Dement v. Pszczolkowski

• Decision Date: 15 June 2021
• Docket Number: No. 19-0785,19-0785
• Citation: 859 S.E.2d 732
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court
• Parties: Brian Emerson DEMENT, Petitioner Below, Petitioner v. Karen PSZCZOLKOWSKI, Superintendent Northern Correctional Facility, Respondent Below, Respondent

859 S.E.2d 732

Brian Emerson DEMENT, Petitioner Below, Petitioner

v.Karen PSZCZOLKOWSKI, Superintendent Northern Correctional Facility, Respondent Below, Respondent

No. 19-0785

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Submitted: March 23, 2021

Filed: June 15, 2021

Abraham Saad, SAAD DIXON Law Offices PLLC, Huntington, West Virginia, Steven A. Drizin, pro hac vice, Gregory Swygert, pro hac vice, Center on Wrongful Convictions, Chicago, Illinois, Attorneys for the Petitioner.

Patrick Morrisey, Attorney General, Katherine M. Smith, Assistant Attorney General, Scott E. Johnson, Assistant Attorney General, Charleston, West Virginia, Attorneys for the Respondent.

Jenkins, Chief Justice:

Petitioner Brian Emerson Dement ("Mr. Dement") appeals the August 7, 2019 order of the Circuit Court of Cabell County denying his post-conviction petition for writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, Mr. Dement asserts, inter alia , that the circuit court failed to provide a meaningful evidentiary hearing and that the circuit court's order is insufficient. Having considered the briefs submitted on appeal, the appendix record, the parties’ oral arguments, and the applicable legal authority, we reverse the Circuit Court of Cabell County's denial of Mr. Dement's petition for writ of habeas corpus and remand with instructions for the circuit court to hold an omnibus evidentiary hearing and to enter an order with sufficient findings of fact and conclusions of law that complies with West Virginia Code section 53-4A-7 and Rule 9 of the West Virginia Rules Governing Post-Conviction Habeas Corpus Proceedings.

I.FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This matter presents a lengthy and complicated factual and procedural history that spans almost twenty years. Accordingly, prior to discussing Mr. Dement's habeas petition, we will first provide a recitation of the factual history. Then, we will address the underlying habeas proceedings.

A. August 2002 Murder and Initial Investigation¹

On August 8, 2002, the body of a young female, later identified as Deanna Crawford ("Ms. Crawford"), was found in an unoccupied, abandoned barn-like structure by a logging crew working in the remote area of Hickory Ridge in Cabell County, West Virginia. It was determined that Ms. Crawford was twenty-one years old at the time of her death.² She was found on her back with her arms and legs straight out and her hands above her head. At the time she was found, Ms. Crawford did not have any pants or undergarments on the lower half of her body and her shirt was rolled up above her waist. A pair of leopard print pants were found adjacent to her body.

It was concluded that Ms. Crawford's right hyoid bone was fractured

with extensive laceration of the right hyoid cartilage. Accordingly, the cause of Ms. Crawford's death was determined to be manual strangulation. Numerous contusions and abrasions were found on her lower extremities. There was also blood found on the leopard print pants and Ms. Crawford's left hand. Investigating officers gathered physical evidence from the scene, including, but not limited to, beer cans, cigarette butts, an elastic hairband, a glass mug, and the pair of leopard print pants. None of the physical evidence, however, connected the death of Ms. Crawford to any suspects, and the investigation eventually came to a standstill until January of 2007.

B. Investigation Resumed

On January 11, 2007, Deputy Jim Schiedler of the Cabell County Sheriff's Office advised the West Virginia State Police ("the WVSP") that he had been "contacted by Greg Bailey who claimed to have information involving a several year old murder of a female on Hickory Ridge in Salt Rock, West Virginia." The WVSP report provides that Mr. Bailey informed Deputy Schiedler that "his nephew, Brian Dement, had told him that he had committed the crime with three (03) other individuals: Phillip Barnett, Nate Barnett, and Justin Black." Furthermore, the WVSP report indicated that during an interview, Mr. Bailey stated that

approximately two (02) years prior ..., around February or March 2005, he had a conversation with his nephew, Brian Dement .... Bailey was with Dement at Dement's residence ... in Huntington, West Virginia. Dement was drinking alcohol and began telling of an incident involving himself and three (03) other guys. They had "picked up" a girl and had her on an abandoned farm. Dement told Bailey that he and the three (03) other guys had raped the girl, then got scared and had to kill her. Bailey advised that Dement gave some detail of the murder by explaining how they had pulled out some of the victim's fingernails, eyebrows, pubic hairs and tortured her. Dement said he personally had kicked the victim in the head and that was what killed her. Dement also told Bailey something about the victim getting stung by bees.

