People v. Columbo
| Decision Date | 24 June 1983 |
| Docket Number | 78-1848 and 78-1849,Nos. 77-1533,s. 77-1533 |
| Citation | 455 N.E.2d 733,118 Ill.App.3d 882,74 Ill.Dec. 304 |
| Parties | , 74 Ill.Dec. 304 PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Patricia COLUMBO and Frank DeLuca, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
Steven Clark, Deputy Defender (Thomas F. Geselbracht, Chicago, Ralph Ruebner, Chicago, Randy K. Johnson, Elgin, of counsel), for defendant-appellant Frank DeLuca.
James J. Doherty, Public Defender (Matthew J. Beemsterboer, Richard S. Schiffrin, Mark S. Stein, Asst. Public Defenders, of counsel), for defendant-appellant, Patricia Columbo.
Richard M. Daley, State's Atty. (Michael E. Shabat, Joan S. Cherry, Adrienne Noble Nacev, Richard F. Burke, Asst. State's Attys., I. Marie Quinlivan, David A. Baitman, Sp. Asst. State's Attys., of counsel,) for plaintiff-appellee.
Following a jury trial, defendants Patricia Columbo and Frank DeLuca were found guilty of three counts of murder, conspiracy and solicitation. Defendants' post-trial motions were denied. The trial court sentenced defendant Columbo to concurrent sentences of 20 to 50 years for solicitation and 200 to 300 years for the murders of Frank, Mary and Michael Columbo. The court then sentenced defendant DeLuca to concurrent sentences of 10 to 50 years for solicitation and 200 to 300 years for the three counts of murder. Because the court held that the conspiracy charge merged in law with the murder charge, no sentence was imposed with respect to the conspiracy counts.
On appeal, defendants contend that their convictions should be reversed or, in the alternative, that they should be granted a new trial on the grounds that: (1) the trial court improperly denied defendant Columbo a severance; (2) the court improperly admitted evidence seized at defendant Columbo's home and failed to suppress her oral and written statements; (3) defendants were denied their constitutional due process rights to a fair trial; (4) the court erroneously entered judgments and sentences for solicitation; (5) defendants were not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (6) the court erred in denying defendant DeLuca's attempts to develop and present his theory of defense; (7) the court improperly admitted opinion evidence given by an unqualified witness; and (8) the jury was improperly instructed. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
Prior to trial, defendant Columbo filed motions to quash arrest, to quash a search warrant, to suppress statements and to suppress physical evidence. The court quashed the search warrant but denied the other motions. Testimony pertinent to the court's decisions regarding the pre-trial motions follows.
Investigator Raymond J. Rose, an Elk Grove Village police officer, testified that on May 15, 1976, approximately 7 a.m., he arrested defendant Columbo at the apartment she shared with defendant DeLuca at 2015 Finley Road, Lombard, Illinois. Present at the arrest were Lt. Frank Braun, Deputy Chief Bill Kohnke, Investigator Ray Fiske and Investigator Glenn Gable, Assistant State's Attorneys Terry Sullivan and Collins Simpson, and members of the Lombard police department.
On cross-examination, Rose testified that on May 14, 1976, approximately 11 p.m., he was present when a statement was given by Lanyon (Lannie) Mitchell concerning Columbo's solicitation of him to murder her family. Mitchell related that Columbo informed him that he could enter her parents' home through patio doors which she would leave unlocked. In corroboration of Mitchell's statement, Rose testified that he had had a prior conversation with Investigator Gargano regarding a conversation Gargano had had with Carolyn Tygrett, sister of deceased Mary Columbo. Tygrett told Gargano that one evening when she was visiting the Columbo home, Patricia Columbo arrived to pick up something. After Patricia left without ever picking up the item she came for, Mary Columbo noticed that the sliding glass patio doors, which had been locked before Patricia Columbo arrived, were unlocked. Mary Columbo then locked them herself.
Rose further testified that prior to defendant Columbo's arrest, Mitchell had viewed at the police station three Polaroid photographs of Frank, Mary and Michael Columbo, one handwritten dossier containing personal information relating to the Columbo family and one hand-drawn diagram of the Columbo home. Mitchell told Rose that Columbo had given him these items in preparation for his murdering the Columbo family.
