information pertaining to his age, residence, date of birth, education, and other matters unrelated to the criminal charges resulting from the Oquendo incident for which he had been arrested. Subsequently, Morris and Edward Hawthorne arrived. From 8:50 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., both uncles conferred with Appellant concerning the Oquendo charges. At that time, Appellant and his uncles were advised of Appellant's Miranda rights. From 9:10 a.m. to 9:55 a.m., Appellant gave a confession in the presence of his two uncles wherein he fully admitted the sexual assault and related crimes inflicted on Marie Oquendo. After Detective Ligato had completed a contemporaneous written memorandum of Appellant's oral confession, Edward Hawthorne read it in full to Appellant and Morris Hawthorne.

At about 10:00 a.m., Detectives O'Brien and English, noting the similarities between the Oquendo and Graham incidents, stated that they would like to question Appellant about the Graham homicide. After he and his uncles were advised of his Miranda rights, Appellant furnished the From 12:25 p.m. to 12:35 p.m., all of the parties in the interview room prodded Appellant to tell the truth. Both uncles told him that "[i]f you did it Kevin, tell them." N.T. Suppression Hearing at 445. Detective O'Brien stated, "[i]f you did it, how many more little kids are you going to hurt?" Id. From 12:35 p.m. to 12:45 p.m., Appellant orally admitted that he had sexually assaulted and killed Rochelle Graham on March 1, 1979. These admissions subsequently were transcribed, and Edward Hawthorne read the transcription aloud to Appellant. This reading was tape recorded. At 1:00 p.m., the police transported Appellant to the Youth Study Center. The actual time at which he arrived at the Center does not appear in the record.

detectives with an oral exculpatory statement. At about 11:00 a.m., the detectives requested that Appellant take a lie detector test because they doubted the veracity of the exculpatory statement. Appellant and his uncles agreed to the test. While in the polygraph room, Detective O'Brien again advised Appellant, in the presence of his uncle, Edward Hawthorne, of his Miranda rights. At the conclusion of the test, the polygraphist advised the detective that Appellant had failed. Detective O'Brien then advised Appellant and his uncle of the results.

In the late evening of January 11, 1980, Detective English, armed with the confession, obtained an arrest warrant for Appellant for the murder of Rochelle Graham. At or about 9:30 a.m. the next day, January 12, 1980, Detective English visited Appellant's residence for the purpose of informing Morris and Edward Hawthorne that Appellant actually was to be arrested for the Graham homicide. Morris Hawthorne, but not Edward Hawthorne, was present at the residence. Detective English transported Morris Hawthorne to the Police Administration Building. At 2:15 p.m., the police picked up Appellant from the Youth Study Center and transported him to police headquarters, where they arrived at 2:25 p.m. After the police read Appellant and his uncle his Miranda warnings, Appellant and his uncle submitted to police interrogation concerning the Graham incident. Between 2:45 p.m. and 5:05 p.m., Appellant again confessed that he had sexually assaulted and killed Rochelle Graham. From 5:05 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., and again from 6:10 p.m. to 6:40 p.m., Morris Hawthorne read the entire contents of Appellant's confession to him. The...