Com. v. Puksar

• Decision Date: 01 November 1999
• Citation: 559 Pa. 358,740 A.2d 219
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Ronald Francis PUKSAR, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

740 A.2d 219

559 Pa. 358

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Ronald Francis PUKSAR, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued November 16, 1998.

Decided November 1, 1999.

Allan L. Sodomsky, J. Allen Daringer, Reading, for R. Puksar.

Mark Baldwin, Reading, Robert A. Graci, Harrisburg, Clua C. Dougherty, for the Com.

Before FLAHERTY, C.J., and ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE, NIGRO, NEWMAN and SAYLOR, JJ.

OPINION

CAPPY, Justice:

This is a direct review of a sentence of death imposed by the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County.¹ For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of sentence.

On April 14, 1993, appellant, Ronald Puksar, was charged in connection with the April 15, 1991 deaths of his brother, Thomas Puksar, and his brother's wife, Donna Puksar. Following a jury trial, appellant was found guilty of first-degree murder,² aggravated assault—serious bodily injury caused,³ and aggravated assault — bodily injury caused with a deadly weapon,⁴ as to both victims. During the penalty phase, the jury fixed the penalty at death for the murder of Donna Puksar⁵ and life imprisonment for the murder of Thomas Puksar. At the sentencing hearing the trial judge formally imposed the sentence of death for the murder of Donna Puksar and life imprisonment for the murder of Thomas Puksar, which sentence is to run consecutively with the sentence of death.

Appellant's first challenge is to the sufficiency of the evidence. According to appellant, the evidence fails to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for both first-degree murder convictions. Specifically, appellant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to connect him to the killings, since all of the evidence linking him to the crime scene was circumstantial. Moreover, appellant argues that the evidence presented at trial was more consistent with a finding that Donna Puksar's wounds were self-inflicted, indicating that both killings were a result of a murder-suicide and not the result of a double homicide.

In order to sustain a finding of first-degree murder, the evidence must establish that a human being was unlawfully killed, the appellant did the killing, and that the killing was done in an intentional, deliberate and premeditated way. Commonwealth v. Mitchell, 528 Pa. 546, 599 A.2d 624 (1991). "In the case of first degree murder, we must determine whether there was sufficient evidence to prove that appellant caused the death of another human being by an intentional killing." Commonwealth v. Gease, 548 Pa. 165, 696 A.2d 130, 132 (1997); see 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 2501(a) and 2502(a). Circumstantial evidence alone is sufficient to convict one of a crime, including first degree murder. Commonwealth v. May, 540 Pa. 237, 656 A.2d 1335, 1340 (1995). In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence this court will consider whether the evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as the verdict-winner, would permit a jury to find that all the elements of the crime were present beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Rucci, 543 Pa. 261, 670 A.2d 1129, 1132 (1996).

As a preliminary matter, although appellant does not assert that the evidence was insufficient to establish a specific intent to kill, we find that the evidence clearly established a specific intent to kill based on the following: Thomas Puksar was shot ten times, once in the back, once in the back of the head, two times in the groin, three times in the chest and three times in the forehead; Donna Puksar was shot two times, first in the jaw and then in the temple. N.T., Dr. Mihalakis, 11/1/93, 13-4, 21-4; 28, 53. The second shot was fatal. Specific intent to kill can be inferred from use of a deadly weapon on a vital part of the body. Commonwealth v. Speight, 544 Pa. 451, 677 A.2d 317, 321 (1996). Accordingly, the evidence established specific intent to kill.

A review of the record reveals that the evidence was also sufficient to connect appellant to the killings. The evidence established that appellant was "coming" to the victims' home at or around the time of the killings. N.T., 10/28/93, 1130-31. There was a recent dispute between appellant and Thomas Puksar regarding a transaction involving model trains. N.T., 11/2/93, 706-08. Thomas Puksar's body was found surrounded by scattered boxes of model trains. N.T., 10/26/93, 626-7. A handgun recovered at the scene was established to be the weapon used in the commission of the killings. N.T., 10/29/93, 1260-62. Appellant owned the weapon. N.T., 10/28/93, 1151. A box of bullets, of the same type and manufacture as the bullets used in the killing, was found on a desk on the first floor of the victims' home. Two of appellant's fingerprints were found on this box. N.T., 10/29/93, 1168-9. The box of bullets was not on the desk at 5:00 p.m. that afternoon when Trevor Hartman (Hartman) dropped Thomas Puksar off after work. N.T., 10/25/93, 503.

