The underlying convictions
Petitioner McGuire was convicted in 2011 by a jury in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis of one count of first-degree murder, one count of forcible rape, two counts of forcible sodomy, murder in the second degree, first degree assault, and one count of kidnapping. He was acquitted of one count of forcible rape. His combined sentence included life imprisonment without parole for the first degree murder, plus a total of 150 years of consecutive sentences for the other counts.
The Missouri Court of Appeals described thus the facts of the case indicated by the trial evidence that supported the jury's verdicts:
I. The Underlying Crimes
On Halloween night, 2006, 16-year-old K.J. attended a party at a community center in St. Louis with her cousin. The two left the party, and K.J. arrived home around 10:00 P.M. K.J., however, did not stay at home long; she received a phone call and left shortly thereafter to catch public transit. K.J. was in a good mood when she left.
A witness found K.J.'s body discarded in a dumpster the following morning. K.J.'s bloodied jeans were unfastened and pulled down to her knees; her shirt and sweater were pushed up. Various parts of K.J.'s body were bruised, blackened, and cut. K.J.'s anus was bloody and torn. Based on her body temperature, K.J. had died of mechanical asphyxiation 6-13 hours before her body was found at 9:00 A.M. The injury to her anus indicated that she had been violated with an object sometime near her death, but while she was still alive. DNA swabs of seminal fluid found on K.J.'s body indicated the presence of both male and female DNA—the male was unidentified, but the female profile matched K.J. The police did not charge anyone at the time.
Almost a year later, H.T. was walking late at night down Broadway in St. Louis with some friends. H.T. was in her third trimester of pregnancy. A car pulled up alongside H.T., and the driver asked her if she wanted a ride. Being tired, H.T. accepted. The driver eventually drove down a dead-end street and stopped the car. The driver asked H.T. if she "dated." H.T. took that to be an offer of money for sex. H.T. acknowledged that she had "dated" in the past, but on this night she declined.
The driver lunged at H.T., grabbing her neck with one hand and covering her mouth with the other. The driver climbed on top of H.T., and she blacked out. When H.T. briefly awoke, the driver said, "I killed you, bitch," and H.T. blacked out again. Next thing H.T. knew, she was lying in a puddle of blood on the street, naked from the waist down. Eventually, H.T. flagged down a car in the sparsely populated area. An ambulance was called and H.T. went to the hospital.
H.T.'s injuries were grave. The right side of H.T.'s uterus was torn, along with a main blood vessel, which resulted in bleeding to her abdomen. The torn artery also deprived her unborn baby of blood flow, and the baby died.3 A doctor who treated H.T. testified that her injuries were caused by a blunt object inserted and pushed up into her vagina. That doctor stated that it would be "almost impossible" for a penis to cause such injuries—any suggestion that a penis caused H.T.'s injuries "bord[ered] on almost ridiculous." Seminal fluid was found on H.T.'s clothing and was sent to a crime laboratory.
At some point before November 1, 2007, McGuire's DNA was entered into the CODIS database.4 On November 1, detectives in K.J.'s case learned that McGuire's DNA matched the male sample found on K.J.'s person. Shortlythereafter, detectives in H.T.'s case learned that her jeans contained DNA from her, McGuire, an unknown male, and traces of a fourth person.
McGuire was arrested and charged with eight crimes relating to both victims.5 Regarding K.J., the State charged McGuire with first-degree murder, forcible rape, and forcible sodomy. Regarding H.T., the State charged McGuire with forcible rape, forcible sodomy, first-degree assault, and kidnapping. The State also charged McGuire with second-degree murder for the death of H.T.'s unborn baby. The case proceeded to a jury trial.
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McGuire's version of Halloween 2006, when K.J. died, was relatively innocent. McGuire remembered trick or treating with his wife and son in the evening. At around 9:30 P.M., McGuire drove his son to his son's mother's house, arriving around 10:00 P.M. Immediately after dropping off his son, McGuire took the long way home to search for a prostitute. McGuire found K.J., who waved at him. McGuire picked up K.J., had consensual sex with her in the front seat of his car, and left. K.J. was alive, according to McGuire, when he left her. McGuire arrived home "[a]bout 10:45," and did not leave his home for the remainder of the night. (The State's evidence established that K.J. made a phone call around 11:30 P.M.)