On redirect, Rose conceded that during the conversation on May 14, 1976, Mitchell never related that Columbo had told him that she had killed her parents. Rose further stated that, although Mitchell was brought to the Elk Grove Village police station in a squad car, he came voluntarily and was not in custody and voluntarily gave a statement to Assistant State's Attorney Terry Sullivan.
Testifying further, Rose stated that after Columbo's arrest, he obtained an arrest warrant for her which was made out for the purpose of having a mittimus to the Cook County jail issued. After hearing this testimony, the trial court denied the motion to quash arrest.
Investigator Rose testified that on May 15, 1976, approximately 6:20 a.m., he left the Elk Grove Village police station with several other officers and proceeded to defendants' apartment. Upon arriving at the apartment, Lt. Braun of the Cook County sheriff's police, knocked on the door of defendants' apartment, announced his office and stated that he possessed a search warrant for the apartment. DeLuca responded that he wanted to make some phone calls before opening the door. Lt. Braun continued to knock on the door, identified himself again and requested that the door be opened. At this point, Columbo shouted from inside the apartment, "You m----- f-----s aren't coming in here." Lt. Braun continued to knock on the door and to request that it be opened. He further stated that if the door were not opened, he would kick it in. In response, Columbo shouted, "You guys are f------ animals." Subsequently, Officers Salvatore and Severens began kicking at the door. After 10 to 15 minutes, DeLuca yelled, When DeLuca opened the door, Columbo was standing behind him, holding a German shepherd dog. Rose then handed DeLuca a copy of the search warrant, and informed him that it authorized the officers to search the apartment. At that point, Investigator Fiske asked Columbo to put the dog in another room before someone got hurt, which she did.
Rose further testified that while in defendants' apartment, he observed a tablet of unruled white notebook paper and a pocket telephone directory on top of a small kitchen-type table. Because the paper was similar to that on which the Columbo family dossier had been written, Rose told his fellow officers to take the paper back to police headquarters. The officers also recovered an address book in order to verify whether it contained numbers of a Club Claremont, which Mitchell frequented.
Further testifying, Rose stated that Columbo exited the apartment, not handcuffed, between two investigators. DeLuca left shortly thereafter, not handcuffed, with Investigator Bloomquist. After both defendants were out of the apartment, the remaining officers searched the premises for those items named in the search warrant. Rose did not remain behind for the full search.
On cross-examination, Rose testified that while he was in the apartment, he took several items off shelves, looked through drawers, and removed sheets from the beds. He also saw one of the police officers kick a hole through a wall.
On redirect, after being shown a photograph of a hole in one of the walls of the apartment, Rose stated that the hole was already there when the police arrived; however, it was enlarged by police officers in an effort to determine if anything had been dropped into the wall. Rose further indicated that while he was in the apartment, he observed a gun and bullets located in a box in a bedroom closet. The gun, bullets, and other items were taken to the Elk Grove Village police department by evidence technicians.
Lieutenant Frank Braun 1 of the Cook County sheriff's police department testified that on May 15, 1976, approximately 6:30 a.m., he left the Elk Grove Village police station with Investigator Rose and Assistant State's Attorney Sullivan and proceeded to defendants' apartment in Lombard. They arrived at the apartment approximately 6:50 a.m. where they met several other police officers. Once inside the apartment, Braun observed an ash tray containing More cigarettes and full packs of More cigarettes in the kitchen. He had seen More cigarettes previously at the Columbo residence the day the bodies were discovered and he also knew that More cigarettes had been found in the Columbo's Oldsmobile. Furthermore, Braun had seen Columbo smoking that brand. Braun also observed a stack of 15 or 20 photographs in the immediate vicinity. The top photograph depicted Columbo and an unknown male. Because Braun knew that Columbo had had sexual relations with Mitchell, he looked through the photos and recovered them as evidence. In addition, the More cigarettes on the kitchen counter and the cigarette butts in the ash tray were seized and removed. Braun further testified that at the time he saw the photographs and the More cigarettes, Columbo was still in the apartment.
On cross-examination, Braun stated that when he arrived at the defendants' apartment, Investigator Rose had a search warrant which Braun himself had not read. After the search, Rose told Braun that he had found a note pad. Braun, however, never put that information into any police reports or notes. Regarding the photographs, Braun...
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