Commonwealth v. Hicks

• Decision Date: 28 March 2017
• Docket Number: No. 718 CAP,718 CAP
• Citation: 156 A.3d 1114
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Charles Ray HICKS, Appellant
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

156 A.3d 1114

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee

v.Charles Ray HICKS, Appellant

No. 718 CAP

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

ARGUED: September 13, 2016

DECIDED: March 28, 2017

Jason Allen LaBar, Esq., Monroe County Public Defender, for Appellant.

Elmer D. Christine Jr., Esq., Michael Mancuso, Esq., Kimberly Ann Metzger, Esq., Monroe County District Attorney's Office, Amy Zapp, Esq., for Appellee.

SAYLOR, C.J., BAER, TODD, DONOHUE, DOUGHERTY, WECHT, MUNDY, JJ.

Justice Dougherty delivers the Opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II and IV and announces the judgment of the Court. Justices Todd and Mundy join the opinion in full. Chief Justice Saylor joins in Parts I, II and IV and in the judgment and files a concurring opinion. Justice Baer also files a concurrence. Justices Donohue and Wecht file dissenting opinions, and Justice Wecht joins the merits portion of Justice Donohue's dissent.

OPINION

JUSTICE DOUGHERTY

Appellant Charles Ray Hicks appeals from the sentence of death imposed by the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and abuse of corpse.¹ For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of sentence.

I. Background

On January 29, 2008, Corporal Jody Radziewicz, a member of the forensic services unit of the Pennsylvania State Police, was called to process several crime scenes where body parts were discovered on stretches of Route 380 and Route 80 in Monroe and Lackawanna Counties. N.T. 11/5/14 at 91. At these various locations, troopers recovered numerous black garbage bags with blue handle ties containing the body parts of a woman, except for her hands. Id. at 91–93. Surprising to Corporal Radziewicz was the fact that most of the body parts were relatively cleanly severed, probably with a knife or saw, and free from blood. Id. at 102, 121. However, there was blood and a jagged cut in the shoulder area where the neck and head were severed from the rest of the body. Id. at 157. The victim's head was found on the on-ramp to Route 380 from Route 423 in Tobyhanna, Monroe County, about 200 yards from appellant's house. Id. at 83, 163.

Dr. Saralee Funk performed an autopsy at the Monroe County Coroner's Office, and a rape kit was also prepared; hairs, footprints, and other DNA evidence were taken from the victim. Id. at 198–201. The victim was eventually identified as Deanna Null after dental records were compared and determined to be a match. Id. at 206. Dr. Funk's autopsy report stated there were ambiguities around the timing of the injuries, and pre-death trauma could not be ruled out until additional testing was completed. N.T. 11/6/14 at 141–42. Shortly after the autopsy and before additional testing, Dr. Funk suffered a serious health crisis which led to her retirement. N.T. 11/5/14 at 206–07.

The autopsy report was later reviewed and additional testing was completed by Dr. Wayne Ross, a forensic pathologist working in multiple counties in Pennsylvania. N.T. 11/6/14 at 20. After observing marks and swelling on the victim's face, Dr. Ross concluded this was due to blunt force trauma from being hit in the face with a hand or fist at least six times while she was still alive. Id. at 28–33. Dr. Ross also found pre-death injuries, including lacerations, on the back of the victim's head which he determined were consistent with being struck with a crowbar or a pipe. Id. at 34–38. Dr. Ross concluded the victim suffered at least seventeen different impacts to her face and head area while she was still alive as there was swelling and hemorrhaging which would not have occurred had the victim been deceased prior to the trauma. Id. at 44. Further pre-death injuries were found to the victim's torso, including all twelve ribs being fractured multiple times. Id. at 51. Dr. Ross concluded these injuries resulted from being stomped with a boot or shoe. Id. at 54. Dr. Ross also found evidence the victim was strangled while alive based on the red-purple appearance of her face and hemorrhaging in the throat area. Id. at 61–64. Using a process called "blood staining," and based on blood and blood clotting around the neck tissue, Dr. Ross concluded the victim was alive when her neck and head were severed from her torso. Id. at 75–90. Dr. Ross ultimately concluded the victim's cause of death was a combination of strangulation and sharp force injury to her neck. Id. at 90.²

Anthony Bullock was interviewed by police and stated the victim had brought appellant to his home in the Scranton area on or about January 25, 2008. Id. at 221. After staying for a few hours, appellant and the victim left Mr. Bullock's home. Id. This was the last time Mr. Bullock saw the victim and stated she seemed nervous and withdrawn during the visit, which was not like her normally outgoing demeanor. Id. at 224. Mr. Bullock stated appellant returned a few hours later looking for crack cocaine without the victim. Id. at 222.

