Middleton v. State
| Decision Date | 09 March 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. SC12–2469,SC12–2469 |
| Parties | Dale Glenn MIDDLETON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Jeffrey L. Anderson, Assistant Public Defender,
Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, West Palm Beach, Florida, for Appellant
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida; and Lisa–Marie Lerner, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, Florida, for Appellee
REVISED OPINION
Middleton's motion for rehearing is hereby granted. We substitute the following revised opinion for our previous opinion issued October 22, 2015.
On August 6, 2012, a jury found Dale Middleton guilty of first-degree premeditated murder for the killing of Roberta Christensen, first-degree felony murder with a weapon, burglary of an occupied dwelling while armed, and dealing in stolen property.1 The jury voted 12–0 to impose the death penalty. The trial court followed the jury's recommendation and sentenced Middleton to death. Middleton now appeals his convictions and sentence of death. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm Middleton's conviction of first-degree murder and uphold his death sentence.
Roberta Christensen, as well as her husband of thirty-one years, lived in a trailer across the street from Middleton. On July 1, 2009, Mr. Christensen went to New Jersey to visit the couple's son. Before her husband left, they bought mobile phones that allowed them to use a walkie-talkie mechanism to communicate while they were apart.
Middleton lived in a trailer with Garrett Wade Fowler, Kenneth Wade Sullivan and Sullivan's girlfriend, Haleigh Zinker. On occasion, Middleton would visit the victim at her home and would sometimes borrow money and cigarettes from her. On the morning of July 27, 2009, Middleton went over to the victim's trailer while she was preparing to go to the bank. After he left, she realized that she had left approximately $400 in tip money out, and suspected that Middleton had seen it. She deposited the money into the bank that afternoon. When the victim returned from the bank she noticed that someone had attempted to remove the screen from the window by her front door.
On the morning of July 28, 2009, Middleton rode around with his girlfriend's roommate, Steve Britnell, for a period of time looking for drugs. The two eventually found methamphetamine around twelve or one o'clock that afternoon. They returned to Middleton's trailer and shared the methamphetamine. At this time, Garrett Wade Fowler and his girlfriend were also at the trailer. At approximately 4:30 p.m., Fowler and Britnell decided to go to Walmart to "boost." Middleton declined to go, stating that he had business to take care of, that someone owed him some money, and that he needed to take a shower.
While Britnell and Fowler were gone, Middleton took a knife from the sink of his trailer and went over to the victim's home. While in the victim's kitchen, he asked her for money. When she refused and attempted to push him out of the trailer, he attacked her with the knife. Christensen was alive and moving erratically as she was dragged from the kitchen area to the bedroom. Once in the bedroom, Middleton cut Christensen's throat. Before leaving her home, Middleton stole her flat-screen television and power cord and carried the television across the street to his trailer. There, he washed his hands in the kitchen sink, changed his clothes, but kept his boots on. He placed the bloody clothes in a bag with the murder weapon.
When Fowler and Britnell returned to Middleton's trailer, Middleton was there with Chris Jenkins, Kenneth Wade Sullivan and Sullivan's girlfriend. There was a flat screen television in the kitchen with a blanket covering it. At this time, Middleton had already showered and his hair was still wet. He stated that the person that owed him money had given him the television as payment.
After Jenkins and Sullivan left, Fowler was sitting on the porch as Middleton stood at the door. Fowler noticed that Middleton had a red substance on his boots, which Middleton claimed happened because he got something out of the dumpster. Later, Britnell and Middleton drove around in Britnell's black Pontiac to two different pawn shops trying to sell the victim's television; both pawn shops were closed. They both then got on the phone and began to call around to see if they could find someone who wanted to purchase the television.
At approximately 5:30 p.m., Middleton called Christopher Jenkins to his home. Middleton asked Jenkins to bring drugs with him. When Jenkins arrived at Middleton's trailer, Middleton asked Jenkins for assistance in selling the television. After Jenkins took a photo of the television, he and Middleton went into the bedroom where Middleton crushed and consumed two Roxicodone pills, saving one pill for later.
