People v. Kline

• Decision Date: 25 August 1981
• Docket Number: No. 79-536,79-536
• Citation: 99 Ill.App.3d 540,54 Ill.Dec. 697,425 N.E.2d 562
• Parties: , 54 Ill.Dec. 697 PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Phillip KLINE, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 562

425 N.E.2d 562

99 Ill.App.3d 540, 54 Ill.Dec. 697

PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Phillip KLINE, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 79-536.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District.

Aug. 25, 1981.

Shelvin Singer, Chicago, for defendant-appellant.

Edward F. Petka, State's Atty., Joliet, Rita F. Kennedy, John X. Breslin, State's Attorneys Appellate Service Commission, Ottawa, for plaintiff-appellee.

ALLOY, Justice:

In 1979, after a bench trial, Phillip Kline was convicted of the 1973 bludgeon murder of Bridgette Regli in a country field in Will County. Kline was sentenced to a term of from 50 to 100 years imprisonment for the killing. From his conviction and sentence he now appeals. Numerous issues are raised by the defense on appeal, including issues on the sufficiency of the evidence for conviction, the propriety of several evidentiary rulings, the failure to provide Kline with a judicial probable cause hearing, and alleged prosecutorial improprieties before the Grand Jury. The final issue raised concerns the length of the sentence imposed by the court. We shall set forth the issues with more particularity as we address them in the body of the opinion.

The record reveals that 17-year-old Bridgette Regli was bludgeoned to death on December 6, 1973 in a Will County field. The State's evidence established that Miss Regli was a student at Crete-Monee High School in 1973. On December 6 of that year she finished her last class of the day shortly before 1:00 P.M., and, as was her custom, she then started her walk home. She was the school photographer and usually carried a camera with her. As she walked along the street south of the high school she was observed by a junior high student. Valinda Avey, a junior high school student who knew Bridgette Regli, testified that at about 1:00 P.M. on December 6, 1973, she was gazing out of a school window, while acting as an office aide. She testified that she saw Miss Regli walking down the street. She was carrying books and another bulky object which Miss Avey could not identify. Miss Avey stated that she noticed a car stop just past where Miss Regli was walking and that a person of high school age got out of the passenger side of the auto. Miss Regli then entered the car and it was driven off in a southerly direction. Miss Avey described the car as being two-door, tan or cream colored and with a dark interior. She stated that she did not recall if the car was two-tone. She testified that the size and make of the car was similar to that of a Mustang. She described the person who got out of the car as a young male, high school age, having dark, shoulder length hair and of average height. She testified that the male was of dark complexion, of Mexican or Latin race.

Two days later the battered body of Bridgette Regli was found in a field in Will County by a hunter. Pathological evidence indicated that the killing took place four to six hours after Miss Regli's last meal, which, according to her father, was breakfast on December 6, 1973. The pathologist testified at length at the trial. He testified that the decedent had significant wounds on the forehead and on the left rear of the head, as well as more superficial wounds on the forehead. She also had numerous bruises, cuts and abrasions on her body which indicated a considerable struggle prior to death. Concerning the penetrating wound to the right front area of the skull, the pathologist stated that it was ovoid in shape, and could have been caused by the shaft of a golf club or other similar instrument. The blow pierced the skin and went to the bone. It was the opinion of the pathologist that this blow to the forehead was not the fatal blow. The fatal blow was one to the left rear of the head, which was administered by a tree limb or similar object. The pathologist also stated that there were present, on the victim, scratches and discoloration in the neck area. He testified that the wounds to the neck were consistent with a forceful grasping of the neck, although he indicated that the victim did not die by strangulation.

