Moody v. State

• Decision Date: 22 March 2004
• Docket Number: No. S03A1669.,S03A1669.
• Citation: 594 S.E.2d 350,277 Ga. 676
• Parties: MOODY v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

594 S.E.2d 350

277 Ga. 676

MOODY v. The STATE.

No. S03A1669.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

March 22, 2004.

Duncan, Thomasson, Leonard & Shattuck, Wesley T. Leonard, LaGrange, for appellant.

Peter J. Skandalakis, Dist. Atty., Monique F. Kirby, Asst. Dist. Atty., Thurbert E. Baker, Atty. Gen., Jennifer S. Gill, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee. HINES, Justice.

Tommy Carlton Moody appeals from his conviction for the malice murder of Rebecca Norman.¹ For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Construed to support the verdict, the evidence showed that on Monday, March 7, 1994, Norman's relatives reported to the police that she had been missing for two days. Police, as well as her relatives and neighbors, conducted a search. On Tuesday, March 8, 1994, Norman's shoe was found near a vacant, partially-burned house. Later that day, her body was discovered in the woods approximately 300 to 400 yards from where the shoe had been found. Her body was shoeless and partially buried. Norman's sweater was pulled over her face. Moody's broken-down car was 213 feet from the body, parked behind the house of Moody's sister. Norman died of ligature strangulation and her body had been dragged, apparently by the feet, from Moody's car to the spot where her body was discovered. Medical evidence suggested that her death likely occurred on Sunday, March 6, 1994.

Norman lived with her boyfriend, Lawrence Griffin. Nonetheless, she maintained a sexual relationship with Moody. On the morning of Sunday, March 6, 1994, Norman and Moody were seen together in the neighborhood where both lived. That afternoon, after they parted, Moody attempted to contact Norman to arrange a meeting that evening at his car; Moody often met with her in his car, and he often slept there as well. At 7:30 p.m., while at the home of a friend, Norman received a telephone call from Moody; she left her friend's home shortly thereafter.

On Monday, March 7, 1994, Moody was at the partially-burned house and told Griffin that he did not have a relationship with Norman, but he knew that some people believed that he did, and that if anything happened to Norman, he knew someone would immediately say that he had "done something" to her. The body was found the next day, and on the night of Wednesday, March 9, 1994, police found Moody walking along the side of a road in the rain. Moody stated that his car had broken down and that he had been in the woods. When asked his name, he identified himself and asked if police were looking for him. He was read his rights and taken to the police station where he was questioned by an officer. The following day, officers questioned Moody again, and he told them that he had slept in his car Sunday evening and had been more drunk than usual. He also stated that he might have "done it" if she woke him and he was mad. The interviews were not recorded.

Two years before Norman's death, Moody fired a sawed-off shotgun into the bedroom Griffin and Norman shared, as they were sleeping. Moody pled guilty to possession of a firearm and reckless conduct as a result of this act.

1. The jury was authorized to find Moody guilty of malice murder. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

2. Prior to trial, the court denied Moody's motion to suppress certain testimony about prior difficulties between Moody

and Norman. "[E]vidence of prior difficulties is relevant to the relationship between the victim and the defendant, and admissible to show the defendant's motive, intent, and bent of mind in committing the act against the victim. [Cit.]" Edge v. State, 275 Ga. 311, 313(4), 567 S.E.2d 1 (2002).

Moody notes that there was testimony that he loved Norman and spoke of marriage to her. But, there was also evidence that Moody was obsessed with Norman and extremely jealous of her involvement with anyone else. Evidence of prior difficulties between Moody and Norman, particularly Moody's act of discharging a shotgun into the bedroom in which Norman slept,² showed Moody's relationship with, and attitude towards, Norman, and it was not error for the trial court to admit such evidence. Id.

3. The State introduced evidence of three statements Moody made to police. Moody contends that all three statements should be excluded as the fruit of an illegal, warrantless arrest. See Taylor v. Alabama, 457 U.S. 687, 102 S.Ct. 2664, 73 L.Ed.2d 314 (1982). But, Moody did not argue to the trial court that his arrest was illegal; all he argued was that the statements were not voluntarily made. Thus, there is no ruling regarding probable cause for the arrest which this Court can review on appeal. Compare State v. Harris, 256 Ga. 24, 343 S.E.2d 483 (1986). In any event, the trial court was correct in determining that the first statement consists simply of remarks which Moody made to the officer who met him on the road; he was not then under arrest. See Hightower v. State, 272 Ga. 42, 43(2), 526 S.E.2d 836 (2000).

