Com. v. Montalvo

• Decision Date: 24 September 2008
• Docket Number: No. 417 CAP.,417 CAP.
• Citation: 956 A.2d 926
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Noel Matos MONTALVO, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

956 A.2d 926

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Noel Matos MONTALVO, Appellant.

No. 417 CAP.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued May 12, 2008.

Decided September 24, 2008.

Gerald Anthony Lord, Esq., Miller, Poole & Lord, L.L.P., Philadelphia, for Noel Matos Montalvo.

Christopher D. Carusone, Esq., Amy Zapp, Esq., PA Office of Attorney General, Hugh S. Rebert, Esq., York County District Attorney's Office, for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

BEFORE: CASTILLE, C.J., and SAYLOR, EAKIN, BAER, TODD and McCAFFERY, JJ.

OPINION

Justice BAER.

This is a direct appeal from the imposition of a sentence of death by the Court of Common Pleas of York County. Following a trial by jury in 2003, Noel Matos Montalvo (Appellant) was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder arising out of the killing of two victims, Miriam Ascencio (Miriam) and Nelson Lugo (Nelson), on April 19, 1998. Appellant also appeals from lesser sentences imposed for his convictions of burglary and criminal conspiracy, which arose from the same criminal episode as the murders. Because we find no merit to the issues raised by Appellant, we affirm the judgments of sentence.

To provide context for our analysis, we begin with a brief discussion of Appellant's brother, Milton Montalvo (Brother), and his late wife, Miriam. The record reveals that, sometime in 1995, Brother and Miriam moved from Puerto Rico to York County, Pennsylvania. By all accounts, the couple's marriage during this time was fraught with frequent fighting and disagreements. Although unclear, the record suggests that, by March of 1998, the disagreements between the couple had worsened, prompting Brother to move out of the apartment he had shared with Miriam. As detailed in the following paragraph, Brother's separation from Miriam did little to quell the turbulence of their relationship, as they remained in contact with each other and continued to argue over the following month.

On April 18, 1998, Brother stopped by a local grocery store operated by an acquaintance of his, Ms. Ester Soto (Ms. Soto). During his visit, Brother used the store's telephone to call Miriam about certain unemployment checks that she had allegedly received in the mail. N.T., 3/14/2003, at 616-17. The conversation between Brother and Miriam soon grew acrimonious, and Brother began shouting angrily at Miriam over the telephone. As this was occurring, Appellant entered the grocery store and walked to Brother's location. When Brother hung up the telephone a few minutes later, Ms. Soto overheard Brother tell Appellant that he wanted to kill Miriam. Appellant then told Brother to "leave it to him," and that he would murder Miriam himself. Id. at 619.

That evening, Miriam and her friend, Nelson, were dancing at "Swizzles," a local bar in York. The record indicates that at some point later in the evening, Miriam and Nelson left the bar and walked to Miriam's apartment a few blocks away. Some time after 11:30 p.m., one of Miriam's neighbors, Vincent Rice, awoke when he heard glass breaking on the common porch he shared with Miriam. Mr. Rice then heard Brother exclaim, "Open the door!" Shortly thereafter, banging sounds were heard emanating from the apartment.

The following day, Mr. Rice called the police after he peered into Miriam's apartment and observed an unknown male lying on the floor inside. N.T., 3/13/2003, at 574. Upon their arrival, the responding officers observed that the door to Miriam's apartment had a window in the center of it divided into four panes, and that the pane nearest to the door lock was broken. N.T., 3/13/2003, at 574-75, 583. After further investigation, the police discovered the lifeless bodies of Miriam and Nelson lying on the floor inside. A subsequent autopsy report revealed that Miriam died from stab wounds to her eyes, blunt force trauma to her head and body, and lacerations across her neck. Nelson's autopsy report revealed that he died from a stab wound to his chest.

Shortly after the murders occurred, Appellant and Brother drove to Ms. Soto's home and met with her husband, Miguel Soto (Miguel). During this visit, Ms. Soto, who was in a nearby bedroom, overheard Appellant and Brother describing in gruesome detail how they murdered Miriam and Nelson earlier that night. The record indicates that police eventually learned about Appellant's and Brother's meeting with Miguel when they interviewed Ms. Soto during a subsequent police investigation. During this interview, Ms. Soto told the investigating officers that she specifically recalled hearing Appellant admit that he killed Miriam by cutting her throat and stabbing her in the eyes.

