People v. Saxon

• Decision Date: 26 June 2007
• Docket Number: No. 3-05-0292.,3-05-0292.
• Citation: 871 N.E.2d 244
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Todd SAXON, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

871 N.E.2d 244

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Todd SAXON, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 3-05-0292.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District.

June 26, 2007.

Kerry J. Bryson, Office of State Appellate Defender, Ottawa, for Todd Saxon.

Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, Gary S. Feinerman, Solicitor General, Michael M. Glick, Assistant Attorney General, Chicago, for the People.

Justice CARTER delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant Todd Saxon was convicted of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1) (West 2004)), arson (720 ILCS 5/20-1(a) (West 2004)), and concealment of homicidal death (720 ILCS 5/9-3.1(a) (West 2004)) following a jury trial. Defendant now appeals that conviction, contending that he was not proven guilty of the offenses beyond a reasonable doubt.

FACTS

Victim O.W., a 12-year-old girl, was found stabbed to death inside a garage that had been burned down in Kankakee, Illinois, on March 30, 1995. Defendant Todd Saxon was charged with first degree murder, arson, and concealment of a homicide on February 26, 2002, in connection with O.W.'s death. Specifically, defendant was charged with three counts of first degree murder on the theories that he intended to kill O.W. by stabbing her, that he stabbed her knowing such act created a strong possibility of death or great bodily harm, and that he killed her during the course of a felony, criminal sexual assault. He was also charged with arson in that he knowingly damaged a building at 1074 East Merchant Street, Kankakee, which was the property of Dave McDaniel, by means of fire. Defendant was further charged with concealment of a homicidal death in that he, with knowledge that O.W. had died by homicidal means, concealed her death by placing her body in a structure at 1074 East Merchant Street, Kankakee, and destroyed that structure by fire. Defendant was indicted on these charges on April 11, 2002. Defendant elected to proceed to jury trial, and the jury was empaneled and the trial began on February 24, 2005.

The first witness called by the State at trial was the victim's mother, Regina Collins. Collins testified as follows. O.W., who was 12 years old on March 27, 1995, lived with her at 156 South Wildwood in Kankakee. Also living in the house at that time were Collins's boyfriend Pierre Saxon (the uncle of defendant), Pierre Saxon's mother Elsi Saxon (who shared a room with O.W.), Collins's son and O.W.'s brother John; Collins's goddaughters Contessa Kilpatrick and Catrina Haut; Collins's brother, Webster Collins; and Catrina's mother, Bobbie Jackson. On the night of O.W.'s disappearance, March 27, 1995, O.W. went to bed at around 9 p.m., as it was a school night. Around 11:30 pm to midnight a fight broke out between Contessa Kilpatrick and her boyfriend Dwight Phagan. After telling them to keep it down, Collins went to check on O.W., who was sleeping in her bed, and went back to sleep. The next morning, March 28, 1995, Collins told John Williams to go wake his sister. John reported back to Collins that O.W. was not in her bed, and after checking the rest of the house and with the neighbors, Collins called the police. Collins noted that defendant was at her house almost every day and had been there around the time of the fight between Contessa Kilpatrick and Dwight Phagan, but she thought he had left.

Next to take the stand was Contessa Kilpatrick, who testified as follows. She was staying at Regina Collins's home in March 1995 and cooked dinner for O.W. and the rest of the children on the night of March 27, 1995. The dinner consisted of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and corn and was consumed between 5 and 6 p.m. that evening. Later that evening her boyfriend, Dwight Phagan, came home from work and the two began arguing. They were arguing in the upstairs hallway when Collins came out of her room and told them to be quiet. During this argument, when Dwight was in the bathroom, O.W. came out of her room and asked who was in the bathroom. Contessa told her "that bitch" was in the bathroom, referring to Dwight, prompting O.W. to laugh. This was the last time Contessa saw O.W. alive. Contessa testified that defendant was present in the house that night.

Pierre Saxon took the stand following Contessa Kilpatrick. He testified as follows. Defendant, his nephew, was in the house at 156 South Wildwood often. After going to bed on the evening of March 27, 1995, he was awakened by the fight between Contessa and Dwight around midnight. After telling them to take the fight outside so as not to wake the children, he checked on O.W. and his mother Elsi. That was the last time he saw O.W. alive. Pierre Saxon also testified that the next morning there were, to his knowledge, no signs of a break-in.