Joseph McCallister was also interviewed and told police he had introduced the victim to a man who was looking for prostitutes and drugs in the Scranton area in January of 2008. Id. at 173–76. McCallister gave the police a description of the man and his vehicle and also told police the man stated he worked in Tobyhanna. Id. at 178.

On February 7, 2008, Trooper Kent Lane was on surveillance looking for a dark colored sedan with a vinyl roof as described by McCallister. Id. at 148. While traveling on Route 423, near the intersection of Route 380, Trooper Lane observed a dark blue Mercury Grand Marquis parked at 131 Prospect Street, appellant's residence. Id. at 149. After searching the license plate number, Trooper Lane determined the owner of the vehicle was a "Charles R. Hicks," but the investigation regarding appellant was placed on hold while other leads were followed. N.T. 11/10/14 at 120. However, on March 4, 2008, Trooper Shawn Hilbert received information about the same vehicle being present at appellant's residence. N.T. 11/6/14 at 153. After further confirming Charles Hicks of Burleson, Texas was the owner of the vehicle, Trooper Hilbert called the Texas Intelligence Department which provided driver's license photographs for two men named Charles Hicks, father and son, who resided at the same address in Burleson. Id. at 156–57.

Police secured a search warrant for the vehicle and approached appellant in a parking lot after following his vehicle. N.T. 11/10/14 at 126. Appellant agreed to go to the police barracks for an interview. Id. During the interview, appellant acknowledged he knew the victim as a prostitute from Scranton and had been with her on one or two occasions in the beginning of January 2008. Id. at 132. Appellant also stated he was addicted to crack cocaine and had some problems with alcohol. Id. at 133. However, appellant denied ever becoming violent with the victim. Id. at 146. During the search of the vehicle, police recovered a blood-stained pair of boots from the trunk. Id. at 21–23, 63–64. There were also traces of blood present in the front passenger seat. Id. at 24. When asked about the blood on the boots, appellant stated he did not know how it got there. Id. at 156. Appellant was then informed a search warrant had been secured for his home. Id. at 157.

Trooper Matthew Johnstone, a New York State Police dog handler, was called in to assist the Pennsylvania State Police in their search of appellant's residence and vehicle for human remains. N.T. 11/7/14 at 18–19. After there was no alert to such remains in the vehicle or the exterior of appellant's property, Trooper Johnstone moved inside the house. Id. at 19. The K9 alerted to a briefcase in the living room area and the floor in one corner of the basement. Id. at 20–21. The briefcase contained a very detailed handwritten map of the Scranton area. N.T. 11/10/14 at 172–73. Collected from the basement was a Sawzall reciprocating saw blade and medium length brown hairs. N.T. 11/7/14 at 196. Medium length hairs and skin particles were also recovered from various items, including a scrub brush, found inside a tool bag recovered from another part of the house. N.T. 11/10/14 at 43–52. The DNA profile taken from the hairs on the scrub brush were determined to match the DNA profile of the victim. Id. at 89. Five unused black garbage bags with blue draw strings, which were identical to the bags containing the victim's body parts, were found in the attic of the house. N.T. 11/7/14 at 143. Fingerprints found on the garbage bags from the attic matched those of appellant. N.T. 11/10/14 at 36. The search of the home also produced a pair of human hands wrapped in socks, newspaper pages dated February 4, 2008, and Ziplock bags; the hands were found inside a large access panel for the bathroom plumbing. N.T. 11/7/14 at 162–168. Socks found in appellant's bedroom and unused Ziplock bags found in the kitchen were exact matches with those used to wrap the hands. Id. at 185–189. The fingerprints from the recovered hands matched those of the victim. N.T. 11/10/14 at 37. Appellant was taken into custody and charged with the murder of Deanna Null. Id. at 161.

Prior to trial, the Commonwealth filed a notice pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Evidence 404(b)(3) informing appellant of its intention to introduce evidence of prior bad acts through the testimony of eight women with whom appellant had a sexual and/or prostitution-type relationship, which also involved the use of illegal narcotics such as crack cocaine. Commonwealth's Pa.R.E. 404(b) Notice, 3/26/10 at 1.³ The Commonwealth sought to introduce the evidence in order to buttress circumstantial evidence in the case by showing motive, identity and intent, as well as to rebut any defense based on accidental death. Id. at 1–2. The proposed witnesses—identified as Cheryl Denise Phillips, Lakessia Roshe Mayfield, Suzanne Downing, Lakisha Muhammad a/k/a Lakisha Washington, Karen Lovell, Misty Kay Chavez, Sheinina Hicks, and Kim Alston—would testify to appellant's...