A day or two after the murders, Appellant and Brother fled Pennsylvania and drove to Florida. Brother was captured in 1999 and extradited to York County to stand trial for the murders of Miriam and Nelson. In due course, Brother was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, and, after a penalty hearing, was sentenced to death.¹ In contrast, Appellant remained a fugitive for several more years. In February 2002, however, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) received a tip that Appellant had moved from Florida to an apartment unit located in Hudson County, New Jersey. This tip proved accurate, as Appellant, who had changed his appearance and was living under an assumed name, was found at this location shortly thereafter. Appellant was extradited to York County to face charges in this case for homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, and burglary.

During a jury trial in March 2003, the Commonwealth presented the testimony of Miriam's niece, Patricia Ascencio, who explained that she saw Appellant and Brother together at approximately 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. the night of the murders. N.T., 3/13/2003, at 482-83. Another witness, Nici Negron, testified that around 12:30 a.m., he observed Appellant and Brother sitting together in a Dodge van in an alleyway. N.T., 3/13/2003, at 505-06. Finally, the Commonwealth presented the testimony of Miriam's neighbors, Mr. Rice and Mr. Fidelio Morell. Mr. Rice recounted the sounds he had heard on the night of the murders, noting that he heard glass breaking, that he heard Brother's voice, and that there were banging sounds that sounded like someone "wrestling." N.T., 3/13/2003, at 545-46. Mr. Morell, who lived below Miriam's apartment, testified that he also heard Brother's voice on the night of the murders, that he heard Miriam say, "call the police," and that "dragging" sounds were coming from Miriam's apartment shortly thereafter. N.T., 3/13/2003, at 603.

Ms. Soto also testified for the Commonwealth, recounting the conversation she overheard at her grocery store between Appellant and Brother the evening before the murders. In this regard, Ms. Soto testified that she overheard Brother state that he wanted to kill Miriam, and that Appellant responded by stating that he would personally kill Miriam. Ms. Soto also reiterated the statements she had made to police after the murders, in which she indicated that she specifically overheard Appellant admit that he killed Miriam by cutting her throat and stabbing her in the eyes with his knife. Finally, Ms. Soto testified that, when Appellant and Brother stopped by her house after the murders to visit Miguel, they were driving a Dodge van. N.T., 3/14/2003, at 623.

In addition to Ms. Soto's testimony, the Commonwealth introduced additional evidence in its case-in-chief to demonstrate Appellant's consciousness of guilt. First, the Commonwealth called various witnesses who corroborated evidence that Appellant and Brother fled Pennsylvania immediately after the murders and drove to Florida. Second, the Commonwealth introduced the testimony of an F.B.I. agent, who stated that Appellant had changed his appearance and was living under a different name while on the run. See N.T., 3/14/2003, at 706-09.

In its final instructions to the jury before it retired to deliberate, the court explained that, with respect to the charge of first-degree murder, Appellant was charged with taking the life of Miriam, either as a principal or as an accomplice. N.T., 3/19/2003, at 26.² The court then instructed that, with respect to the charge of conspiracy to commit homicide, Appellant could be found guilty if it was proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Appellant: 1) agreed with Brother that one of them would commit a homicide; 2) that Appellant had the intent to promote or facilitate the homicide, and 3) that the homicide was committed by Brother in furtherance of the common plan.³

On March 19, 2003, Appellant was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder, (the murder of Miriam), one count of second-degree murder, (the murder of Nelson), conspiracy to commit homicide, and burglary. At the penalty phase, the Commonwealth argued two aggravating circumstances with respect to Appellant's first-degree murder conviction: 1) the killing was committed during the perpetration of a felony (42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(d)(6)); and 2) Appellant had been convicted of another murder committed either before, or at the time of, the offenses at issue (42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(d)(11)). The defense, in contrast, argued two mitigating circumstances: 1) Appellant had no significant history of prior criminal convictions (42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(e)(1)); and 2) there were other mitigating factors under the catch-all mitigator, including the fact that he was a good worker, attended church, and was a good son to his mother (42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(e)(8)). At the conclusion of the penalty phase, the judge directed defense counsel to present his closing argument first, before the Commonwealth's closing argument.⁴

At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing on April 14, 2003, the jury found proven by the requisite burdens of proof all the aggravating and mitigating circumstances argued during the penalty phase of trial, and concluded that the...