Com. v. Whitman

• Decision Date: 06 March 2009
• Docket Number: 09030961.
• Citation: 453 Mass. 331,901 N.E.2d 1206
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH v. Timothy WHITMAN.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

901 N.E.2d 1206

453 Mass. 331

COMMONWEALTH v. Timothy WHITMAN.

09030961.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Essex.

Argued November 6, 2008.

Decided March 6, 2009.

Stephen B. Hrones, Boston (Michael Tumposky with him) for the defendant.

Kenneth E. Steinfield, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth.

Present: MARSHALL, C.J., IRELAND, COWIN, CORDY, & BOTSFORD, JJ.

CORDY, J.

In the early morning of September 14, 2001, while his friend Matthew Valli slept, the defendant repeatedly stabbed him, killing him, and then, using a different knife, stabbed another friend, Brooke Pelletier, while she slept, injuring her. A jury rejected the defendant's claim that he was not criminally responsible under the standards set forth in Commonwealth v. McHoul, 352 Mass. 544, 546-547, 226 N.E.2d 556 (1967), and convicted him of murder in the first degree (of Valli) by reason of deliberate premeditation.¹ In addition, the jury convicted the defendant of armed assault with intent to murder Pelletier and assault and battery of Pelletier by means of a dangerous weapon. Represented by new counsel on appeal, the defendant argues error in the exclusion of evidence, in the prosecutor's closing argument, and in the judge's instructions to the jury. We affirm all of the convictions, and discern no basis to grant relief under G.L. c. 278, § 33E.

The trial. Based on the Commonwealth's evidence, the jury could have found the following facts. On September 13, 2001, Valli and Pelletier, who had long known each other and had been dating since the previous April, invited some friends, including the defendant, to see their new apartment in Newburyport. Valli was twenty-one years of age; Pelletier was nineteen years of age; and the defendant was twenty years of age.

Pelletier had been a close friend of the defendant for a couple of years. One or two years before she and Valli began living together, Pelletier had the "beginning of a romantic relationship" with the defendant, which involved some kissing. The romance went no further, and the two remained good friends. The defendant and Valli also were good friends.

At around 8 P.M. on September 13, the defendant arrived at the victims' apartment with his friend James Arnold. They joined the guests and spent the evening talking, listening to music, and drinking. There were no arguments or disagreements, and everyone at the gathering was "in good spirits." The group engaged in some discussion about the events of September 11, and the defendant expressed concern that his brother, a Marine, would be deployed to Afghanistan.

At about 10:30 P.M., after most of the other guests had left, Arnold decided to leave; the defendant was the only guest remaining. Pelletier invited the defendant to stay the night.

A little later, Valli went to bed. There was no bedroom in the apartment, which was similar to a studio apartment. Pelletier and Valli slept on a mattress in a hallway area; during the day, they propped the mattress up against a hallway wall. That evening, Valli slept on the left edge of the mattress, which was near a wall.

The defendant and Pelletier stayed up and talked. The defendant relayed that he and his girl friend intended to "get their own place." They discussed the recent terrorist attacks, and the defendant became "emotional about his brother."

At 1:30 A.M., September 14, Pelletier went to bed and told the defendant that he could sleep on the mattress with her and Valli. Pelletier positioned herself in the middle of the mattress, and the defendant down beside her.

A few minutes later, Valli got up to get some cereal. Five or ten minutes after that, the defendant also arose and left the hallway area. Pelletier moved toward the wall, keeping her left ear on the mattress. Because she had difficulty hearing out of her right ear, sleeping that way helped her sleep better. About ten minutes later, Pelletier had the "sensation" of someone returning to the mattress.

At approximately 3 A.M., the defendant took a large knife from the kitchen, went over to Valli, who was sleeping on the mattress, and stabbed him. Valli stood up and asked, "What's going on?" The defendant threw him against a wall and stabbed him again. The defendant then threw Valli back down on the mattress.² Valli suffered multiple stab and incised wounds in the area of his left upper arm, back, and chest. One of the stab wounds to Valli's chest penetrated his left lung and heart, and by itself would have been fatal. The knife used by the defendant broke. Valli died as a result of his wounds.

