Gore v. State

• Decision Date: 19 April 2001
• Docket Number: No. SC96127.,SC96127.
• Citation: 784 So.2d 418
• Parties: Marshall Lee GORE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

784 So.2d 418

Marshall Lee GORE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. SC96127.

Supreme Court of Florida.

April 19, 2001.

William M. Norris, Coconut Grove, FL, for Appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Sandra S. Jaggard, Assistant Attorney General, Miami, FL, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

We have on appeal the judgment and sentence of the trial court imposing the death penalty upon Marshall Lee Gore. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the convictions for first-degree murder and armed robbery and the sentences, including the sentence of death.

BACKGROUND

This appeal arises from the retrial of Gore as ordered by this Court in Gore v. State, 719 So.2d 1197, 1203 (Fla.1998). Gore was initially tried, convicted of first-degree murder, and sentenced to death in 1995 for the killing of Robyn Novick.¹ On appeal, this Court reversed the judgment and sentence and ordered a new trial due to the cumulative effect of the State's improper cross-examination of Gore and improper closing argument. See id. at 1197. Gore was retried and again convicted and sentenced to death.

The record of Gore's retrial reflects the following facts. Police discovered Novick's nude body in a rural area of Dade County on March 16, 1988. Her body was hidden by a blue tarpaulin-like material. Novick suffered stab wounds to the chest and had a belt tied around her neck. According to the medical examiner, Novick died as a result of the stab wounds and mechanical asphyxia. He estimated that Novick was killed between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. on March 11 into March 12, 1988.

Novick was last seen alive on March 11, 1988, leaving the parking lot of the Redlands Tavern in her yellow Corvette. A witness testified that Novick left with a man, whom the witness identified as Gore.

In the early morning of March 12, Gore was seen driving Novick's automobile. David Restrepo, a friend of Gore's, testified that Gore arrived at his home driving a yellow Corvette with a license plate reading "Robyn." Restrepo had not seen the car before and stated that when he last saw Gore in February 1988, Gore was driving a black Mustang. Gore told Restrepo that his girlfriend had loaned him the Corvette and asked Restrepo to call him "Robyn." Gore also asked Restrepo to accompany him to Coconut Grove.

On the way to Coconut Grove, Gore lost control of the vehicle and "wrecked" the Corvette. Gore attempted to drive the vehicle away from the scene of the accident, but abandoned the vehicle a few blocks away. Restrepo testified that shortly after the accident a marked police vehicle was coming towards them, at which time, Gore told him to "run" because the car was stolen. Gore also told Restrepo that he had left jewelry in the car. When the police arrived on the scene, they recovered credit cards, a driver's license and a cigarette case, all belonging to Novick, as well as a "power of attorney" executed by Gore.

Jessie Casanova, who was thirteen years old at the time of Novick's murder, testified that Gore came to her home in the early morning hours of March 12, driving a yellow Corvette. Gore had been staying with Casanova, her mother, and her mother's friend since February 1988. According to Casanova, Gore returned to her home later that day, stating that he had been injured in a car accident. At that time, Gore gave Casanova the keys to the Corvette. FBI Special Agent Carl Lowery testified that Novick's body was recovered "within a few hundred feet" from this house.

The following night, March 13, Gore went to the house of a friend, Frank McKee, and asked him if he could borrow some money and stay the night. Gore stated that the police were looking for him. Gore also informed his friend that he had recently been in a car accident involving a yellow Corvette and that he had lost some jewelry. McKee refused to allow Gore to spend the night and Gore subsequently left in a cab.

In its case-in-chief, the State also introduced Williams² rule evidence that Gore committed similar crimes against Roark and Coralis. The State presented evidence that Gore had murdered Roark shortly after her disappearance in January 30, 1988, by inflicting trauma to her neck and chest. In addition, evidence established that Gore stole Roark's black Ford Mustang and other personal property, then left her nude body in a rural area used as a trash dump. Similarly, the State presented evidence that Gore attacked Coralis on March 14, 1988, two days after the murder of Novick. Coralis herself testified against Gore, stating that he beat her with a rock, raped, choked and stabbed her, and left her for dead on the side of the road near the scene where Novick's body was found. Gore proceeded to steal Coralis's red Toyota sports car and personal property.

