People v. Jennings

• Court: California Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: GEORGE, C.J.
• Citation: People v. Jennings, 50 Cal.4th 616, 237 P.3d 474, 114 Cal.Rptr.3d 133 (Cal. 2010)
• Decision Date: 12 August 2010
• Docket Number: No. S081148.,S081148.
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Martin Carl JENNINGS, Defendant and Appellant.

50 Cal.4th 616

237 P.3d 474

114 Cal.Rptr.3d 133

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Martin Carl JENNINGS, Defendant and Appellant.

No. S081148.

Supreme Court of California

Aug. 12, 2010.

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Gregory Marshall, Palo Cedro, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.

Bill Lockyer and Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorneys General, Mary Jo Graves and Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Holly D. Wilkens and Kristine A. Gutierrez, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

GEORGE, C.J.

A San Bernardino County jury found defendant Martin Carl Jennings guilty of the first degree murder of his five-year-old son, Arthur Jennings. (Pen.Code, § 187.) ¹ The jury further found true the special circumstance that the murder was intentional and involved the infliction of torture ( § 190.2, subd. (a)(18)), but found not true the special circumstance that defendant intentionally killed Arthur by the administration of poison ( § 190.2, subd. (a)(19)). Following the penalty phase of the trial, the jury returned a verdict of death. After denying defendant's motion for a new trial and his application for modification of the judgment (§ 190.4, subd. (e)), the trial court sentenced defendant to death. This appeal is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).) We affirm the judgment in its entirety.

I. FACTS

A. Guilt Phase Evidence

1. The prosecution's case

a) The torture and murder of Arthur Jennings

Defendant was tried together with his wife, Michelle Jennings. ² Defendant andMichelle had been together since Michelle ran away from home in 1989, when she was 14 years of age and defendant was 29. Arthur Jennings was born prematurely to defendant and Michelle on November 16, 1990. Shortly after Arthur's birth, defendant and Michelle placed Arthur in the care of defendant's mother, who soon thereafter became terminally ill. Subsequently, defendant's half sister, Wilma S., who resided in Montana, began caring for Arthur when he was four months old. Although Arthur had several medical problems when he was born, most seemed resolved by the time he was five years of age.

In early November 1995, defendant telephoned Wilma to tell her that he wanted Arthur back. He informed Wilma that the couple had a newborndaughter, Pearl, that he had obtained employment, that the family had moved into a trailer near Apple Valley adjacent to the Mojave Desert, and that he and Michelle were prepared to raise the children together.

Defendant paid for Wilma and Arthur to travel by bus from Montana to California. During Wilma's 10-day visit, she warned defendant that Arthur wet the bed, was afraid of the dark, and could be difficult when he did not get his way. Wilma additionally told defendant and Michelle that she would take Arthur back if he proved to be too much of aproblem, but she never heard from them again.

When Wilma left to return to Montana, Arthur weighed approximately 64 pounds. He was happy and in good health. Within a few weeks, however, defendant and Michelle began to abuse Arthur. During late 1995 and early 1996, a number of neighbors noticed signs of abuse.

Approximately two weeks before Christmas in 1995, Phillip and Kevin Orand visited the Jenningses' home. Phillip saw Arthur with two black eyes and a mark on his mouth. Arthur was making an odd sound, rocking back and forth but staring straight ahead. When Phillip inquired what was wrong with Arthur, defendant said Michelle had “knocked him out.” Michelle confirmed to Kevin that she had “socked the damn little brat between the eyes, knocked him out.”

On Christmas day in December 1995, Louis Blackwood went to the Jenningses' residence for dinner. Blackwood saw Arthur eat two full plates of food and ask for a third, only to be reprimanded. Blackwood also noticed that Arthur's hand was bandaged. When he asked what had happened to Arthur's hand, Blackwood was told that Arthur had burned himself by touching the wood stove. On a separate occasion about two weeks later, Blackwood saw Arthur with a bruise on the side of his face from the hairline down to the jaw line, which Blackwood described as “not a normal injury.” Michelle told Blackwood that Arthur had fallen. Blackwood described Arthur as looking “whipped” and unhappy. In February 1996, a few days before the police started searching for Arthur, defendant told Blackwood that Arthur had gone missing in the middle of the night and that he and Michelle had spent three hourslooking for Arthur before they finally found him hiding behind a bush in the desert.