In addition, the evidence was sufficient to establish that Donna Puksar was the victim of a homicide. At trial, the evidence demonstrated that Donna Puksar was her normal, happy self at work the day of the killings. N.T., 10/29/93, 1177-9, 1184, 1190. She had invited a co-worker to her home for dinner that evening. Id. at 1189. Donna Puksar left work at 6:28 p.m. Id. at 1199. When she was found, Donna Puksar was dressed in the clothing she had worn to work the day of the murders. N.T., 10/26/93, 887-88. The bloodstains found on Donna Puksar were of a type consistent with her own blood type and not the blood type of Thomas Puksar. N.T., 10/28/93, 1039-40. There were no fingerprints or blood on the gun at the time it was recovered. N.T., 10/26/93, 797; N.T., 10/29/93, 1269-70.

The Commonwealth presented the testimony of Dr. Isadore Mihalakis, an expert in forensic pathology, who testified, based on a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that Donna Puksar was the victim of a homicide. N.T., Dr. Mihalakis, 11/1/93, 65. Dr. Mihalakis testified that the evidence established that Donna Puksar would not have been physically able to fire the second fatal shot to her temple following the first shot to the jaw. Id. at 57-63. However, appellant challenges this testimony on the basis that it was contrary to the testimony of the other medical experts, who testified, based on a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that Donna Puksar would have been able to fire the second shot to her temple, following the first shot to her jaw. N.T., 10/26/93, 683-84; N.T. Dr. Cyril Wecht, 11/3/93, 38-39.

In instances where there is conflicting testimony, it is for the jury to determine the weight to be given the testimony. The credibility of a witness is a question for the fact-finder. Commonwealth v. Rivers, 537 Pa. 394, 644 A.2d 710, 717 (1994). In the instant case, the jury, as fact-finder, obviously chose the testimony given by Dr. Mihalakis as more credible than the testimony offered by the other experts; and it is not for this court to disturb this determination.

We conclude, upon reviewing the facts herein, that the Commonwealth presented sufficient evidence to connect appellant to the killings. Moreover, the jury was presented with competent evidence from which they could reasonably conclude that Donna Puksar was the victim of murder. Accordingly, sufficient evidence exists to establish that appellant caused the death of both victims by an intentional killing.

In his brief to this court, appellant raises four additional claims for this court's review. Appellant's first claim is that the trial court erroneously admitted the hearsay testimony of Hartman.

At trial, Hartman testified, on recall by the Commonwealth, to two different conversations that he overheard between appellant and Thomas Puksar. The first conversation, which occurred sometime in February of 1991, established that there was a dispute between appellant and Thomas Puksar involving the purchase of model trains. Hartman testified that appellant had stopped at Thomas Puksar's residence on that particular day to get some money from Thomas Puksar for the train set. N.T., 11/1/93, 705. But, Hartman further stated that "[Tom] wasn't going to give him any money. He wanted to go sell the trains and get them appraised." Id. at 708. Further into Hartman's testimony, the Commonwealth provided him with a police report to refresh his recollection as to what he told the police following the murder. After he reviewed the report, Hartman testified that "[Tom] didn't trust [appellant]" and that "Tom thought that some of [the trains] were replicas ... that's why no money ever changed hands, because Tom didn't know the price of the train collections, what it was valued as." Id. at 711-12. At sidebar, during the Commonwealth's offer of proof with regard to Hartman's testimony, defense counsel objected to the testimony, asserting that it improperly commented on appellant's state of mind. The trial court overruled the objection on the basis that the statements were relevant to show motive. N.T., 11/1/93, 691. Appellant renews his argument to this court, asserting that the statements were improperly admitted hearsay, which prejudiced him.

Contrary to appellant's assertions, Hartman's statements were not hearsay. Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Commonwealth v. Griffin, 511 Pa. 553, 515 A.2d 865, 870 (1986). When an extrajudicial statement is offered for a purpose other than proving the truth of its contents, it is not hearsay and is not excludable under the hearsay rule. Id. Thus, statements are admissible to establish ill-will or motive where they are not being offered for the truth of the matter contained therein.⁶ See Commonwealth v. Brown, 538 Pa. 410, 648 A.2d 1177, 1182 (1994) (Out-of-court statement, which was not offered for its truth, but only for the fact that it was made, was not inadmissible hearsay.).

In the instant case, the Commonwealth...