McGuire also claimed to have had consensual sex with H.T. shortly before she was attacked. On that early morning, McGuire was cruising around, looking for a prostitute around 4:00 A.M. H.T. was walking on Natural Bridge road near Fairgrounds Park. H.T. flagged McGuire down, asking if he was looking for a "date." McGuire and H.T. agreed to have sex in exchange for a $10 piece of crack. McGuire remembered pulling out of H.T. to ejaculate and finding blood on his hand and penis. McGuire exclaimed, "Oh, hell no. You bleeding. Why are you bleeding?" H.T. replied, "I'm trying to get rid of this baby." Now totally freaked out by H.T., McGuire "opened up the door and pushed her out and drove off." When asked what condition H.T. was in when he left, McGuire explained, "I mean she was fine as far as I know. You know what I mean? I didn't run over her. I'm positive I didn't run over her or anything."
McGuire's wife, Meghan McGuire ("Meghan"), also testified for the defense. Meghan remembered McGuire arriving home on Halloween 2006 at "about 10:45, a little before 11." Meghan stated that she remembered because it was a holiday and that she always got a little jealous when McGuire drove to his son's mother's house, so Meghan always had a "little extra cautio[n]" about how long it would take McGuire to come back home. On cross-examination, Meghan acknowledged that she never told police orprosecutors about this memory when they interviewed her, instead only revealing this memory about two weeks prior to trial.
[Footnotes in text of opinion:]
3 The baby had cocaine in its system, but that was not the cause of death.
4 CODIS stands for Combined DNA Index System, and it is a database containing DNA profiles.
5 The State dismissed, by a nolle prosequi, a few additional charges.
McGuire v. State of Missouri, 523 S.W.3d 556, 559-62 (Mo. Ct. App. 2017).
Petitioner's direct appeal
Petitioner directly appealed his convictions and sentences to the Missouri Court of Appeals. His Points Relied On alleged violations of Missouri state law and the following three violations of the federal Constitution:
(1) The circuit court erred by failing to sever the crimes involving victim Jackson from those involving victims Troupe and her unborn child.
(2) The circuit court erred by sustaining the state's objection to evidence of a threat to kill Ms. Jackson made by her boyfriend Mr. Boyd.
(3) The circuit court erred by failing to give a remedial jury instruction or to declare a mistrial after the prosecutor made an ad hominem attack on petitioner during closing argument. (Doc. 16-4.)
The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed. State of Missouri v. McGuire, 370 S.W.3d 891 (Mo. Ct. App. 2012). In its unpublished explanatory opinion, the appellate court ruled each of petitioner's points against him on their merits. (Doc. 16-7.)
Motion for post-conviction relief
On October 15, 2012, petitioner filed a 28-page pro se motion for postconviction relief under Missouri Supreme Court Rule 29.15. In it he alleged four categories of grounds for relief:
(1) The state failed to prove the elements of "the crime charged."
(2) The state prosecutor (i) knowingly withheld favorable evidence and (ii) allowed the trial to continue after learning petitioner did not get court ordered pretrial discovery.
(3) The circuit court committed 48 enumerated errors in petitioner's case.
(4) Appellate counsel rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance in listed ways. (Doc. 16-9 at 14-42.)
Petitioner also filed a pro se memorandum on appeal from the denial of post-conviction relief in which he alleged 141 errors committed by his trial counsel. (Doc. 16-9 at 48-119.)
On January 28, 2013, petitioner through counsel filed an amended motion for postconviction relief in the circuit court under Missouri Supreme Court Rule 29.15. In this motion he alleged he received constitutionally ineffective assistance of trial counsel because counsel:
(1) Failed to strike potential juror Tanika Hale;
(2) Failed to request the MAI-CR3d 3.10.10 pattern jury instruction regarding petitioner's prior convictions;
(3) Opened the door to petitioner's prior arrest history by his questioning of petitioner on direct-examination;
(4) Failed to request an alibi jury instruction based on MAI-CR3d 308.04 or .06;
(5) Failed to object to certain testimony of physician witness Dr. Jane Turner;
(6) Failed to impeach the testimony of witness Dr. David Stamilo;
(7) Failed to cross-examine victim witness Harriet Troupe on her prior arrests and possible expectation of judicial leniency;
(8) Failed to call as a trial witness Gloria Snulligan about the alibi of Mr. Boyd;
(9) Failed to...