Next to take the stand was John, O.W.'s brother. John, 24 at the time of trial, had a brain aneurysm in 2002, but could still remember events before and after the aneurysm, but not during. He testified that he shared a room with defendant at the house at 156 South Wildwood when defendant would stay there. Defendant would, when Regina Collins was not around, play wrestle with O.W. and drag her into Regina Collins's room and lock the door. O.W. was between 11 and 12 years old at this time. On cross-examination, John admitted that he did not initially tell police about defendant and O.W.'s play wrestling, but denied that he waited until February 2005 to inform the police about the wrestling.

After John's testimony a stipulation was read from David McDaniels, stating that he was the owner of the garage and that he had not given defendant or anyone consent or permission to burn down the garage.

The State then called Daniel Arseneau, a lieutenant with the Kankakee fire department in March 1995. He testified as follows. On March 30, 1995, he responded to a fire at a garage at 1074 East Merchant, which he described as being "fully involved," meaning that it was out of control. Upon sifting through the ashes of the burned-out structure, Arseneau came upon what he thought was a mannequin. The mannequin turned out to be a human body and he subsequently called the police and fire investigation. Arseneau then moved the body about eight feet from where it was originally located because that area was still smoldering and he wanted to avoid any further damage to the body. The scene was then secured for fire investigation and police to arrive.

Next to the stand was arson investigator Mitchell Kushner. He testified as follows. Kushner arrived on the scene of the garage fire on March 30, 1995, accompanied by a dog trained to be alerted at the presence of accelerants. The dog indicated the presence of accelerants at three locations in the garage. While collecting evidence from an area where the dog indicated the presence of accelerants, Kushner smelled an odor of gasoline. On cross-examination, Kushner admitted that he did not know who put the gas there or how long it had been there.

The State then called Officer Jeffrey Powell of the Kankakee police department to the stand. Powell arrived on the scene of the garage fire at around 3:30 a.m. on the morning of March 30, 1995. He smelled gas within the foundations of the garage and saw the remains of the charred female body. Powell did not remember seeing any clothing on the body, but did find a shirt and a pair of "female underwear" a few feet away from the body (albeit after the body had been moved). Powell spoke with defendant on April 25, 1995, about O.W.'s disappearance and death. Defendant told Powell that he last saw O.W. between 8 and 9 pm on March 27, 1995. Defendant told Powell of the fighting at Regina Collins's house between Contessa and Dwight. Defendant said he left the house between 11:40 p.m. and midnight after Regina Collins and Pierre Saxon had gone to bed. Defendant's home was about four or five blocks from O.W.'s home. Defendant told Powell that he did not see O.W. at all during Contessa and Dwight's fight. Powell was taking blood from everyone in the house that night to eliminate them as suspects. Defendant told Powell that he would be willing to give him a blood sample and that he would come in the next day to provide the blood. Defendant did not come to the station on April 26, 1995. The police met with defendant twice more after April 25, 1995, and although he was asked to come in and provide a sample, defendant never did, always citing an excuse. Officers made further attempts to contact defendant through phone calls and family members, but defendant never returned the calls never contacted the police, and never provided his blood sample before 2000.

The next State witness was forensic scientist Dr. Joseph Sapala. He testified as follows. Sapala performed the autopsy of O.W. He had to use a dentist to identify the body as that of O.W. O.W.'s cause of death was hemorrhagic shock due to two stab wounds to the left chest, one of which went straight to the heart. Sapala determined that based on the color of the blood, O.W. was dead before the fire. She had been killed by the stab wounds. During the autopsy, there was a strong odor of gasoline coming from the body. Sapala found semi-digested beans and corn in O.W.'s stomach. To check for signs of sexual assault, Sapala used a "Vitullo kit," also commonly known as a rape kit, and took swabs of O.W.'s vagina, cervix, anus, and mouth to get biological samples for further testing. He then turned the kit over to Officer Kilman of the Kankakee police.

Next to testify was Kankakee police detective Larry Osenga. Osenga interviewed defendant in September 1995, around five months after Officer Powell's April 1995 interview of defendant. Defendant told Osenga that he was at O.W.'s house on March 27, 1995, at around 10 or 11 p.m. or midnight and that there was lots of partying going on at the house. Defendant told Osenga that O.W. was developing quickly at an early age and that her mother, Regina Collins, was not doing a good job of...