Marx v. Vannoy
| Decision Date | 25 September 2020 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO. 20-0128 SECTION "M"(4) |
| Parties | DAVID MARX v. DARREL VANNOY |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana |
This matter was referred to a United States Magistrate Judge to conduct hearings, including an evidentiary hearing if necessary, and to submit proposed findings and recommendations pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and (C), and as applicable, Rule 8(b) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases. Upon review of the entire record, the Court has determined that this matter can be disposed of without an evidentiary hearing. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2).1
The petitioner, David Marx ("Marx"), is a convicted inmate incarcerated in the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana.2 On October 20, 2011, Marx was indicted by an Orleans Parish Grand Jury for the second degree murder of his wife and for obstruction of justice.3 He pleaded not guilty to the charges on November 2, 2011.4 The State eventually severed and entered a nolle prosequi for the obstruction of justice charge.5
The record reflects that in May of 2011, Marx was a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy who had been stationed in Norfolk, Virginia for a number of years.6 His wife Mary and their son I.M. remained living in the Marx's residence at 717 Nunez Street in the Algiers Point neighborhood of New Orleans. On the evening of May 25, 2011, Tina Brown, the Marx's neighbor, returned home from work about 5:30 p.m. and was approached by a military police officer who asked if she could go get I.M. from his school on the grounds of the nearby Navy base. When Brown and I.M. returned to the Marx's home, I.M. walked to the side of the residence and screamed hysterically when he saw through a window that his mother was lying dead on the floor. Brown broke through the door and called 911. Mary Marx had been shot by two bolts or arrows from a crossbow. One arrow entered her chest, pierced a lung, and severed her spine. The second arrow entered the center of her face at the side of her nose, pierced through her skull and brain, and partially exited out the back of her head.
Brown also tried to contact Marx several times but was unsuccessful. The next evening, Marx told Brown that he was having phone trouble when he missed her messages and by that time, he already had spoken to Detective Barrett Morton of the New Orleans Police Department ("NOPD") and was aware of his wife's death.
The investigation following the murder was conducted by both the NOPD and Naval Criminal Investigative Service ("NCIS") in Norfolk, Virginia. The NOPD and NCIS officers also initially were unable to locate or contact Marx, whose two cell phones were allegedly turned off. The NCIS agents discovered that Marx was on leave in Pensacola, Florida, from May 13, 2011with a report back date of May 27, 2011. He did not return the NOPD officers' calls until after 7:00 p.m. the day after Mary's body was found.
The NOPD investigation revealed that, around 7:00 a.m. on May 24, 2011, Terry Barrett was trimming a tree in front of his residence on Slidell Street in Algiers Point. He noticed a man park a white Ford Escape with Texas plates on the corner of Slidell and Teche Streets. The next morning, May 25, 2011, Barrett again noticed the same car parked at the same corner. Around 9:00 a.m., Barrett saw the same man from the previous day walk from around the corner of Nunez Street to the car, get in, and drive off. Later that night, Barrett saw that a crowd had gathered on Nunez Street after the murder was discovered. He and another neighbor, Arthur Sangacruze, eventually spoke to police about the man and car they both saw in the area. Barrett and Sangacruze also separately identified a photograph of the man they saw, and it was a photograph of Marx.
After this, NCIS officers conducted surveillance of Marx and coordinated with the Virginia Beach Police Department SWAT team to detain Marx outside of his Virginia Beach apartment, which he shared with his girlfriend, Michele Conry. After detaining Marx and Conry, the officers conducted searches of Marx's apartment and his car, which was white Ford Escape with Texas plates. The officers located a box for a crossbow scope under the front passenger seat of his car and other items related to the purchase of a cross-bow. NOPD obtained an arrest warrant and on May 27, 2011, the officers in Virginia arrested Marx. Marx was interviewed by NCIS agents during which he indicated concern for his son but denied involvement in his wife's murder. He told officers that he drove from Pensacola to New Orleans to reminisce but did not see his family.
