Commonwealth v. Housman
Decision Date | 26 March 2020 |
Docket Number | No. 765 CAP, No. 766 CAP,765 CAP |
Citation | 226 A.3d 1249 |
Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant v. William Howard HOUSMAN, Appellee Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. William Howard Housman, Appellant |
Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Before our Court in this capital case are the cross-appeals of the Commonwealth, which has been designated as the appellant in this matter, and William H. Housman, designated as the appellee, from the order of the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas granting Housman's petition for relief under the Post Conviction Relief Act ("PCRA"), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541 et seq. , in the form of a new penalty trial, but denying him guilt phase relief.1 After careful review, we affirm.
This case arises from the October 2000 murder of Leslie White, the facts of which were summarized by this Court on Housman's direct appeal:
caused by strangulation and the rag stuffed into her mouth.
After White died, Markman wrapped White's body in a tent and placed it in the back of White's Jeep. The couple then fled to Virginia. Markman drove her car and [Housman] drove White's Jeep - carrying White's body. In Virginia, they drove to a remote piece of land owned by [Housman's] mother, then placed White's body in the trunk of an abandoned car. They discarded White's personal effects, except for her camera, which they intended to sell.
[Housman] and Markman remained in Virginia for several days, staying with friends and [Housman's] father. [Housman] continued to drive White's Jeep, which he held out as his own. While staying with Larry Overstreet and Kimberly Stultz, Markman corroborated [Housman's] story that they bought the Jeep from Markman's friend in Pennsylvania. At the Overstreet residence, Markman retrieved White's camera from the Jeep and they all took pictures of each other - Markman stated she bought the camera from the same woman who sold them the Jeep. Overstreet and Stultz recalled seeing scratches on Markman's neck, which Markman explained were from a dog. Stultz gave Markman the phone number of a pawn shop, and the shop owner testified he gave Markman $90 and a pawn ticket for the camera. Markman asked Stultz for cleaning supplies because "the Jeep smelled bad, like somebody had a dead animal in [it]." Markman also told Stultz that [Housman] had been seeing another woman, and if she ever met this other woman, she would "whoop her ass." Another friend, Nina Jo Fields, testified that during the couple's visit to her home, Markman told her [Housman] had been cheating on her, but that she "[didn't] have to worry about the damn bitch anymore, [because she] took care of it."
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