Bernard Romaine saw Arthur in early January 1996 and recounted that he looked “pretty beat up.” At the time, Arthur had two black eyes-one in particular that was “real bad” and appeared to require medical attention because it was swollen shut and seeping blood-and a bandaged hand that appeared to have been burned. Arthur also appeared very thin and undernourished.

Pauline Morris, an acquaintance of the Jenningses', saw Arthur in early January 1996. Arthur had bandages on his head and hands, dried blood on his face, and blood in the whites of his eyes. Defendant's father, Art, Sr., told Morris that Arthur was injured when he fell against a wood stove. According to Morris, Arthur was very thin and, when offered milk, “swigged it down.” Morris made a report to child protective services (CPS), but CPS apparently did not follow up on the complaint.

On January 5, 1996, Michelle telephoned CPS to report that her neighbors were abusing their 18-month-old son. During a subsequent telephone conversation on January 8, Michelle asked the CPS worker, Betty Hocking, if Hocking could find an adoptive home for Arthur. Michelle told Hocking that Arthur had been with them for two months and that she could not manage him. Hocking asked whether Michelle could return Arthur to the relative with whom he previously resided. Michelle responded that was not an option. Hocking then suggested parenting classes and therapy. As a last resort, she gave Michelle an adoption worker's telephone number. On January 15, the Jenningses went to Hocking's office to speak with her in person about the neighbors' situation. With them was Arthur's baby sister, Pearl, who appeared to be well taken care of and happy. At the end of the conversation, Michelle said, “I wish there was something we could do with our son,” and again inquired whether Hocking might have an adoptive home for Arthur. The Jenningses explained that they could not control Arthur and that they had many concerns about his behavior. Hocking again suggested parenting classes and therapy and gave them the adoption worker's phone number. Before leaving, Michelle inquired whether anyone had reported the Jenningses to CPS. When asked why anyone would report them, Michelle claimed she was worried about possible allegations by jealous neighbors.

On February 4, 1996, while Michelle was away, Cora Grein, a neighbor, visited the Jenningses' home. Defendant and Arthurwere watching a television program, and Grein joined them. Defendant instructed Arthur to go to his bedroom. Defendant then attempted to kiss Grein, but she resisted. During this attempt, Arthur reentered the room and subsequently was instructed by defendant to return to his bedroom. Grein testified that as Arthur began walking away, defendant grabbed him and struck him on the back of his head with a fireplace shovel. Defendant then picked up Arthur and threw him on the bed. He told Grein that if she said anything she would “see the bottom of a mine shaft.” Grein told defendant she would remain quiet, and left. ³

Arthur died within an hour of being struck on the head with the shovel. TheJenningses initially buried Arthur's body in a shallow grave inside an old chicken coop. A few hours later, however, they unearthed Arthur's body and threw it down a nearby desert mine shaft. The Jenningses then attempted to scrub the blood off Arthur's bedroom walls. Defendant also burned Arthur's sheets and the gloves used to bury him, and placed Arthur's diaper, clothes, and glasses in the trash.

b) The Sheriff's investigation

On February 6, 1996, two days after Arthur's death, the Jenningses reported Arthur missing to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's station. Defendant stated that he last saw Arthur in his bed at about 2:00 a.m., and noticed he was missing at 6:00 a.m. Michelle said she last saw Arthur about 10:30 p.m. Both defendant and Michelle claimed they tried to find Arthur but were unable to locate him. A search subsequently was initiated by law enforcement officers.

When the search party was unable to find Arthur or any indication of recent activity by Arthur, the authorities began to treat the case as a homicide and summoned the Jenningses for questioning. In separate interviews, defendant and Michelle admitted that Arthur had been dead since February 4. They also independently led officers to the mine shaft in the desert where Arthur's unclothed body was found wrapped in a blanket.

On February 8, 1996, detectives conducted a joint interview of defendant and Michelle, in which the Jenningses detailed their abuse of Arthur. ⁴ Defendant acknowledged that at various times he pushed, elbowed, kicked, shook, and hit Arthur. After initially blaming Michelle and then Grein, defendant eventually admitted striking Arthur on the back of his head with the fireplace shovel on the day he died. Defendant did state, however, that he did not want Arthur to die. Nevertheless, when later asked whether he ever had attempted to suffocate Arthur, defendant responded, “I don't know, maybe.”

During the interview, the detectives posed questions regarding incidents that had occurred prior...