People v. Kopatz

• Citation: 347 P.3d 952,186 Cal.Rptr.3d 797,61 Cal.4th 62
• Decision Date: 30 April 2015
• Docket Number: No. S097414.,S097414.
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Kim Raymond KOPATZ, Defendant and Appellant.

61 Cal.4th 62

347 P.3d 952

186 Cal.Rptr.3d 797

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent

v.Kim Raymond KOPATZ, Defendant and Appellant.

No. S097414.

Supreme Court of California

April 30, 2015.

David P. Lampkin, Camarillo, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Holly D. Wilkens and Andrew Mestman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Opinion

CHIN, J.

A jury convicted defendant Kim Raymond Kopatz of the first degree murders of Mary Kopatz and Carley Kopatz. (Pen.Code, § 187.)¹ It found true the special circumstance allegations of murder for financial gain (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(1) ) and multiple murder (§ 190.2, subd. (a) (3) ). After a penalty trial, the jury returned a verdict of death, and the trial court imposed that sentence. This appeal is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).) We affirm the judgment.

I. FACTS

A. Guilt Phase

1. The Prosecution's Case

a. Introduction

On the afternoon of April 22, 1999, the strangled bodies of defendant's wife Mary Kopatz and his young daughter Carley Kopatz were discovered in the family's van, which was parked about one mile from the Kopatzes' home. The prosecution presented circumstantial evidence of defendant's guilt. The evidence reflected a financial motive. Defendant had recently lost a large amount of money, was in debt, and was the beneficiary of life insurance policies on Mary and Carley; he also had made a claim on an insurance policy for Mary's wedding and anniversary rings four days after the murders. The evidence further showed that although several people attempted to telephone defendant when Mary failed to show up for work that day, no one could contact him during the morning hours that Mary and Carley were initially missing. Witnesses saw defendant or the family's van that morning in the area where the van—containing Mary's and Carley's bodies—was later found. The crime scene inside the van had been staged to make it appear as if a robbery and sexual assault had occurred. The prosecution also presented defendant's statements and behavior indicating consciousness of guilt and physical evidence linking defendant to the murders.

b. Defendant's Finances

In April 1999, defendant and Mary had been married for 10 years. They lived in a house on Garfield Street in Riverside with their two daughters, eight-year-old Ashley and three-year-old Carley. Mary was manager of a Jenny Craig weight loss center in Riverside. Defendant, who had been disabled in a workplace accident, was a stay-at-home father. Defendant had 13 credit card accounts with a total debt of $117,883 and had reached his maximum credit limit on those accounts. Although the family's monthly income was $4,259, their monthly expenses, including minimum credit card payments, were $8,620.

Tax records showed a loss of $71,955 during 1998. In 1998, a Charles Schwab brokerage account that defendant used for day trading contained over $20,000. By April 1999, the account's balance had fallen to $335. In 1998, an account with Irvine Trading Company that defendant used to trade commodities and futures contained over $46,000. By April 1999, the account's balance had fallen to $125.

The Kopatz family had nine insurance policies covering various family members. In the event of the deaths of Mary and Carley, defendant stood to gain more than $800,000 as beneficiary. Defendant also had an insurance policy that provided $13,628 in coverage for the loss of Mary's wedding and anniversary rings.

c. Morning Hours When Mary and Carley Kopatz Were Initially Missing and Defendant Could Not Be Reached

Every morning from December 1998 to April 21, 1999, defendant and his younger daughter Carley took Ashley to school at 8:00 a.m. However, on the morning of April 22, 1999, defendant took Ashley to school at the usual time, but Carley did not accompany him.

David Laird worked near the Kopatzes' home on Garfield Street and frequently drove past it. He often saw defendant working in his yard with a van parked in the driveway. At 8:55 a.m. on April 22, Laird drove by on his way to work, but did not see defendant. Laird also noticed that the family's van was gone, but that a Chrysler sedan was parked in the driveway. Mary Kopatz usually drove the Chrysler.

When Mary failed to show up at work at her scheduled time of 11:00 a.m., Mary's coworkers at Jenny Craig became concerned, since she was always punctual. Mary's coworker, Mary Burdick, called the Kopatzes' residence at 11:00 a.m., but there was no answer. Burdick and another coworker called the house every 15 minutes between 11:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., but there was no answer.

