People v. Brown

• Decision Date: 02 June 2014
• Docket Number: No. S052374.,S052374.
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Steven Allen BROWN, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: California Supreme Court

59 Cal.4th 86

326 P.3d 188

172 Cal.Rptr.3d 576

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.Steven Allen BROWN, Defendant and Appellant.

No. S052374.

Supreme Court of California

June 2, 2014.

Emry J. Allen, Sacramento, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Jr., and Kamala D. Harris, Attorneys General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Eric L. Christoffersen, William K. Kim and Kathleen A. McKenna, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

CORRIGAN, J.

A jury convicted Steven Allen Brown of first degree murder, sodomy, and forcible lewd act on a minor under 14.¹ It found true the special circumstances for murder in the commission of the sexual offenses,² and returned a death verdict.

This appeal is automatic. ( Cal. Const., art. 6, § 11, subd. (a); Pen.Code, § 1239, subd. (b).) We affirm the judgment.

I. FACTS

A. Guilt Phase

1. Prosecution

The body of 11–year–old April Holley was found in the bathtub of the trailer home she shared with her mother, Naomi, and her older sister Tammy.³ April had been sexually assaulted and drowned. Defendant was linked to the crimes primarily by statements attributable to him. At trial, he denied his involvement and offered a partial alibi defense. The time of April's death was an important question. In addition to a pathologist's estimate, the prosecution offered the testimony of a number of witnesses to establish when the crime occurred.

The Holleys' trailer was located in an area on the outskirts of Tulare called the Matheny Tract (the Tract). The trailer's front door was generally secured by a padlock when the family was away, but the back door was often left open. The weekend of April's death, December 2 to 4, 1988, was cold and foggy around Tulare. April was to spend the weekend in town with family friends Melody Lewis, Richard Schnabel, and their six children. April would occasionally stay with them, do chores, and babysit.

After dropping April off at the house, her mother, Naomi, had time to herself. She spent the night of Friday, December 2, at a friend's home. At some point on Saturday afternoon, Naomi went by the trailer, then left for a Tupperware party in Porterville. She stayed there that night rather than drive back in the heavy fog. She returned home on Sunday afternoon, after April's body had been discovered. When Naomi left on Saturday, the trailer's front door was padlocked. The back door was unlocked and the television was off.

Meanwhile, on Saturday afternoon, there was a dispute at the Lewis/Schnabel home. Lewis drove April back to the trailer, but Naomi was not there and could not be located. Lewis then drove April back to their house in Tulare. On Saturday evening, Lewis and Schnabel went out, leaving their teenage daughters, Shannon and Teresa, to watch April and the younger children. The adults returned about 10:00 p.m.

Following her return to the Lewis/Schnabel home, April made several phone calls and asked to be driven back to the trailer. She gave the impression that she had spoken with her mother, who was now back at the trailer. The older girls drove April home, leaving between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. The fog-shrouded drive took 15 to 30 minutes. When they arrived, Teresa saw the television flickering through the window. The front door was locked, so April walked toward the back, stopping to wave to Shannon and Teresa. April was last seen wearing a Betty Boop T-shirt and black jeans.

Lisa Matthews (Lisa) was April's best friend and lived in the Tract with her grandmother. That Saturday, April called between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. and asked if Lisa could spend the night. Lisa said she would ask permission and hung up. Lisa's grandmother refused the request but, when April called back 20 minutes later, Lisa said she would meet her at the trailer.

Although Lisa began to walk over, she turned back because it was too cold and foggy. Lisa did not see April that night but went to the trailer at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday. The front door was padlocked but the television was on.

Lorraine Hughes rented a trailer in the Tract and was a friend of the Holleys. April would come over often to use her phone. Between 7:45 and 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, April came to her door. Hughes did not answer, however, and saw April walk back toward the Holley trailer.

Several witnesses reported hearing a gunshot and screaming in the area of the trailer that Saturday night. Relevant time estimates varied from 8:00 to 9:45 p.m. The Holleys' next-door neighbor saw a car pull into their driveway between 8:25 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. She had previously estimated the time to be about 8:00 p.m.

