People v. Hall
| Decision Date | 26 October 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 86194.,86194. |
| Citation | 194 Ill.2d 305,252 Ill.Dec. 653,743 N.E.2d 521 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Felipe HALL, Appellant. |
| Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
Charles M. Schiedel, Deputy Defender, and Lawrence Bapst, Assistant Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Springfield, for appellant.
James E. Ryan, Attorney General, Springfield, and William R. Haine, State's Attorney, Edwardsville (Joel D. Bertocchi, Solicitor General, and William L. Browers and David H. Iskowich, Assistant Attorneys General, Chicago, of counsel), for the People.
Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Madison County, defendant, Felipe Hall, was convicted of two counts of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1) (West 1994)). The same jury found that defendant was eligible for the death penalty and that there were no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude the death penalty. Accordingly, the trial court sentenced defendant to death. Defendant's execution has been stayed pending direct review by this court. Ill. Const. 1970, art. VI, § 4(b); 134 Ill.2d Rs. 603, 609(a). For the reasons that follow, we affirm defendant's conviction and death sentence.
On October 4, 1994, Frank Crook, a farmer in rural Madison County, was awakened by the sound of two or three gunshots. Crook looked at his alarm clock; it was 1:30 a.m. The gunshots were followed by four shotgun blasts. Later that morning, David Mueller, a farmer whose property adjoins Crook's property, discovered two piles of clothing on a dirt field road, and observed in his field what appeared to be a body. Mueller contacted authorities. An officer from the Madison County sheriff's office who was dispatched to the scene found the nude bodies of two young women—a blond-haired Caucasian and an African-American. The women were later identified as Christina Masters and Samantha Beasley, respectively.
An autopsy of Masters revealed that she had suffered two shotgun wounds, one to the middle of the forehead, and one to the right breast. Either shot would have been fatal. Masters also suffered a traumatic amputation of the middle and ring fingers on her right hand, which the pathologist testified are defensive wounds. An autopsy of Beasley revealed that she, like Masters, suffered two shotgun wounds, one to the lower back and one to the right breast. In addition, Beasley suffered two gunshot wounds—a through-and-through wound in the left buttocks and thigh, and the fatal wound, in which the bullet traveled through the right shoulder, into the lung and heart, ultimately entering the left arm. According to the pathologist, blood spatters on the soles of Beasley's feet indicate that she was not standing at the time she was shot.
Illinois State Police, who processed the crime scene, recovered two discharged Norinco brand 9-millimeter shell casings, a live 9-millimeter cartridge, and four discharged Remington brand shotgun shells. Police testified that the proximity of the shotgun shells is consistent with a single shooter, and that the barrel of the shotgun which was used in the murders was probably cut off.
Prosecution witnesses testified that on the evening of October 3, 1994, the victims, along with Tiffany Edwards and Ernestine Renee Rankins, went to Juanita Lane's apartment at the Colony North Apartments in Jennings, Missouri, a community outside St. Louis. Masters was driving a red Merkur Scorpio. At about 11:30 p.m., Masters drove Beasley, Lane and Edwards to Rally's, a local eatery, for hamburgers. A receipt from Rally's, which was recovered from the Merkur, shows a purchase on October 3 at 11:51 p.m. According to Lane, Masters was not her normal self that evening. Lane testified that Masters was quiet, nervous, and kept looking in her rearview mirror.
Upon their return to the Colony North Apartments from Rally's, Edwards and Lane went inside. Beasley and Masters stayed in the car, which Masters parked in the lot for the apartment complex. A short time later, Masters moved the Merkur to a different spot in the parking lot. According to a statement Edwards gave to police, the Merkur was parked just a few spaces away from a burgundy Oldsmobile Eighty Eight or Buick Park Avenue. Inside the burgundy car were three black males. Edwards later observed that the burgundy car was gone, and Masters' car was empty.
Various prosecution witnesses testified regarding incidents involving the Merkur, Masters, and defendant just prior to the murders. David Fiedler, a loan officer at General Finance, identified defendant as the man who was with Masters on September 26, 1994, when Masters applied for an auto loan in connection with the purchase of the Merkur. Fiedler remembered the transaction because the Merkur Scorpio is an unusual car. Fiedler described defendant as "controlling." A week after the purchase, Fiedler received a telephone call from defendant, who identified himself as "Jonathan." Defendant indicated that he would like to resell the Merkur.
