People v. Estep, No. C-1225

• Docket Nº: No. C-1225
• Citation: 196 Colo. 340, 583 P.2d 927
• Case Date: October 10, 1978
• Court: Supreme Court of Colorado

Page 927

583 P.2d 927 196 Colo. 340 The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Petitioner,
v.
Park Journee ESTEP, Respondent.
No. C-1225. Supreme Court of Colorado, En Banc. Oct. 10, 1978.
Rehearing Denied Nov. 6, 1978.

[196 Colo. 342]

Page 928

J. D. MacFarlane, Atty. Gen., David A. Robbins, Deputy Atty. Gen., Edward G. Donovan, Sol. Gen., James S. Russell, Asst. Atty. Gen., Denver, for petitioner.

Thompson, Nordby & Peterson, St. Paul, Minn., Richard L. Tegtmeier, Colorado Springs, Jack S. Nordby, St. Paul, Minn., for respondent.

LEE, Justice.

Respondent, Park Journee Estep, was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, first-degree arson, and aggravated robbery. The events giving rise to these charges occurred at the Suezy Massage Parlor in Colorado Springs on September 19, 1974. One woman was murdered by being shot, stabbed, and set on fire, and another woman, Miss Young Ja Lee, was stabbed in the back and had her neck slashed. The court of appeals reversed the convictions. People v. Estep, Colo.App., 566 P.2d 706. We do not agree that the alleged errors relied on by the court of appeals for reversal were so prejudicial as to require a new trial. Nor do we find the combined effect of the alleged errors denied the defendant a fair trial. See People v. Reynolds, Colo., 575 P.2d 1286; Oaks v. People, 150 Colo. 64, 371 P.2d 443. We therefore reverse the judgment of the court of appeals.

Page 929

The court of appeals held that reversible error occurred when the district attorney propounded a highly improper question of a defense witness on cross-examination. The court of appeals further held that the trial court committed reversible error in refusing to admit testimony offered by the defense concerning the cultural significance of facial hair to Koreans. The key witness against the defendant was a Korean national and the testimony was in dispute as to whether the defendant wore a mustache at the time of the crimes. It is also contended here, although not addressed by the court of appeals in its opinion, that prejudicial error occurred during trial when the district attorney impermissibly suggested to the sole [196 Colo. 343] eyewitness to the transaction that the defendant was the perpetrator of the crimes.

In evaluating the quality of a trial for essential fairness, we recognize that, although an accused is entitled to a fair trial, he is not necessarily entitled to a perfect trial. If the latter were the standard for review, a conviction seldom would be upheld on appeal. This is not to say, however, that courts and prosecutors should not continually strive toward the achievement of the goal of perfect justice.

I.

At the outset, in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we apply the standard for review set forth in People v. Bennett, 183 Colo. 125, 515 P.2d 466: "whether the relevant evidence, both direct and circumstantial, when viewed as a whole and in the light most favorable to the prosecution, is substantial and sufficient to support a conclusion by a reasonable mind that the defendant is guilty of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt." The occurrence of the crimes was not in dispute. The critical issue was whether the defendant was the perpetrator. We hold that the prosecution met its burden of proving a prima facie case against the defendant.

The defendant elected not to testify in his own behalf. The jury was properly instructed on the law governing the case and, as the judge of the credibility of the witnesses and of the weight to be accorded to the evidence, it chose to believe the prosecution's witnesses.

There was substantial evidence directly connecting the defendant with the scene of the crime. First, and most importantly, the sole survivor of the criminal transaction, Miss Young Ja Lee, identified the defendant from a photographic array, again at a physical lineup, and eventually in court during the trial. Second, two young soldiers identified a truck substantially similar to defendant's truck which they had observed at the crime scene at approximately the time that the crimes were occurring. Miss Lee also described having seen a truck similar to the defendant's truck just prior to the commission of the crimes.

The district attorney also introduced circumstantial evidence tending to show that the defendant could have committed the crimes. It was demonstrated that the defendant owned a .38-caliber pistol and several knives which might have been used in the murder and assault. It was also undisputed that the defendant's wife had recently purchased the Speer brand of shot-shell similar to that which was used in the gun involved in the murder. There was testimony that the defendant, along with 36% of the male population, has blood group Type A, Rh-positive, and is a "secreter." A sperm sample obtained from the body of the decedent was shown to have come from such a "secreter."

Other evidence introduced by the prosecution indirectly tended to support the prosecution's case. There was evidence that the defendant had [196 Colo. 344] occasionally visited massage parlors. It was shown that the defendant did not like the Vietnamese people. The victims here were Korean. Finally, there was evidence that the defendant's family was having difficulty in meeting its current bills, thus supplying a possible motive for the crimes.

As noted before, the critical evidence concerned identification of the criminal actor.

Page 930

The defense introduced evidence casting some doubt upon Miss Lee's identification of the defendant and upon the identification of the defendant's truck. The prosecution was unable to further link the defendant to the crimes by either fingerprints, ballistics tests, license plates, incriminating statements, or any other real evidence. The testimony of the defendant's financial problems was answered by testimony indicating that the defendant and his family were actually in fairly good financial shape, from an equity standpoint.

II.

The defendant presented a series of witnesses who had seen the defendant on a daily basis during September and October 1974 and who recalled that he always had a moustache and a neat appearance. In beginning his cross-examination of one of these witnesses, the prosecutor asked the following question: "You never were with him when he was in the process of killing somebody, were you?" Defense counsel immediately asked for a mistrial, and in the alternative requested that the question be...