Mrs. Christensen's husband had last spoken to her on July 28, 2009, around 2:50 p.m. He watched a movie and fell asleep from approximately 4 p.m. to 6:40 p.m. When he woke up he was surprised that his wife had not called him; he repeatedly attempted to contact his wife on the walkie-talkie phone, to no avail. He also left a message on the home's voicemail. Mr. Christensen called the couple's other son who lived near the victim's home and asked him to check on his mother.
When the Christensen's son and his wife arrived at his parents' home, he noticed Mrs. Christensen's car parked in its usual spot. The trailer door was unlocked and the son went inside. When the son walked into the kitchen, he saw a big puddle of blood on the kitchen floor. Next to the puddle of blood he saw a yellow broom with a sharp edge. He followed the path of blood to a closed bedroom door. He opened the door and saw his mother's dead body on the floor. He heard his father on the walkie-talkie calling out for him and his mother. He went outside to call the police. He stopped his wife from entering the trailer. While on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, he went back into the trailer to confirm that his mother was not breathing.
Randy Ammons helped Middleton sell the television to his brother, Rolland Ammons. When Middleton went to Randy Ammons' house, he said that he had just taken a shower and did not want the dog to jump on him. A little after 7 p.m., Middleton, in a vehicle driven by Wade Fowler, followed Randy Ammons to Ronnie Ammons' house to sell the television. Fowler stayed outside by his car while Middleton took the television, covered with a comforter, inside and sold it to Rolland for $200. At some point earlier, while riding around trying to sell the television, Middleton placed the bag with the bloody clothes and the murder weapon inside of a dumpster.
After selling the television, Britnell drove Middleton to a gas station, where Middleton purchased cocaine from someone in a truck. They consumed some of the drugs while in the car. Soon thereafter, the serpentine belt on the car broke and Britnell drove to a relative's house to have it fixed. While the car was being fixed, Middleton walked a few hundred yards to a local bar, Brewskis, and called Britnell to pick him up once the car was fixed. When Middleton got back to the car, he was really upset and was crying while he was on the phone with his girlfriend and said, "I'm sorry." The two drove back to the trailer park where Middleton lived. When they arrived, there were police cars in the area. Not wanting to get too close to the police officers, the two turned off at someone else's house, where they got out of the car and stood in the yard.
Later that evening, officers found Middleton at the residence of Darrell Dubel. When the officers arrived, Britnell's car was there. At this time, Middleton was barefoot and had placed his boots and socks in Britnell's trunk. Officer John Rhoden asked Brandon Jenkins, Britnell and Middleton to come to the Sheriff's Office for questioning. Middleton's boots were later recovered from the trunk and were found to have the victim's blood on them. While in custody, Middleton confessed. The bloody clothes and the murder weapon were never discovered.
During the trial, the State played Middleton's interview videos for the jury, including the fifth and final video where Middleton ultimately confessed to the murder. Detective Faulkner and Assistant State Attorney Ashley Albright were present during Detective Maerki's questioning of Middleton. The recording of the first interview, which was conducted in Detective Maerki's office, could not subsequently be retrieved. As a precautionary measure, the second and third interviews were conducted using the computer equipment located in Detective Faulkner's office. Maerki read Middleton his rights, as detailed on a Miranda 2 card. Maerki detected an odor of alcohol on Middleton, and also noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and watery. He was surprised that Middleton did not have slurred speech and that his coordination was fine. He stated that Middleton seemed to be fully aware of everything that was happening during the interrogation.
Middleton told Maerki that everything happened so fast that he never checked to see if the victim had any money. He stated that he thought that the victim ended up in the hallway, and that he did not remember cutting her throat. He stated that after the murder, he did not bathe, and only washed his hands. He admitted that he acted alone. He told the police the location of the dumpster where he threw the bag with his clothes and the murder weapon. He stated that he kept his boots on and put them in the trunk of Steve Britnell's small black car. He admitted to selling the television later that night to Rolland Ammons for $200. He additionally admitted that he used the same $200 to purchase more drugs.
Crime scene technician Jackie Moore assisted Detective Bradley at the crime scene. She testified...
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