The officers in Virginia also interviewed Conry, who met Marx in February of 2010 and lived with him in the Virginia Beach apartment. In May of 2011, she traveled with him to Pensacola, Florida, for a vacation. During that trip, Marx left several times during the nightwithout explanation. She confirmed that he was not at the hotel when she awoke around 1:00 a.m. on May 25, 2011. He still had not returned when Conry awoke again around 9:00 a.m. She recalled that he did not return that morning until about 11:30 a.m. They left Pensacola the next day, May 26, 2011, around 5:00 p.m. to return to Virginia.
On May 28, 2011, the day after Marx's arrest and statement to NCIS, NOPD Detective Morton traveled to Virginia Beach and obtained a recorded statement from Marx. Detective Morton advised Marx of his rights and had him complete a NOPD waiver of rights form. According to Detective Morton, Marx was forthcoming and concerned about son's well-being. Marx's discussion about I.M.'s care "escalated" into Marx's confession to his wife's murder.
In the recorded statement, Marx stated that it was still dark when he parked on a side street, grabbed his crossbow, proceeded to their family home, and crawled underneath it. He watched his wife leave to bring I.M. to school in the morning, and with his cross-bow in a bag, he entered the house through the back door using his key. When he observed the condition of the house and checked on the medication his wife was giving their son, he became enraged. When his wife returned home, Marx shot her with an arrow in her upper right shoulder. She was still moving after she fell to the floor, so Marx shot her in the face with the second arrow. Marx left through the back door and returned to his car. He drove back to meet Conry in Florida to continue their vacation. On the way, he broke up the crossbow and discarded the pieces in multiple dumpsters.
Marx told Detective Morton that he was angry and wanted to save his son from Mary's abusive care. The defendant said he searched to purchase the crossbow and found one to buy from a private person in Richmond, Virginia. He admitted, however, that when he was headed to Florida he was thinking about going to New Orleans to kill Mary. He also told the detective that he did not bring his cell phones to New Orleans because he just wanted to get the job done.
Marx was tried before a jury on December 2 through 5, 2013, and found guilty as charged of second degree murder.7 At a December 10, 2013, hearing, the state trial court denied Marx's motions to reopen the previously denied motion to suppress his statements to Detective Morton and for new trial.8 At the same hearing, the Court sentenced Marx to serve life in prison without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.9
On direct appeal to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, Marx's retained counsel asserted the following errors:10 (1) the state trial court erred when it denied the motion to reopen the motion to suppress Marx's statement; (2) the state trial court erred when it denied the motion for new trial; (3) the state trial court erred when it denied the motion to suppress the statement; and (4) the verdict was contrary to the law and evidence.
In his multiple pro se supplemental briefs, Marx asserted the following grounds for relief:11 (1) the evidence was insufficient because of the lack of DNA evidence; (2) his trial appellate counsel were ineffective because they (a) failed to assert the denial of his right against self-incrimination when he requested counsel during his statement to police and (b) did not adequately address the lack of DNA evidence as a basis to challenge the conviction; (3) the State failed to negate the possibility of misidentification by the witnesses; (4) he was not read his Miranda rightsbefore his arrest in Virginia Beach, there was no proof that he waived those rights, and he was denied counsel despite his request.
On March 4, 2015, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit affirmed Marx's conviction and sentence finding no merit in the claims asserted.12 On April 2, 2015, Marx's retained appellate counsel filed a writ application in the Louisiana Supreme Court seeking review of the denial of relief on the four counsel-filed errors from the direct appeal.13 The Court denied the application on March 24, 2016, without stated reasons.14
Marx's conviction and sentence became final 90 days later, on June 22, 2016, because he did not file for review with the United States Supreme Court. Ott v. Johnson, 192 F.3d 510, 513 (5th Cir. 1999) (); U.S. S. Ct. Rule 13(1).
In the meantime, on November 12, 2015, Marx signed and submitted a pro se writ application to the Louisiana Supreme Court seeking review of his pro se appellate claims.15 On March 14, 2016, the Court declined to consider the application finding it untimely filed under La. S. Ct. Rule X.16 On April 15, 2016, the Court also denied the request for reconsideration filed on Marx's behalf by his new counsel.17
Between October of 2016 and January 20, 2017, Marx through different post-conviction counsel submitted motions for the release of trial evidence and for certain parts of...
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