FBI agents finally arrested Gore in Paducah, Kentucky on March 17, 1988. At the time of his arrest, Gore was in possession of Coralis's red Toyota automobile and he had her bank and credit cards in the pocket of his jacket. Police officers subsequently questioned Gore regarding the Coralis and Roark crimes. According to the police, Gore denied knowing Roark or Coralis and denied all involvement in the crimes. Gore also denied knowing Novick. When police prepared to show Gore a photograph of Novick, Gore stated "just make sure it is not gory" because his "stomach could not take it." At the time that Gore made such statements, the police had yet to inform Gore that Novick was dead. Detective David Simmons of the Miami Dade Police Department testified that when Gore looked at Novick's picture, Gore's eyes "swelled with tears." Gore also stated that "if I did this, I deserve the death penalty."

In his defense, Gore took the stand and testified on his own behalf. Gore claimed that prior to his interrogation by police in Miami concerning the Novick murder, reporters previously had told him upon his arrest that Novick was dead. He also claimed that during his interrogation, police had placed gruesome photographs of the murders all over the interview room. Moreover, Gore stated that police had given him a polygraph examination, which he claimed he had passed.³

Gore testified that he was the owner of an escort service and claimed that Coralis, Novick, Roark, and Restrepo all worked for the escort business. Gore maintained that Novick worked for him as a nude dancer and he admitted that he was with Novick at the Redlands Tavern on the evening of March 11, 1988. Gore, however, denied killing her. Gore explained that he was driving Novick's Corvette and that he had arranged for both Novick and Coralis to work as escorts that night. Gore claimed that after leaving the Redlands Tavern, he drove Novick to a club where Coralis worked. According to Gore, Novick, Coralis, and another woman left the club with three men in a Mercedes. Gore claimed that he followed this group in Novick's vehicle to a warehouse in Homestead, Florida. Gore stated that he called the warehouse later that night and that the phone was answered by a member of a pro-Castro group, with which one of the men was affiliated.

Gore testified that he spoke with Novick later that night and informed her about the accident and told her to report the car stolen so that she could collect the insurance proceeds. During this conversation, Novick told Gore that Coralis had left in the middle of the night because there were "problems" with the three clients who were angry about missing drugs and drug money. Gore claimed that he knew that Coralis previously had sold some drugs and used the proceeds to buy a new car.

Gore also testified that he spoke with Coralis a few days later, and that she was scared because someone was looking for her. Gore claimed that Coralis wanted a gun and that he had arranged a meeting with her in an effort to assist Coralis in selling the remainder of her drugs. Furthermore, Gore claimed that he later saw the men who were with Novick and Coralis on the night of the Novick murder and they told him that Novick "was picked up" from the warehouse.

Addressing his relationship with Susan Roark, Gore admitted that he knew her for many years. He acknowledged that he was with Roark on the last night that she was seen alive. He stated, however, that Roark had visited him during his incarceration in Miami, indicating that it was impossible for him to have murdered Roark. Gore also asserted that Dr. William Maples, a forensic anthropologist, could testify that Roark had been dead for only three weeks when her remains were recovered and that Gore had been in jail for six months at that time. Furthermore, Gore asserted that the evidence found at the site where Roark's body was found did not link him to the crime.

On cross-examination, Gore admitted that he previously had been convicted of committing fifteen felonies. Gore denied trying to kill Coralis and claimed that her injuries were the result of her jumping out of a moving car. Gore also asserted that all of the State witnesses had lied and he refused to explain why he was in possession of the property of people who were either killed or attacked.

Ana Fernandez testified on Gore's behalf. Fernandez worked for Gore in 1984 or 1985 when she was fifteen years old, answering phones for the escort service. Fernandez claimed to have known Roark, Coralis, and Novick through her association with Gore. However, she could not state when, where, or how many times that she had met Coralis or Novick and was unable to describe them. Moreover, when presented with a photograph of several women, she could not identify Coralis.

After the close of all the evidence, the jury convicted Gore of first-degree murder and armed robbery with a deadly weapon of Novick. During the penalty phase, Gore chose to represent himself. The jury recommended that Gore be sentenced to death by a vote of twelve to zero. The trial court imposed the death penalty for the first-degree murder...