Kimberly Woolridge testified that she met defendant through a friend, Michelle Smith, in the summer of 1993, and knew defendant under various names, including Felipe Hall, Lamont Hall, and Jonathan Scales. At defendant's request, Woolridge verified employment for Masters in connection with the auto loan, although Woolridge's company did not, in fact, employ Masters. Woolridge further testified that one evening, as she, Smith and defendant were leaving A.J.'s, a restaurant and lounge in St. Louis, defendant discovered that his car, the Merkur, was gone. Defendant was extremely upset.
Defendant's cousin, Damie Brown, also testified regarding an incident outside A.J.'s in which defendant's car, the Merkur, was missing. According to Brown, as they drove around looking for the vehicle, Masters drove up in her station wagon, told defendant that the Merkur was stolen, but that she knew where to find it. They followed Masters to the Colony North Apartments, where the Merkur was parked. Defendant told Brown that it was funny how the car kept disappearing.
Juanita Lane testified that three or four days prior to the shootings, Masters asked Lane to accompany her to pick up her new car. The two women drove to a Motel 6 in the St. Louis area where the Merkur was parked. Records from the Motel 6 establish that Masters rented a room in her name on September 25, 1994, which was paid through October 3, 1994. Motel employees identified defendant as the man seen in that room on a regular basis. Lane also testified that on the day following their trip to the Motel 6, Masters again asked Lane to accompany her to pick up the Merkur, which Lane did. This time the vehicle was parked outside A.J.'s Andre Franklin, who at the time of trial was serving a sentence at the Colorado State Penitentiary, testified that defendant told him the Merkur was his car, but that it was registered in the name of some female who was "tripping a little bit." Franklin explained to investigators that "tripping" meant that the woman was "fucking with [the car]." According to Franklin, defendant did not appear unhappy or emotional when defendant talked to him about the Merkur.
Michelle Smith testified that she knew defendant through Brown, with whom Smith had grown up. On the evening of October 3, 1994, Smith rented a green Chevy Aerostar van for defendant. Defendant explained that he was moving and would need the van for a day. Smith picked up defendant at the Motel 6 and went to the car rental agency. Smith recalled that defendant was wearing construction boots.
Smith and defendant met the next day, October 4, at approximately 5 p.m. to return the van. With defendant were "Dre" and "Rico." Smith testified that defendant seemed frustrated, "hyper," and rushed. As Smith settled the paperwork, she saw defendant wiping down the door and the interior of the van. When Rico asked defendant what he was doing, defendant responded, "[E]vidence, fingerprints." Smith noticed that defendant's upper lip was cut all the way through. Defendant said he had been lifting weights and was hurt while spotting for someone. Defendant reimbursed Smith for the cost of the rental van.
Defendant asked Smith to rent him another vehicle to go to Colorado, but Smith refused. Defendant told Smith he needed to move again because the motel room was in Masters' name. When Smith inquired further, defendant told her to watch the news and that Masters "was not living." Smith watched the news, saw Masters' photograph and thought that she was someone Woolridge had met. Smith called Woolridge, who confirmed that Masters was the girl for whom Woolridge had verified employment.
Sherry Harris testified that at 10:30 or 11 p.m. on October 3, 1994, she left her sister's house in St. Louis and was going to take a bus to her boyfriend's house in Jennings. As she walked to the bus stop, a green van pulled up. The driver of the van, whom Harris identified as defendant, offered her a ride. Harris accepted. Defendant introduced himself as Lamont. They proceeded first to Allen Street in St. Louis, where defendant had a brief conversation with a male. In this conversation, defendant said he would be back to pick him up that night. Defendant and Harris then proceeded to the Colony North Apartments in Jennings to see if defendant's car was there. Defendant explained that the prior evening his girlfriend had stolen a set of extra car keys and that she had later stolen his vehicle.
When Harris and defendant arrived at the Colony North Apartments, Harris saw a red car, which she identified in court from a photograph of the Merkur. Harris saw the back of the heads of the two occupants of the vehicle. The female driver was blonde and light-skinned; the female passenger was dark-skinned. Defendant parked close to the Merkur and said, "[S]he got a nigger in my shit." Defendant was...
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