Lovell v. State
| Decision Date | 22 February 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 283S70,283S70 |
| Citation | 474 N.E.2d 505 |
| Parties | Rick LOVELL, Appellant (Defendant Below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff Below). |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Mark S. Fraundorfer, Public Defender, Anderson, for appellant.
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Richard Albert Alford, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
Following a trial by jury, Defendant (Appellant) was convicted of battery, a class C felony, Ind.Code Sec. 35-42-2-1 (Burns Supp.1984) and attempted murder, a class A felony, Ind.Code Secs. 35-41-5-1 and 35-42-1-1(1) (Burns 1979). The trial court found that battery was a lesser included offense of attempted murder and sentenced the Defendant to thirty (30) years imprisonment upon the attempted murder conviction. The only issue presented by the Defendant in this direct appeal is whether sufficient evidence was presented to overcome his motion for a directed verdict and to sustain the conviction.
The record discloses that on September 18, 1981, at approximately 8:30 p.m., the Defendant arrived at the Railroad Crossing Tavern in Tipton, Indiana. The victim, Mary Welch, arrived at the same tavern at approximately 9:30 on the same evening accompanied by a friend, Randy McDaniel. The Defendant and Welch were subsequently introduced to each other and spent much of the evening socializing, drinking, and dancing together.
On September 19, 1981, at approximately 1:00 a.m., the Defendant and Welch were observed leaving the tavern either together or at about the same time. No witnesses observed where the Defendant or Welch went upon leaving the tavern. In his statement to the police, Defendant stated that he went to a nearby service station to aid a motorist. Welch apparently went toward her automobile. Approximately twenty (20) minutes later, Defendant returned alone to the tavern and sat with another patron. He stated that he thought that Welch had either gone home or returned to the tavern. At about 1:45 a.m., Defendant announced that he was leaving to pick up his daughter. In the interim, McDaniel had left the tavern to look for Welch, whom he found behind the north end of the building. She was in a seriously injured condition as the result of several slash wounds. He returned to the tavern to summon help; and, after the police arrived, he pointed out the Defendant as a person who, in his opinion, might have committed the attack. The Defendant was stopped and searched by the police who found a pocket knife in a knife holder on his belt. He was then taken into custody, and his clothing and knife holder were subsequently seized. The Defendant and the State agree that the following additional evidence was presented to the jury: (1) there was a trace of blood on the Defendant's knife holder, but it was of insufficient quantity to determine if it was of human origin; (2) there was a trace of human blood on Defendant's pocket knife, but it was of insufficient quantity to match it with any particular person; (3) blood traces found on Defendant's shirt, pants, and shoes were consistent with the type of blood found on the victim's blouse and were not consistent with the Defendant's blood sample; (4) police found footprints in the soil located approximately 105 feet south of the location where the victim was found, and the pattern of the footprints was similar to the pattern of the soles of Defendant's tennis shoes; (5) burrs on Defendant's socks were of the same common type as those on a plant growing behind the service station adjacent to the tavern; (6) Welch could not, either before or at trial, identify her attacker whom she said she had never seen before, although she had pointed out the Defendant in a pre-trial lineup as someone who looked familiar and frightened her.
The victim testified that she remembered seeing her assailant standing by the corner of the tavern. When asked if she could describe this person, she stated, "The only thing that I can describe about him is checkered shirt umm, bluejeans, a beard, a big belly, a belt, a knife and I see a pair of black shoes." She further stated that she saw her assailant's knife on his belt and that as he stabbed her she ran, although she did not remember in what direction she had run. At the time police took the Defendant into custody he was wearing blue jeans, a checkered jacket over a T-shirt, and blue tennis shoes. Several witnesses testified that between the date of the crime and the date of the trial, the Defendant had shaved his beard, cut his hair, and lost quite a bit of weight.
The State argues that the above direct and circumstantial evidence is sufficient to sustain the trial court's...
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