Missildine v. State

• Decision Date: 25 October 1993
• Docket Number: No. CR,CR
• Citation: 314 Ark. 500,863 S.W.2d 813
• Parties: Minnie Marie MISSILDINE, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 93-569.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Page 813

863 S.W.2d 813

314 Ark. 500

Minnie Marie MISSILDINE, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.

No. CR 93-569.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Oct. 25, 1993.

Jim Pedigo, Hope, for appellant.

Gil Dudley, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.

GLAZE, Justice.

On December 3, 1991, the appellant, Minnie Marie Missildine, shot her daughter, Sheila Robertson, in the head causing her death. Following trial by jury, Missildine was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

As background, Missildine had had psychiatric problems for a number of years, had been hospitalized several times, and at one point, underwent a left frontal lobectomy due to seizures. On the day of the crime, Missildine apparently told Sheila she intended to kill herself.

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on December 3, officers were called to a disturbance at the home of Ruth Franklin, mother of Missildine; Sheila was present. Sheila and Franklin expressed concern to the officers because Missildine had locked herself in her home with pills and guns. The officers informed them of the need to start commitment proceedings and left.

Later that same day at approximately 4:00 p.m., officers were called to a suicide attempt at Missildine's residence. Tom Douglas, a deputy sheriff for Miller County, testified that Gary Woods ¹, Danny Robertson ², and Sheila Robertson were attempting to get Missildine out of the house, and away from the pills and guns for her own protection. Sheila was near the house and did not respond when officers and her husband urged her to retreat. As Sheila was circling the house, beating on the outside wall, and yelling to her mother, she disappeared from view. Shortly, a single gunshot was heard.

Missildine bases her appeal on the following two points: insufficiency of the evidence through motions for a directed verdict and ineffective assistance of counsel. Missildine argues that the state failed to present any evidence that she acted with the purpose of causing the death of her daughter and that her trial counsel failed to adequately represent her by calling the proper witnesses.

When the sufficiency of the evidence is being challenged on appeal, this court reviews the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellee, considering only that evidence which tends to support the verdict. This court does not weigh evidence on one side against the other, but simply determines whether the evidence in support of the verdict is substantial. McClure v. State, 314 Ark. 35, 858 S.W.2d 103 (1993); Salley v. State, 303 Ark. 278, 796 S.W.2d 335 (1990). Substantial evidence is that which is forceful enough to compel reasonable minds to reach a conclusion one way or another, and requires more than mere speculation or conjecture. Crutchfield v. State, 306 Ark. 97 812 S.W.2d 459 (1991). It is permissible to consider only the testimony which supports the verdict of guilt. Gardner v. State, 296 Ark. 41, 754 S.W.2d 518 (1988); McClure v. State, 314 Ark. 35, 858 S.W.2d 103 (1993).

A person commits murder in the first degree if with a purpose of causing the death of another person, he causes the death of another person. Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-102(a)(2) (Supp.1991). A person acts purposely with respect to his conduct or a result thereof when it is his conscious object to engage in conduct of that nature or to cause such a result. § 5-2-202(1) (1987).

Here, even though there were no eyewitnesses to the actual shooting, a number of sheriff's deputies were at the scene at the time the shooting occurred. Circumstantial evidence may constitute substantial evidence when it excludes every other reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence. Guilt may be proved even in the absence of eyewitness testimony, and evidence of guilt is no less because it is circumstantial. Smith v. State, 282 Ark. 535, 669 S.W.2d 201 (1984); Sheridan v. State, 313 Ark. 23, 852 S.W.2d 772 (1993). It is for the jury to determine whether the evidence excludes every other reasonable hypothesis. Cigainero v. State, 310 Ark. 504, 838 S.W.2d 361 (1992).

Sheila was last seen going around the house, calling to her mother. A single gunshot was heard. Shortly, Missildine exited the house near where Sheila was last seen and called for someone to "come get her out of my yard." Both deputies Tommy Douglas and Charles Wise testified that Missildine sounded "angry" when she yelled at them to come and get her daughter, and that the tone of her voice was rough and raspy. Missildine was pointing the gun toward the officers and had to be told several times to drop it before she actually complied. As the deputies approached her, Missildine turned and attempted to escape. When the deputies rounded the house toward Missildine, they saw Sheila lying on her back with a bullet wound in her forehead, several feet from a window. Missildine's defense was based on an accidental shooting or a shooting due to drug impairment.

