Deparvine v. State
| Decision Date | 29 September 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. SC06-155.,SC06-155. |
| Citation | 995 So.2d 351 |
| Parties | William James DEPARVINE, Appellant/Cross Appellee, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee/Cross Appellant. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Steven L. Bolotin, Assistant Public Defender, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Bartow, Florida, for Appellant/Cross Appellee.
Bill McCollum, Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, and Stephen D. Ake, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, Florida, for Appellee/Cross Appellant.
This case is before the Court on appeal by William James Deparvine from a judgment of conviction of first-degree murder and a sentence of death. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons explained below, we affirm Deparvine's convictions and sentences.
William James Deparvine appeals his convictions for the first-degree murders of Richard "Rick" Van Dusen ("Rick") and Karla Van Dusen ("Karla") and one count of armed carjacking. The State's theory of the case was that Deparvine responded to the Van Dusens' attempts to sell a 1971 Chevrolet Cheyenne pickup truck ("truck") and he subsequently murdered them and took the truck.
According to testimony at trial, the Van Dusens placed an ad in the St. Petersburg Times ("Times") seeking to sell their truck from February 11, 2003, to March 14, 2003. In March 2003, Rick placed the truck on consignment with auctioneer Stuart Myers, who testified that Rick placed a reserve price of $17,000 on the truck and rejected a bid of $15,000. Unable to sell the truck, the Van Dusens ran another ad from July 8, 2003, to August 8, 2003, asking for $14,500. The Van Dusens ran a final ad in the Times from November 20, 2003, to December 21, 2003, asking for "$13,700 or partial trade for four wheel drive jeep."
The State presented the testimony of Christopher Coviello, the Van Dusens' neighbor, who stated that on November 25, 2003, the day before the Van Dusens' bodies were discovered, he saw the Van Dusens driving away from their house in Tierra Verde, which is approximately twenty minutes southwest of the St. Petersburg area, between 5:15 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. Coviello saw Rick driving the truck by himself and Karla driving a Jeep, also owned by them, by herself and following Rick. The State was able to use the Van Dusens' cell phone records which indicated the cell towers used to track the Van Dusens' movement on November 25, 2003. The Van Dusens' phone records indicated that between the times of 4:45 p.m. and 6:37 p.m., they moved northeast from their home in Tierra Verde through the St. Petersburg area and ended up north of St. Petersburg around the Oldsmar area. Their bodies were discovered on November 26, some 3.4 miles from the last recorded cell tower used by the Van Dusens in Oldsmar.
One of the phone calls Karla made during this time period was to her mother, Billie Ferris, which began at approximately 5:54 p.m. This phone call began by using a cell tower located on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg and lasted approximately thirty-seven minutes, ending with the use of the cell tower in Oldsmar. Over defense counsel's objections, Ferris testified that during this conversation, when she heard the motor of the car running in the background, she asked Karla whether she was in the car, and Karla responded:
A: I'm following Rick and the guy that bought the truck. He knows where to get the paperwork done tonight.
. . . .
The very next morning, on November 26, the bodies of Rick and Karla were found along a dirt road next to a residence, approximately one mile east of Oldsmar. Rick was shot once in the back of the head. He was found with his wallet and money clip containing eighty-three dollars, two gold rings, a cell phone, and a watch. Karla was shot twice in the head and stabbed twice in the chest. She was found with four gold rings, gold hoop earrings, and a watch. Detective Chuck Sackman testified that he discovered a knife blade and a nine millimeter shell casing under her body.
The Jeep, owned by the Van Dusens, was discovered 1.3 miles away from their bodies at a local business. Detective Sackman testified that the windshield was cracked and that he recovered a bullet fragment from the dashboard, a shell casing between the passenger front seat and the doorway, a bullet fragment on the front passenger floorboard, a global positioning system (GPS) device and an address book on the front passenger seat floorboard, a black purse on the passenger seat, and two cell phones from the center console. On the ground floor next to the Jeep on the driver's side was a Florida identification (ID) card belonging to Henry Sullivan. Castings were made from the footprints and tire marks around the Jeep.
Chief forensic print analyst Mary Ellen Holmberg analyzed the prints lifted from the interior and exterior of the Jeep and one lifted from Sullivan's ID card, but none of them matched Deparvine. Latent print analyst Kimberly Cashwell analyzed the knife blade discovered under Karla's body, but was not able to lift any prints of value for comparison. Footwear and tire crime scene analyst Lynn Ernst eliminated Deparvine's shoes as a match with the castings taken from the scene. Ernst also eliminated the Van Dusens' truck as having made the tire marks around the Jeep.
Blood stains were found throughout the driver and passenger sides of the Jeep. Susannah Ulrey, a laboratory analyst for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, testified that she analyzed five blood samples taken from different points on the steering wheel of the Jeep, and four of them matched Deparvine's DNA, including one mixture blood stain containing Deparvine's and Rick's DNA. Amber Moss, a supervisor of forensic case work at Orchid-Cellmark, a private laboratory, testified that the two blood samples she analyzed, which were taken from different locations on the steering wheel of the Jeep, matched Deparvine, thus totaling six different blood stains on the steering wheel that were linked to Deparvine's DNA. Numerous other blood samples were taken from inside the Jeep and the Van Dusens' clothing, but none of those matched Deparvine.
