Com. v. Levanduski
| Decision Date | 02 August 2006 |
| Citation | 907 A.2d 3 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Teri Lynn LEVANDUSKI, Appellant. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
Mark S. Love, Tannersville, for appellant.
Mike Mancuso, Asst. Dist. Atty., Strousburg, for Com., appellee.
¶ 1 Appellant, Teri Lynn Levanduski, appeals from the judgment of sentence entered in the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas, following her jury-trial conviction for murder in the first degree as an accomplice,1 conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree,2 hindering apprehension,3 and solicitation to commit murder in the first degree.4 Appellant asks us to determine whether: (1) the trial court committed reversible error when it admitted a letter, written by the victim, identifying Appellant as a suspect and suggesting her motive for his murder; (2) the suppression court erred when it refused to suppress Appellant's inculpatory statements, which were obtained during a custodial interrogation, absent Miranda5 warnings; (3) the trial court erred when it admitted into evidence at trial the nude and semi-nude photographs of Appellant and her paramour, Mr. Lennard Fransen. We hold: (1) the trial court erred when it admitted the victim's letter at trial, because the letter constitutes hearsay and does not qualify for admission at trial under a recognized exception to the hearsay rule; nevertheless, this evidentiary ruling was harmless error, where otherwise properly admitted evidence overwhelmingly established Appellant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) Appellant's confession was admissible because she was not the subject of a custodial interrogation when she initially confessed; and, after receiving her Miranda warnings and waiving her right to remain silent and right to counsel, she freely and willingly repeated her confession to police; (3) Appellant's third issue is waived for failure to develop a cognizable or appropriate legal argument on appeal. Accordingly, we affirm.
¶ 2 The relevant facts of this case are as follows. Appellant's parents lived next door to Appellant and her common-law husband, Mr. Robert Sandt, the victim. On November 27, 2002, at approximately 10:10 P.M., Appellant's father was standing in his driveway outside his home. He heard sounds resembling gunshots coming from the home of Appellant and Mr. Sandt. Appellant's father saw exhaust rising from a car idling in Appellant's driveway. Shortly thereafter, Appellant's father saw a dirty white car with two occupants leaving Appellant's home.
¶ 3 Appellant's mother went to Appellant's home to check on Mr. Sandt. She entered the home through the back door and saw Mr. Sandt collapsed face down in a chair. There was blood on his face. Appellant's mother called 911, who asked her to take a pulse. Mr. Sandt had no pulse.6
¶ 4 Appellant's mother called Appellant at work to report Mr. Sandt's death. Appellant left work to return home. When she reached her home, the police were already present and conducting an investigation. The police asked Appellant to wait at her parents' house next door.
¶ 5 Meanwhile, the police officers had noticed a clump of hair and some blood on the front porch of Appellant's home. A planter and some furniture had been knocked over, indicating a struggle had taken place. After obtaining search warrants, police officers examined the home including the contents of a trashcan located in the kitchen. In the trashcan, they found a ripped-up letter. Investigation revealed that Mr. Sandt had written the letter, but the police were unable to determine when Mr. Sandt had written the letter. In the letter, Mr. Sandt wrote of his suspicions about Appellant and Mr. Fransen and their plan to do away with Mr. Sandt. The letter hypothesized that Appellant and Mr. Fransen were going to kill Mr. Sandt with his own missing .22 caliber revolver. Mr. Sandt's letter read as follows:
To whom it may concern
On around November 1st I found a note to [Appellant] from a truck driver from Newark NJ named Bob Beaton on the note he said he wanted to get together with her. So I [asked] her about it. She said that she gets notes all the time from the [horny] truck drivers. So I started to look around [Appellant's] things and found two more notes. So I looked in her pocket book and I found a letter. The letter was to a guy named Lenny a truck driver I think he lives in [Hackettsown], NJ. And works for Inter [County Paving] of [Hackettsown]. It described how [Appellant loved] this man[,] how he made her [feel,] and things they did. It [broke] my heart to read. So I looked even harder [and] I found [another] letter. It said that she wanted to leave me and said she wanted me gone so [she] and Lenny could be together and he should have everything I have. And that I was a lazy fuck and didn't deserve to take another breath. She said I abused her and