Mr. Bailey disclosed to the WVSP that Mr. Dement told similar stories with varying details to other friends and family members. Mr. Bailey's wife, Kelly Bailey, also gave a statement to the WVSP that Mr. Dement had told her that he "killed a girl on Hickory Ridge in Salt Rock on a farm." Mr. and Mrs. Bailey then attempted to record a conversation with Mr. Dement confessing to the murder. On the recording, Mr. Bailey asks Mr. Dement if he was involved in just the one murder. Mr. Dement replied only with an "Mum hum." Mrs. Bailey asked Mr. Dement what possessed him to do something like that, and he said, "I don't know." Mr. Bailey then asked Mr. Dement if he did it or if the others did it. Mr. Dement replied that "[t]hey did it." He said he was just present.

C. Mr. Dement's Statements to Law Enforcement

On January 28, 2007, at approximately 7:05 in the evening, the WVSP located Mr. Dement at his residence. Mr. Dement agreed to be interviewed, and he was transported to the Huntington, West Virginia, detachment. At approximately 7:23 p.m., Mr. Dement was advised of his Miranda³ rights, he signed a Waiver of Rights Form, and he agreed to be interviewed without an attorney.⁴ In his initial written statement, Mr. Dement detailed the following events. One summer evening, approximately four years prior, Nathaniel Barnett came to his home, and they walked to a party at Justin Black's mother's home. Once at the party, Mr. Dement had a few beers and played video games with Phillip Barnett until Mr. Black asked them to go for a car ride. Eventually, Mr. Dement, Mr. Black, the Barnett brothers, and a "girl" got into a black or blue car that was parked in the driveway. Mr. Black drove for approximately three to five minutes and then pulled to the side of the road on Hickory Ridge. At this point, without any provocation, Phillip Barnett "lean[ed] up" and "punche[d] the girl up front really hard right in [her] head around her cheek and temple[.]" Mr. Black and the Barnett brothers then exited the car. Philip Barnett "grabb[ed] the girl by the neck and hair and pulled her out of the car." Mr. Dement said he "was in shock and just sat there." Mr. Black and the Barnett brothers "started dragging the girl down the path and her feet were dragging." They disappeared "off into the darkness" for ten to fifteen minutes. When Mr. Black and the Barnett brothers returned to the car, "the girl was not with them." Mr. Dement claimed to overhear Philip Barnett and Mr. Black discussing "the girl's neck snapping." Mr. Dement, Mr. Black, and the Barnett brothers drove back to the house party. Once there, Mr. Dement "took off running down the road" and walked to Route 10, where he called a cab from a grocery store. The cab allegedly picked him up between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. and took him to his Uncle Jimmy's home. After giving this statement to the police, Mr. Dement underwent a polygraph examination; however, the results were inconclusive.

The following day, in the early morning hours, Mr. Dement gave a second written statement. While there were similarities in this second statement, there were also several variances. In particular, Nathaniel Barnett, not Mr. Black, came into the bedroom and asked him and Philip Barnett to take a car ride. Additionally, in this version, as soon as Mr. Black stopped the car on Hickory Ridge, he (Mr. Dement) "went to the passenger side" of the car where he "grabbed [the girl] out of the car by her neck" and "dr[agged] her down the hill about 20-30 yards by her neck." When the girl began screaming, Mr. Dement "punched her in the face to shut her up." While she was on the ground, Philip Barnett "started punching her real hard in the head and kicking her," as Mr. Black and Nathaniel Barnett urged him on. Then, Mr. Dement said, "guys I'm out of here," and he "hid in the bushes beside the car[.]" Thus, Mr. Black and the Barnett brothers were alone with the girl for ten to fifteen minutes. Also, different from his initial statement, Mr. Dement claimed that, when the screams stopped, he "went back up to see the girl" and found her "kind of curled up." He checked her neck for a pulse; however, knowing she was dead, Mr. Dement "ran over the hill and walked to [Route] 10.... all the way to Huntington to [his] Uncle Jimmy's house," which, he claimed, took him a "couple hours."⁵

Shortly after this second written statement was given, Mr. Dement gave a third statement, which was the first to be recorded. Once again, this confession included new details and inconsistencies. In this version, when asked to describe the girl, Mr. Dement stated that "she was white[,] ... medium build[,] you know not fat, not real, real skinny, ... and that's about all I can remember." He could not describe the length of her hair, and he could not describe what she was wearing, how she got to the party, or who she was with. Mr. Dement claimed that the girl was left curled up even though she was found on her back with her hands over her head and her legs straight out. Additionally, Mr. Dement said the girl's clothes were on her when he left her, but, when she was found, she was only partially clothed, and her pants were next to her...