People v. McKenzie, Docket No. 147416

• Decision Date: 02 August 1994
• Docket Number: Docket No. 147416
• Citation: 206 Mich.App. 425,522 N.W.2d 661
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Marcy McKENZIE, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US

Page 661

522 N.W.2d 661

206 Mich.App. 425

PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Marcy McKENZIE, Defendant-Appellant.

Docket No. 147416.

Court of Appeals of Michigan.

Submitted May 5, 1994, at Lansing.

Decided Aug. 2, 1994, at 9:10 a.m.

Released for Publication Oct. 31, 1994.

Frank J. Kelley, Atty. Gen., Thomas L. Casey, Sol. Gen., Donald E. Martin, Pros. Atty., and Samuel R. Smith, Chief Appellate Atty., for the People.

State Appellate Defender by Richard B. Ginsberg, for defendant on appeal.

Before HOOD, P.J., and CAVANAGH and TEEPLE, ^* JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Defendant was convicted by a jury on a charge of first-degree felony murder, M.C.L. § 750.316; M.S.A. § 28.548. Defendant, who was sentenced to life in prison, appeals her conviction as of right. We affirm.

The present case stems from a fire that originated in defendant's apartment in a complex inhabited almost exclusively by senior citizens. Defendant, who is not a senior citizen, was permitted to reside in the complex because she had a medical condition (epilepsy). On September 8, 1989, the resident manager made several trips to defendant's apartment to inform her that she would have to move out within thirty days because she had caused a number of disruptions. On the final trip, the manager observed a cigarette smoldering on defendant's bed sheet; the manager removed the sheet and left the apartment after defendant indicated that she intended to kill herself.

Four days later, on the evening of September 12, 1989, an alarm sounded and smoke was seen coming from defendant's door. The fire department was summoned and several residents began to assist others out of the building. Before the fire department's arrival, one of the residents, Mr. Gannon, forced defendant's door open and confirmed that her apartment was on fire. According to Gannon, defendant was not in her apartment. All the residents were evacuated from the complex, including defendant's next-door neighbor, Emma Merritt. The fire department arrived and the blaze, which did not spread to other units, was extinguished after approximately one hour. Merritt, who was neither burned during the fire nor inhaled any smoke, collapsed on the sidewalk and died of a heart attack. The medical examiner who performed the autopsy opined that Merritt's heart attack was brought on by the excitement generated by the fire.

An examination of defendant's apartment led the authorities to conclude that the fire had been intentionally set. Defendant initially claimed that someone had thrown a Molotov cocktail through her window. Later, defendant stated that one of her multiple personalities may have started the fire by placing a lit cigarette on the bed. A trial was conducted and defendant presented the multiple personality/insanity defense. The jury found defendant guilty of first-degree felony murder. However, defendant was granted a new trial on the basis that both the prosecutor and defense counsel had misinterpreted the results of a blood alcohol test performed on defendant the evening of the fire. Defendant's blood alcohol level was much higher than thought to be by defense counsel and the prosecutor.

At the retrial, defendant abandoned the multiple personality/insanity defense. Instead, defendant focused on the cause of death and whether she was capable of forming the requisite intent for felony murder given her level of intoxication. The prosecutor offered the testimony of a resident from the complex who claimed that defendant approached her on the sidewalk after the evacuation and said, "I did a good job, didn't I." Additionally, an inmate from the Ingham County Jail testified that, while awaiting retrial, defendant told her that she intentionally set the fire in response to the eviction notice. According to the inmate, defendant said that she did not intend to hurt anyone by starting the fire. The jury found defendant guilty as charged.

Defendant first argues that the trial court erred in denying her motion for a directed verdict. We disagree.

When reviewing a denial of a motion for a directed verdict, this Court must consider the evidence presented by the prosecution up to the time the motion was made in a light most favorable to the prosecution and determine whether a rational trier of fact could find that the essential elements of the crime were proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Circumstantial evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom may be sufficient to prove the elements of a crime. [People v. Morris, 202 MichApp 620, 622; 509 NW2d 865 (1993). Citations omitted.]

To establish the crime of felony murder, the prosecution must present proofs from which the jury could rationally find that, while committing the underlying offense, the defendant acted with the intent to kill, with the intent to do great bodily harm, or with wanton and wilful disregard of the likelihood that the natural tendency of the defendant's behavior was to cause death or great bodily harm. People v. Aslin, 179 Mich.App. 456, 458, 446 N.W.2d 832 (1989).

In the present case, a resident of the complex testified that while the fire was still ablaze, defendant remarked, "I did a good job, didn't I." Additionally, an inmate at the jail where defendant was housed stated that defendant admitted intentionally setting the fire by placing a lit cigarette and a pair of electric curlers on the bed. This statement was corroborated by the evidence found at the scene by investigators. More specifically, investigators concluded that defendant's bed had been intentionally set on fire.

This evidence indicates that the fire that originated in defendant's bedroom had been intentionally set. Moreover, the resident who forcibly entered defendant's apartment to investigate the fire stated that no windows were broken before his entry and, further, that defendant's apartment seemed secure in all other respects. From this evidence a rational trier of fact could conclude that the underlying crime of arson had been committed. Additionally, the physician who performed the autopsy on Merritt's body testified that she died as a result of a heart attack brought on by the excitement surrounding the fire. Accordingly, because the corpus delicti of the crime of felony murder had been established, the prosecutor was free to introduce the testimony of the inmate who claimed that defendant admitted setting the fire.

On the basis of the foregoing, we believe that a rational trier of fact could have concluded that, by starting a fire in a senior citizens complex, defendant acted in such a manner as to exhibit a wanton and wilful disregard of the likelihood that the natural tendency of her behavior was to cause death or great bodily harm. Aslin, supra. Therefore, the trial court properly denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict. Morris, supra.

For the same reasons, we find unavailing defendant's argument that there was insufficient evidence to support her conviction of first-degree felony murder. Defendant argues that Merritt died as a result of a preexisting condition, and that the manner of her demise was not a foreseeable consequence under the circumstances. To support this argument, defendant points to the testimony of the medical examiner, who stated that Merritt had a serious heart condition. The medical examiner opined that, given the severity of Merritt's condition, there was no guarantee that she would have lived another day notwithstanding the fire. Nonetheless, it was determined...