On November 27, 2003, Professor Raymonda Letrice Burgman, who lived near Deparvine's apartment complex, discovered the 1971 Chevrolet truck parked there, and called the police. Detective Charles Keene secured and executed a search warrant for Deparvine's apartment on December 24, 2003. He discovered a document indicating a 1971 Chevy Cheyenne pickup truck for sale and a handwritten note with a phone number and a list of fourteen questions regarding the truck. One of the documents indicated that the Van Dusens' truck was being sold for $18,900. Detective Keene also found an affidavit, dated December 12, 2003, wherein Deparvine was requesting a vehicle title application for the truck, an insurance policy for the truck in Deparvine's name, and old truck repair documents indicating Rick's name. A notarized bill of sale from Rick to Deparvine, dated November 25, 2003, was also discovered indicating a purchase price of $6,500. Susan A. Kienker, who notarized this bill of sale, later testified that Rick, whom she knew personally, asked her to notarize the bill of sale on November 25, 2003, and handwriting expert Don Quinn confirmed Rick's handwriting on the bill of sale as authentic. No guns were discovered at Deparvine's apartment.
George Harrington testified that he came into contact with Deparvine in August 2003, when Harrington was seeking to sell his 1996 F-150 pickup truck for approximately $7,800. Harrington testified that Deparvine wanted to purchase the truck, but before he did, he asked to take the truck to Oldsmar where his mechanic friend would inspect it. Deparvine indicated that he would pay for the truck in cash, which he kept at his friend's house in Oldsmar. Deparvine gave Harrington a blank bill of sale and told him to have it notarized, which he did, but the sale was never completed, and Harrington never met or spoke with Deparvine's Oldsmar friend.
Deparvine testified in his own defense and stated that prior to November 2003, he was looking to purchase a pickup truck during a six-month period. He said that he saw the Van Dusens' February, July, and November ads and inquired about the truck in February, July, September, and November. Deparvine testified that on the Sunday morning of November 23, 2003, he spoke with Rick, who gave him directions to his house in Tierra Verde. When Deparvine arrived, Rick offered to let Deparvine test drive the truck. Deparvine drove the truck and Rick came along, but within three-quarters of a mile, the truck ran out of gas and the two men abandoned the truck on the side of the road and walked back to the Van Dusen home. At the home, Rick picked up a can of gas, which already contained approximately three-quarters of a gallon of gas, and the two men rode in the Jeep back to the truck with Rick driving.1 Rick poured gas in the gas tank, but the truck did not start. They decided to "prime the carburetor," which Deparvine testified involves pulling the air cleaner assembly off the carburetor, and pouring gas into the carburetor while another person turns the key in the ignition. Rick turned the key in the ignition while Deparvine primed the carburetor. During this process, Deparvine states that he opened a wound and scab under his right index finger, which originated as a cut he received at work. After they were able to start the truck, Rick drove the truck to the gas station while Deparvine followed driving the Jeep. Rick then put gas in the truck and the two drove back to the Van Dusens' home, with Deparvine still driving the Jeep. Deparvine testified that he stayed at the home for approximately two hours during which Rick showed him...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Braddy v. State
... ... Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's ruling. J. Victim Impact Evidence We review a trial court's admission of victim impact testimony for abuse of discretion. Deparvine v. State, 995 So.2d 351, 378 (Fla.2008). We have previously held that victim impact testimony is admissible as long as it falls within the parameters set by the United States Supreme Court in Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 111 S.Ct. 2597, 115 L.Ed.2d 720 (1991). Windom v. State, 656 So.2d ... ...
-
Lowe v. State
... ... To the extent the trial judge should have gone into greater detail, any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Deparvine v. State , 995 So.2d 351, 381 (Fla. 2008) (concluding that any error in not treating certain mitigation in greater detail was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, given that four proven aggravators were each assigned "great weight" and that little weight was given to the mitigating circumstances ... ...
-
Smith v. State
... ... Fourth, I would not reach the merits of the State's cross-appeal but would instead dismiss the cross-appeal as moot. See, e.g., Deparvine ... ...
-
Davis v. State
... ... 1984)). While an excited utterance need not be contemporaneous to the event, it must be made while the declarant is under the stress of the startling event and without time for reflection. Hutchinson v. State, 882 So.2d 943, 951 (Fla.2004) [ abrogated on other grounds by Deparvine v. State, 995 So.2d 351 (Fla.2008) ]; see also Rogers v. State, 660 So.2d 237, 240 (Fla.1995). Hudson, 992 So.2d at 107. In this case, Proby's statement satisfies the three prongs of the exception. First, the statement must be made regarding an event startling enough to cause nervous ... ...
-
Evidence
...eliminating the startling event requirement will greatly expand the admissibility of hearsay in criminal trials.) Deparvine v. State, 995 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 2008) The defendant, who the victim knew, came to the victim’s apartment and threatened to kill him over drugs. The victim managed to ma......
-
Miscellaneous
...2011) The court does not err in allowing five victim impact witnesses to testify in a death penalty phase proceeding. Deparvine v. State, 995 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 2008) Victim impact evidence is not restricted to family members. In the death of a police officer, the court properly allows testim......
-
Charging a crime, arraignment and pleas
...is sufficient to sustain a first-degree murder conviction when the defense does not raise the objection before trial. Deparvine v. State, 995 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 2008) It is not fundamental error for the indictment to omit the element from first degree murder by drug distribution under §782.04......
-
The trial (conduct of trial, jury instructions, verdict)
...of improper hearsay and an improper closing argument.) Gosciminski v. State, 994 So. 2d 1018 (Fla. 2008) (See Deparvine v. State , 995 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 2008) for discussion and application of circumstantial evidence rules in a first degree murder death penalty case.) (See Ballard v. State ,......