April's body was discovered Sunday afternoon by Orville Bailey and Roger Rummerfield (Roger). The men were working nearby and Roger went to the trailer to use the restroom. The front door was locked and the television was "blaring loud." Finding the back door partially open, he walked to the bathroom and found April lying in the bathtub. She was on her side in a fetal position, in one to two inches of water. The drain had been plugged with a rag. April had no pulse. Roger ran outside. He eventually kicked down the front door while Bailey went around the neighborhood looking for a phone to call an ambulance. Bailey went inside and saw April's body.

Before law enforcement arrived, several neighbors entered the trailer. None saw blood or signs of injury. Responding medical and police personnel moved April's body to the kitchen and saw blood coming from her rectum.

Pathologist Dr. Gary Walter examined April's body at the scene and noted signs of rigor mortis. These signs can begin to present within three to four hours of death. The process peaks within 12 to 36 hours, depending on variables including body temperature and muscle mass. The condition of April's body was consistent with death occurring about 9:00 p.m. on Saturday. Walter conceded that estimate was not conclusive, and such estimates were most accurate when made within four or five hours of death.

Dr. John McCann, a pediatrician specializing in child sexual abuse, and pathologist Dr. Leonard Miller performed April's autopsy. She suffered no gunshot injury. There were signs of petechiae

, small hemorrhages caused by ruptured blood vessels. Petechiae do not form after death. April had petechiae on her head, neck, and eyes consistent with struggling or being held down by a hand. The pattern was not consistent with strangulation that would cause unconsciousness by itself. A bruise on her earlobe indicated infliction of a blow. One bruise on her inner thigh was caused within 24 hours, but other bruises on her legs were at least two to three days old. April had a vaginal laceration unusual in its length and width. It was a serious and violent injury consistent with penetration by a penis or larger object, inflicted while she was lying on her back. She also had a blood blister on her hymen consistent with blunt force trauma. April's anus was dilated and irregular, with lacerations reflecting forcible penetration by a penis or other object. Her injuries were consistent with multiple assailants. On cross-examination, Dr. McCann conceded that the lack of injuries to her lower body was also consistent with her being rendered unconscious at some point. It was possible, though less likely in McCann's opinion, that April's injuries had been caused by a single assailant.

Dr. Miller agreed that April's injuries suggested a struggle. The pattern of petechiae

was inconsistent with ligature strangulation. April died by drowning. Her lungs showed signs of active water inhalation, as if she had struggled while being held underwater. Miller concluded the cause of death was drowning "in association with sexual assault." In his opinion, the drowning and sexual assault were contemporaneous.

When found, April was wearing only a white Betty Boop T-shirt and a bra. Police recovered a pair of black pants from the bathroom. A rectal swab taken during the autopsy revealed the presence of sperm. Charlie Richardson, Bobby Joe Marshall, and Joe Mills were excluded as possible sources of the sperm. No usable fingerprints were recovered from the scene.

Before defendant's trial, Charlie Richardson was convicted of the murder, burglary, and sexual assault of April and received the death penalty.⁴ The jury was informed of these convictions.

Defendant and his girlfriend lived with his sister and her boyfriend in the Tract. Naomi, April's mother, had known defendant for three or four years. He visited on occasion and stayed overnight once in September 1988. Tammy and defendant had been friends for several years. She had known Richardson for about a month and he would also visit her at the trailer. Tammy never spent time with Richardson and defendant together.

Teenagers Bobby Joe Marshall and Joe Mills both lived in the Tract. About 7:00 p.m. that Saturday, they were going hunting with a neighbor. After borrowing guns, they walked to the neighbor's house. The neighbor drove for the excursion but turned back after 30 to 40 minutes because it was too foggy. After returning to the Tract, the boys walked back to Marshall's trailer. During the walk, Mills fired his gun to scare someone walking nearby. According to Mills, they may also have shot at a mound in the area. The boys walked to the Holleys' trailer about 8:15 p.m. to see April's sister Tammy. Although the television was blaring, they left when no one answered the front door. On their walk back, they encountered Richardson.

The boys returned to Marshall's trailer about 8:45 p.m. and sat outside. Defendant drove up in a "loud," brown Pontiac Firebird belonging to his sister, Lisa Saldana. Defendant agreed to drive the boys to Linnell Camp to buy cocaine.⁵ On the way, they stopped at the cotton processing plant where defendant's girlfriend, Rhonda Schaub, worked. All the witnesses referred to the plant as "the cotton gin." Mills estimated that th...