Linda Lee, the secretary at Ashley Kopatz's school, called the Kopatzes' residence several times around 11:30 a.m., to obtain permission to give Ashley, a diabetic, an insulin injection

. There was no answer. Ashley periodically checked her own blood-sugar levels while in class. She typically had high blood-sugar levels two or three times a week. When that occurred, the school principal, Patricia VanDyke, would call defendant or Mary Kopatz.

VanDyke returned to her office at noon. Around 12:05 p.m., after Lee informed her of Ashley's high blood-sugar level, VanDyke called the Kopatzes' house. There was no answer. She then called Mary Kopatz's work number, and was told that Mary had not arrived at work and that her coworkers were concerned. VanDyke then called defendant's cell phone, but there was no answer. Never before had VanDyke had occasion to call defendant's cell phone. She often needed to contact defendant, and had nearly always been able to reach him at home. On the rare occasion when defendant could not be reached, VanDyke had successfully contacted Mary at work.

VanDyke gave Ashley the insulin shot. At 12:30 p.m., she called Mary's work again, but was told that they had not heard from Mary. VanDyke called the Kopatzes' home and defendant's cell phone again, but there was no response. She called his pager and left the school's telephone number.

About 12:30 p.m., Mary's coworker, Mary Burdick, drove by the Kopatzes' house, but did not see defendant. She saw Mary's car parked in the driveway, but did not see the family's van. Burdick drove home and called the Kopatzes' home several more times, but received no answer.

d. Discovery of Mary Kopatz's and Carley Kopatz's Bodies; Defendant's Conduct Before and After the Discovery

About 1:00 p.m. on April 22, David Laird drove by the Kopatzes' house again and saw defendant working on a sprinkler near the front driveway.

Maria Montoya, defendant's neighbor, also saw defendant working in the front yard between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.

At 1:15 p.m., Mary Burdick called the Riverside police to report Mary Kopatz missing, but the police would not take a missing person report from her.

About 1:15 p.m., defendant called Jenny Craig and spoke to Jean Black. Defendant calmly asked if his wife had brought Carley to work with her. Black reported that Mary had still not arrived. Defendant explained that Mary was going to run some errands and pick up prescriptions at Sav-on and Walmart. He mentioned that Mary's cell phone and pager were on the counter at home, but Jean knew that Mary took her cell phone “everywhere she went,” in case Ashley needed insulin. Defendant said he had been outside “digging all day,” had lost track of time, and had come inside to get a drink of water. During the conversation, defendant knocked over a glass of water, exclaimed, “Oh shit,” and began to act “rattled” and “panicked.”

At 1:30 or 1:40 p.m., Mary Burdick called defendant again and defendant answered. Burdick said that she was worried because Mary still had not shown up at work and Ashley's school had called about her injection. Sounding upset, defendant said that he had spoken to Jean Black and was aware of the situation. Burdick told him she had gone to the house and assumed they were out since the van was not there. She asked defendant where he had been all morning. He replied that he had been in the backyard working all day and that Burdick should have gone there to talk to him.² Defendant stated that Mary and Carley had left the house between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. to run errands; he thought Mary had taken Carley to work for “take your daughter to work day.” However, Burdick knew that two weeks earlier, Mary Kopatz had advised the staff at a meeting not to bring their children to work for liability reasons. Mary had also mentioned that Carley was too young to come to work. Burdick was still concerned about Mary. She spoke to her husband Doug Burdick and he agreed to go over to the Kopatzes' house.

At 2:00 p.m., defendant called Principal VanDyke. Sounding “frantic” and “highly upset,” defendant declared that Mary was missing and he could not find her. VanDyke told him the school had been trying to contact him and asked where Carley was. Defendant responded that Carley was with Mary; he did not hear his cell phone because he had been in the backyard and it had been on the kitchen sink. He told VanDyke that Mary's purse was on the kitchen sink and that she had only taken her wallet. While they were talking, defendant informed VanDyke that Doug Burdick had just pulled up to the house; she asked to speak with Burdick. VanDyke asked Burdick to look after defendant, while she took care of Ashley.

Doug Burdick arrived at the Kopatzes' house between 2:10 and 2:15 p.m. Burdick asked defendant what he had been doing all day. Defendant responded that he had been digging and installing sprinkler pipe in the backyard. It did not appear to Burdick that defendant had been digging, however. Defendant was not sweaty and was dressed all in white. There was no dirt on his pants, shirt, or hands. However, there was “blue paint” on the tops of defendant's hands and on his forearms.³

When Doug Burdick asked if anyone had heard from Mary, defendant began shaking and crying. He...