The later two, custodial statements, were made after Miranda³ warnings were given to, and waived by, Moody. The second statement began at 11:32 p.m., Wednesday, March 9, 1994, and lasted two to three hours. As to this statement, Moody now contends that he was subject to repeated interrogation, was wet and sleep-deprived, and was under the influence of alcohol. However, Moody testified at the Jackson-Denno hearing,⁴ and did not produce any evidence to support such claims. Rather, he testified that he changed clothes after arriving at the police station, was not threatened, was advised of his rights, and was not intoxicated; he had consumed a quart of beer prior to his arrest, but further testified that a quart of beer was insufficient to cause him to become intoxicated. The interviewing officer testified that Moody did not appear to be intoxicated, understood the questions asked of him, appeared clearheaded, and waived his rights.

As to the third statement, which took place at 1:00 p.m. the next day, Moody makes the same contentions he makes regarding the second statement. Additionally, he testified that during this interview, an officer told him that he could receive a lesser sentence if he told them that he killed Norman. However, both the officer who Moody claimed told him this, and the other officer participating in the interview, denied any such offer of leniency was made or suggested. At the end of this interview, Moody stated that if Norman woke him and made him mad, he may have been the one who hurt her, but he did not mean to.

After the Jackson-Denno hearing, the trial court found that Moody freely and voluntarily made these statements after waiving his rights, and that he made them free of threats or other improper conduct on the part of the law enforcement officers. "A trial court's findings as to factual determinations and credibility relating to the admissibility of the defendant's statement at a Jackson-Denno hearing will be upheld on appeal unless clearly erroneous." Edge, supra at 312(2), 567 S.E.2d 1. The evidence amply supports the trial court's findings.

4. Gaddy, a police officer, testified about what Norman told him shortly after Moody shot into the bedroom in which she was sleeping. This was admitted under the necessity exception to the bar on hearsay testimony.⁵ See OCGA § 24-3-1(b). The State urges that Norman's statement was admissible under the exception because it was clothed in circumstances indicating its trustworthiness. See Parks v. State, 275 Ga. 320, 322(2), 565 S.E.2d 447 (2002). However, the Supreme Court of the United States has recently issued an opinion which renders the analysis advanced by the State irrelevant. Crawford v. Washington, ___ U.S. ____, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004).

In Crawford, the Supreme Court held that the right of confrontation found in the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that "testimonial" hearsay in a criminal prosecution is admissible when the declarant is unavailable only if the defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the declarant about the hearsay statement.⁶ Moody had no such opportunity. Accordingly, the admission of this testimony was error.

But, the admission of this evidence was harmless; there is no reasonable possibility that it contributed to the conviction. Yancey v. State, 275 Ga. 550, 557-558(3), 570 S.E.2d 269 (2002). Griffin testified, on his own knowledge and without objection, that Moody shot into the house. Further, Moody pled guilty to charges of possession of a sawed-off shotgun and reckless conduct in connection with the incident. Thus, the erroneously admitted evidence was cumulative of admissible evidence and did not touch upon the central issue of the case. See Myers v. State, 275 Ga. 709, 713(2), 572 S.E.2d 606 (2002).⁷

5. Over Moody's objection, the State introduced several photographs of Norman's body, taken where it was found. Examination of the photographs shows that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that they are not overly gruesome, and that any prejudice to Moody that the photographs might have caused was outweighed by their probative value. See Dean v. State, 273 Ga. 806, 807(2), 546 S.E.2d 499 (2001).

Moody also asserts that the photographs were duplicative. Assuming that this argument was properly presented to the trial court, we note that they generally detail different injuries Norman received. See Wyatt v. State, 272 Ga. 490, 492(3), 532 S.E.2d 390 (2000). Additionally, the photographs are material, relevant, and admissible to show the extent and nature of Norman's wounds, and the time of death, even if they are to some degree redundant. Floyd v. State, 272 Ga. 65, 68(4), 525 S.E.2d 683 (2000).

6. Moody asserts that trial counsel was ineffective in several regards. To prevail on this claim, he must show both that counsel's performance was deficient and that the deficient performance was prejudicial to his defense. Smith v. Francis,...