The other evidence for the State, and the central focus of the contentions on this appeal, was the testimony of Anna Kline, the estranged wife of defendant Phillip Kline. Anna Kline testified that she became acquainted with Phillip Kline in September of 1973. At that time, Phillip was a high school student and Anna was a 24-year-old married woman. Later, she and Phillip lived together at various different times. They were married in February, 1976. She testified that Phillip was an excellent golfer and a wrestler for the high school. She also testified that Phillip Kline was a narcotics user and peddler. She admitted the same about herself as well. Anna Kline then testified to some conversations that she had with Phillip Kline in 1975, at a time when they were seeing each other, but prior to their marriage. According to Anna Kline's testimony, in November, 1975, Phillip Kline told her that he was present at the murder of Bridgette Regli but he denied touching her at all. He indicated to Anna that Miss Regli had taken a picture of a drug transaction. He stated that he and Arthur Garza were present. Anna Kline testified that Phillip told her that he grabbed the camera from Miss Regli, tried to destroy the film, and then put the camera in the trunk of his Mustang. He also told Anna that Arthur Garza had killed Miss Regli with a golf club. In a different conversation, Phillip Kline told Anna that when he took the camera from Miss Regli he felt like choking her, but he did not.

In addition to her testimony about the 1975 admissions, Anna Kline also testified as to specific occurrences on the day of the killing. This was December 6, 1973, and prior to the time she and Phillip had become intimate. She testified that on that date, around 5:30 P.M., she saw Phillip Kline and Arthur Garza at her apartment. She testified that Kline and Garza were selling records to raise money for a trip to Florida that night. She testified that Garza was about 5' 11 tall, slender, with dark shoulder length hair and an olive complexion. She also testified that Phillip Kline that day was driving a 1970 tan or cream-colored Mustang with a brown scroll top. Anna Kline testified that she still loved Phillip Kline.

The defense cross-examination of Anna Kline established that she was a narcotics user and had on occasion sold narcotics. She admitted to having taken valium, about 30 milligrams per day, in December, 1978, the time when she first informed the police of Phillip Kline's incriminating statements made to her in 1975. Also established was that for the ten months prior to October, 1978, while separated from Phillip Kline, Anna Kline resided with Mark Pascarella. Pascarella moved out after a dispute with Anna Kline and shortly thereafter she contacted the sheriff's department to accuse him of sexually molesting her daughter. No charges were filed.

In addition to its efforts in cross-examination, the defense called numerous witnesses in an attempt to discredit Anna Kline and her testimony. An investigator for the public defender's office testified that Anna Kline told her that Phillip Kline had denied involvement in the Regli killing. The investigator also testified that Anna told her that she was threatened by a court deputy with criminal proceedings and loss of custody of her children, if she did not cooperate with the police. She admitted to the investigator that she had sought to get money from Phillip's parents but had been unsuccessful. The defense produced Anna Kline's sister, Rhonda Shambo, who stated that Anna told her that she was not going to testify against Phillip and that she was on narcotics when she told the police of the statements. When asked why she had started the trouble in the first place, Anna Kline told her sister, "for revenge." Two persons testified to hearing Anna Kline tell a sister of Phillip Kline that she would get revenge on Phillip for running off to California with a Sherry Mason. Mark Pascarella, with whom Anna Kline had lived for a 10-month period, testified that Anna used a lot of valium while they were together. He also testified that after an argument over rent she ordered him out of the house. He left, and about a month later was contacted by the sheriff's department in connection with allegations made by Anna that he had molested her daughter. No charges were brought from the allegations. Marlena Wooten, Anna Kline's sister-in-law (married to Anna's brother), also testified for the defense. She testified that Anna was angry because she was not going to get any money from the Klines. She stated, too, that Anna told her that her daughter had not been attacked and that she had accused Pascarella because he would not pay the rent.

Further testimony concerning Anna Kline's bias and prejudice against Phillip Kline came from his parents, who indicated that Anna had constantly requested money from them, which they supplied at first, but later stopped. Anna threatened them, telling them she would get even with them and have her revenge on Phillip. She told them she would see him "rot in jail." This conversation was confirmed by an employee of the Klines who was listening in on the conversation on another extension.

In addition to the defense witnesses called to discredit Anna Kline's testimony, two alibi witnesses took the stand for the defense. James Roberts and Bernice Clark, classmates and friends of Phillip Kline, as well as drug purchasers from him, testified that they were with Phillip on December 6, 1973, in the afternoon. Clark testified that she was with him until 1:30 P.M. and that Arthur Garza was not with them. Roberts testified that he was with Kline until 3:00 or 3:30 P.M. on the 6th of December. Rebuttal testimony by police officers who had previously interrogated both Roberts and Clark indicated that both had given prior inconsistent...