The defendant went into the kitchen area and retrieved a second knife that was shorter and wider, similar to a cleaver. Using this, he attacked Pelletier. Pelletier woke up to find the defendant at the foot of the mattress, stabbing her in the shoulder. She screamed, and the defendant cut her hand as she tried to stand up. Once she stood up, the defendant stopped and retreated to the bathroom. He then left the apartment. Pelletier suffered stab wounds on her face, right hand, shoulder, arm, and back.

Pelletier screamed to the defendant to dial 911. The defendant returned to the apartment and dialed 911. With a flat affect, he told the operator, "I just stabbed two people," and provided the address of the apartment. A few minutes later, the defendant contacted the 911 operator again. In an angry voice, he stated, "I just fucking called and I stabbed two people." The defendant asked why help had not arrived. In response to questions from the operator, he provided his name and the names of the victims. The defendant also stated that he was "going insane," that he believed that [Valli] was dead, and that "there's blood everywhere." The defendant sounded upset. He stated, "I'm fucked up man," "I cannot believe I did this," and "He's fucking dead dude, hurry up." Seconds later, the defendant yelled, "He's fucking dead!" A few seconds later, the defendant, in an angry voice asked, "Why aren't they here man?" The operator stated that help was there and directed the defendant to "buzz the door." The defendant replied, "They're not even fucking here," and was agitated about having to "buzz the door."

Sergeant Richard McCarthy of the Newburyport police department responded to the scene a few minutes later. He encountered the defendant outside the apartment. The defendant was not wearing a shirt, and his arms and pants were covered in blood. The defendant loudly asked, "Where's the ambulance? Where's the ambulance?" He then told Sergeant McCarthy, "I'm the one that did it. I'm the one that stabbed them." Another officer, Ronald Senter, handcuffed the defendant and put him in the back of his police cruiser. Inside the apartment, Valli was lying facedown on the mattress and was covered in blood. On the walls near the mattress, there were cast off bloodstains³ and medium velocity impact spatter.⁴

An ambulance arrived. Sergeant McCarthy asked the defendant if he needed medical attention. The defendant replied that he did not. He also stated, "I'm crazy. I'm off my medication. I just went berserk." The defendant then asked, "Are they alright: I think [Valli's] dead, isn't he?"

At the police station, the defendant was given Miranda warnings and, at about 4:45 A.M., gave a statement to police. He appeared to be sober and was not slurring his words. In his statement, the defendant recounted the following. He lived with his parents and younger sister, worked at a local restaurant, and had not graduated from high school due to a long-standing problem he had with depression. He had been diagnosed with having depression five years before. He was taking a prescription medication for his depression, Celexa, and his daily dose was recently doubled to forty milligrams. The defendant acknowledged that, while taking this medication, he should not consume alcoholic beverages.

The defendant further told the police that he had been a friend of the victims for many years. At their apartment, he drank about six bottles of "Mike's Hard Lemonade" and four "twisted teas."⁵ After going to bed on the mattress with the victims, he woke up and heard voices inside his head. The voices told him "to take them out." He went to the kitchen area of the apartment and retrieved a knife. He lay on the mattress and "was there for about five minutes and [was] thinking of where I should put it first." He then repeatedly stabbed Valli, who woke up, stood up, and asked, "What's going on?" Because the knife with which he had stabbed Valli broke, the defendant went back to the kitchen to get another knife. He then stabbed Pelletier, who was sleeping on the mattress. When Pelletier yelled, "What are you doing? Call 911," "something snapped," and the defendant "returned to normal." The defendant stated that he and Pelletier were no more than friends, and that there was no reason for his actions. He further remarked that the victims "were just at the wrong place at the wrong time," and that he was "sorry" for "what [he] did."

We now summarize the defense case. The defendant did not testify. Through cross-examination of the prosecutor's witnesses, the defendant maintained that the police had not properly investigated the case insofar as they failed to pursue the defendant's claim of hearing voices.

Several lay witnesses testified for the defense, including the defendant's mother, father, and sister. The defendant was one of five children. Commencing in his youth, he had consistent nightmares. When he was in first grade, it was discovered that he had learning disabilities and he was provided with special education services. He continuously received special education services until he dropped out of high school during his senior year.

Sometime around or after the defendant completed the eighth grade, his mood changed and he became reclusive. This condition became more severe when he turned sixteen years of age. The defendant broke a lot of household rules and had...