John Mackey, a criminal investigator for Miller County, testified that he determined the fatal bullet came from inside the house through the window and screen near the body. The window and screen had a hole in them, and broken glass was found inside on a table and on the floor near the window. Mackey testified that these findings were consistent with a bullet being shot through the window and screen. Further, the shot through the window occurred within a narrow space between a fan and a clothes basket sitting on a washing machine, the inference being that the gun was aimed through the narrowed space. A .22 revolver was found in the yard where Missildine tossed her weapon. In the revolver, Mackey found five unspent cartridges and one spent shell in the chambers. He also collected several prescription drug containers, ammunition, and a .38 revolver from the house.

Berwin Monroe, an expert in the firearms section of the Arkansas Crime Laboratory, testified the bullet removed from Sheila's head was too mutilated to determine barrel markings. He testified that the degree of mutilation present was consistent with the bullet being fired through an intervening material such as glass, penetrating the front of the skull, and then bouncing off the back of the skull as occurred in this case. Monroe was able to determine that the bullet was of the .22 caliber class. Further, he testified that the .22 revolver he received from the crime scene was a single action. In order to fire the .22 revolver with such an action, a person must first pull back or cock the hammer before pulling the trigger.

After being apprehended, Missildine was taken to the hospital and screened for a drug overdose. Drug testing revealed the presence of an unknown amount of benzodiazepines (once called tranquilizers), a low therapeutic dose of Dilantin (for control of seizures), and a low therapeutic dose of an antidepressant, Pamelor. Dr. Charles Poteet, the emergency room physician who examined Missildine, testified that there was no objective evidence indicating Missildine had overdosed, but that her sleepiness at that time, coupled with her medical history, was suggestive of overdose. He was able to state positively that a lethal dose of the benzodiazepine could be ruled out.

Missildine argues that Poteet testified that a person on Valium, a benzodiazepine, will react with anger if you try to stop them. While the benzodiazepine found in Missildine was of an unknown type and amount, no Valium pills or container were found in Missildine's house. Further, Missildine argues that because there were no eyewitnesses, there was no proof that she acted with the intent necessary to purposely shoot her own daughter. And because three drugs were found in her system, she was not acting under her own will.

Intent or state of mind is seldom capable of proof by direct evidence and must usually be inferred from the circumstances surrounding the killing. Starling v. State, 301 Ark. 603, 786 S.W.2d 114, (1990). Even premeditation, deliberation, and purposeful intent can be formed on the spur of the moment. Further, the intent necessary for first degree murder may be inferred from the type of weapon used, the manner of its use, and the nature, extent, and location of the wounds. Williams v. State, 304 Ark. 509, 804 S.W.2d 346 (1991).

Here, the circumstantial evidence is sufficient to show that Missildine acted with the purposeful intent to kill her daughter. First, the single action gun required an overt act of positioning the hammer before it would fire. The fatal bullet passed through a narrow space raising the inference that the gun had to be purposely aimed in order for the bullet to pass undeflected by obstacles. The bullet entered the deceased's left forehead. Finally, after the shooting, Missildine reacted with anger in calling for the police to remove her daughter, and was reluctant to drop the gun when ordered to do so. From this evidence the trial court determined that there was a question of fact which was properly placed before the jury.

In Novak v. State, 287 Ark. 271, 698 S.W.2d 499 (1985), this court upheld a capital felony murder conviction where the appellant was found to be legally intoxicated by registering .10 on the breathalizer. There, Novak argued that because he was intoxicated at the time of the crime, he could not have had the requisite intent as a matter of law. In rejecting his argument, we found that there was evidence that Novak was rational and coherent. Further, we stated the fact that Novak was shown to have the minimum intoxication to support a charge of DWI did not establish, as a matter of law, that he lacked the ability to form an intent to commit murder. We held these matters presented a question for the jury to decide.

In our case, Dr. Poteet, who examined Missildine immediately following the killing, testified that Missildine was sleepy but able to communicate with him. When he inquired as to what drugs she had taken, she told him dilantin...