beat her. I have never hit her or any other woman in my life. I am writing this letter to tell someone in the second letter she said that some how they had to get rid of me so they could be together. I found the second letter the day [she] and her mother went to Lancaster to a Christmas play and stayed over [night]. That was November 21st and wasn't coming home [until] late Nov 22nd. She called about 9:50 PM the [night] of the 21st. I went to bed about 11:00 PM. I could not sleep thinking about her and this guy. So about 1:00 AM the dogs went crazy and were looking out the door and there was this big guy looking in the window so I turned on the light and ask him who he was[.] He said his name was Lenny and that he wanted to talk about [Appellant]. I let him [in to] talk he told me he wanted [Appellant] to live with him. We sat and talked till 3:45 AM about [what] had been going on that he had been fucking her for about three months. I told him that I found the letter and I [knew] all about him and her and I would like to work it out with [Appellant] and try to get [things] back to the way we used to be. He said that he wanted her for his own. So we decided [to] let her make the decision. He left about 3:45 AM Friday morning. On Friday [night] [Appellant] and her mom got home I said we have to talk. She said ok so we sat down and I read the letter to her. She said that she was mad at me for not [taking] her anywhere or [doing] anything with her and that was why she was fucking this guy and wanted to live with him but couldn't pay me half of the value of the house [and] garage. That she thought that it would cost her 50 to 60 thousand dollars to pay me off. She said that she made good money now that she was working at the bridge. So on Saturday Nov 23rd she went to see him and [break] it off with him and stay with me. She [was] gone from noon to six [o'clock;] that [night] she said that he pleaded with her to leave me. She said that she told him that she didn't want to lose [everything] and told him that she wanted to try to salvage [what] we had. So when she got home she told me that it was over and she was going to try to work things [out] with me. I said that I would try to forgive her and try to work things out with her. That [night] I started to think about it. She had to go to work. So I [lay] in bed and was thinking about all of this. I couldn't sleep so I [thought] about how this guy knew [where] we lived. I [asked Appellant] if she told him [where] we lived. She said she didn't. So I was thinking about how he just stood and was looking in the door at 1:00 A.M. and [thought] about how anybody could just walk in from the road and be on my front porch in the middle of the [night]. This [guy's] name is Lenny he is about 6 [feet] tall and is about 300 pounds has a big brown and grey beard and [wears] round [glasses] and skull cap, black leather jacket and jeans. He drives [a 1982] Ford pickup I don't know [what] color. So Saturday I went to get my 22 pistol and it was gone, I [thought] I would load it and put it on my [night] table in case he comes back[;] at least I would have some [protection.] I [asked Appellant where] the gun was [and] she said she didn't know. I said it was on my dresser. She said she didn't take [it.] I said there [was] just [she and I] here and I didn't take [it] so [where] did it get [to?] The guy told me [he] was a [convicted] felon [and he] also had on [rubber] gloves so he didn't leave finger prints anywhere. So I am thinking that maybe she gave him the gun to kill me with. That way no one would think [someone] killed [me,] that I [committed suicide]. Seeing it was my gun[.] So [that's] why I am writing this letter[,] in case I should end up shot by a 22 pistol. So nobody would think it was nothing but a suicide. I am going to put the letter I found with this letter. So if anything happens you have something to show the right people.
Signed Robert SANDT.
(Mr. Sandt's Letter, transcribed 12/19/02; R.R. 219a-228a).
¶ 6 Police questioned Appellant briefly at the scene and asked her to appear at the police station the next day for further questioning. Appellant stayed at her parents' house until 1:30 P.M. the next day. Then, she and her parents drove to the police station to meet with members of the Stroud Area Regional Police Department. Appellant spoke to detectives for about two and one half hours (1:50 P.M. to 4:20 P.M.). The detectives told Appellant she could leave the interview at any time, as she was not under arrest.
¶ 7 During the initial interview, Appellant made several highly incriminating admissions. The detectives informed Appellant of her Miranda rights. Appellant voluntarily waived her right to remain silent and the right to an attorney and continued to speak with the police. Essentially, Appellant admitted that for the past three months she had been having an affair with...
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