People v. Schorle

Decision Date29 November 1990
Docket NumberNo. 1-88-1548,1-88-1548
Citation151 Ill.Dec. 813,206 Ill.App.3d 748,565 N.E.2d 84
Parties, 151 Ill.Dec. 813 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Dennis SCHORLE, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtUnited States Appellate Court of Illinois

Barry Sheppard and Sue Augustus, Chicago, for defendant-appellant.

Cecil A. Partee, Cook County State's Atty. (Inge Fryklund, Asst. State's Atty., and Gael O'Brien, Sp. Asst. State's Atty., of counsel), Chicago, for plaintiff-appellee.

Justice JOHNSON delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Dennis Schorle, was charged with murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, pars. 9-1(a)(1), (a)(2)) and armed violence (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 33A-1 et seq.). by indictment. Following a bench trial, defendant was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a term of 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The following issues are before this court for review: (1) Whether the trial court erred when it ruled that the victim's admission to her husband that she committed adultery did not constitute sufficient provocation to warrant a finding of voluntary manslaughter; (2) whether the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was not acting under a sudden and intense passion resulting from provocation by his wife; and (3) whether the trial court's ruling that defendant was sane at the time of the murder was supported by the evidence.

We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Marvin Hamman, a Rolling Meadows police detective, arrived at defendant's home at 2805 Wilke Road on the night of April 9, 1987, at 5:30 p.m. He found Mrs. Delores Schorle on the kitchen floor, moaning and bleeding profusely. Detective Hamman found a pistol on the kitchen counter. Dr. Mitra Kalelkar performed an autopsy on Delores Schorle. Mrs. Schorle died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. She had one bullet wound in the back of her head, one in her shoulder, one in her right upper arm, and one in her left lower back. Detective Hamman found a shot glass and a .22 caliber pistol on the kitchen counter. The gun had a safety latch which had to be unlatched before it would fire.

Defendant was arrested by police officer Steven Schuster of the Rolling Meadows police department on April 9, 1987, and placed in a squad car. After approximately 10 minutes, defendant began striking the window of the squad car with his head.

Soon after, Officer Schuster drove defendant to the police station. Defendant began talking about the incident en route, although Officer Schuster did not ask defendant any questions. Defendant stated that his wife spent the previous Friday night with another man.

Defendant next stated that he received an anonymous telephone call from a man on April 9, 1987, who said, "Pal, I want to help you--call this number." Defendant maintained that he called the number and that the number was answered by an answering machine message. The message was recorded by a man named "J.J." Defendant then told Officer Schuster that he called his wife, Delores, at work and asked her if she knew "J.J." Mrs. Schorle admitted that she knew J.J. and that she and J.J. spent the previous Friday night together. Mrs. Schorle agreed to meet defendant at home at 5:30 p.m. to discuss their marital problems.

Defendant told the officer that he left work early and arrived home around 4 p.m.; once there, he began drinking. He maintained that he called some of his friends to discuss his problems, but no one had time to talk. Defendant got a gun and loaded it. He placed the loaded gun under a cushion in a seat in the family room.

When his wife arrived home, he asked her if she enjoyed her night with J.J., and she admitted that she did. Defendant responded by taking out the gun. Defendant began shooting his wife as she ran toward the back door. Defendant told the officer that he became angry when his wife said she enjoyed her evening with J.J. He said that his first thought after loading the gun was to shoot himself, and that he did not know why he did not kill himself. Officer Schuster did not ask defendant any questions after defendant relayed this story.

Defendant's neighbor, Valentino Nomavicz, testified that at 5:15 p.m. on the evening of April 9, 1987, Dennis Schorle ran into his home and told him that he had just shot his wife. Defendant asked Mr. Nomavicz to call the police. Defendant was trembling and crying. Mr. Nomavicz told defendant to stay at his house while his wife called the police and he went to defendant's home. Mr. Nomavicz went to the Schorle home where he saw Mrs. Schorle lying in a pool of blood at the back door. Defendant then appeared and Mr. Nomavicz told him to go back to his home and wait for the police.

When Detective Hamman searched the Schorle residence, he seized defendant's gun collection. Defendant's gun collection consisted of 14 rifles and 2 pistols. All of the guns were legally registered. The ammunition was kept separate from the guns. Detective Hamman also found defendant's marksmanship awards, and he testified that defendant was an avid shooter.

Detective Hamman took an oral statement from defendant at the police station. Defendant gave a narrative statement without being questioned. Defendant said that he had been having marital problems for more than a year. He stated that on Friday, April 3, 1987, his wife went out to a lounge with her sister and did not return home. Early the next morning his wife called and told him that the battery in the van was dead and that she would be home as soon as it was serviced.

Defendant related the incident concerning the anonymous telephone call that he received on the morning of April 9, when the caller told him to call a phone number that belonged to J.J. He also said that the caller told him that his wife was having an adulterous affair. Defendant next said that he spoke to his wife at work before leaving his job early.

Once defendant arrived home, he called some friends and drank two shots of Southern Comfort whiskey. Then, defendant got a .22 caliber pistol from a cabinet and loaded it. Defendant said that he thought about shooting himself, but he reasoned that that was not the best way to deal with the situation. Mr. and Mrs. Schorle's son, Brian, came home from school and defendant told Brian to leave the house so that he could talk to Delores alone. Defendant then went into the family room and sat down on the sofa. He placed the gun under a seat cushion and waited for his wife. When Mrs. Schorle returned home, she sat down and talked with defendant. When Delores smiled and admitted that she enjoyed being with J.J. on the night of April 3, defendant grabbed the pistol. Delores said, "No" and ran. Defendant began firing. The next thing he knew, his wife was lying in the kitchen at the back door. Defendant said that he put the gun to his head, but realized that there were no bullets left. He then knelt down, hugged Delores and apologized to her, and left for help.

After the oral statement, Detective Hamman took a written statement. In the second statement, defendant made one modification. He stated that he lied about receiving an anonymous telephone call that morning. Defendant stated that he asked Delores for the towing slip from the towing service that started her car on the morning of April 4. He called the towing company on the morning of April 9 and obtained the telephone number that Delores had given them. The call-back number on the order belonged to J.J. When defendant called the number, he reached an answering machine with J.J.'s voice on it. Defendant said that he considered committing suicide, but he reasoned that it was not the best way to deal with the problem. Defendant also stated that he displayed the gun in order to "scare" his wife. Defendant refused to sign this statement because he believed that his statement regarding suicide would lessen his chances of obtaining bond.

After the State rested, the defense called Patricia Sell, the victim's sister. Ms. Sell testified that she and Delores were close friends as well as sisters. She also stated that she had known defendant for 25 years, and that she knew him to be a good husband who "adored" her sister. She further testified that she was not angry with him for killing her sister.

Defendant called Ms. Sell on the morning of April 4 to ask whether she knew the whereabouts of his wife. Ms. Sell told defendant that Delores left her presence at 10 p.m. the night before, and that she assumed Delores went home.

Ms. Sell testified that defendant called her every day at work to discuss his marital problems. Defendant asked Ms. Sell to be an intermediary between him and his wife but she told him that she loved them both and that she would just listen. On April 9, the day of the shooting, defendant called Ms. Sell at work around 3:30 p.m. He asked her whether Delores was really involved with another man, and if he should give Delores a divorce.

Dr. Bruce Christiansen, a clinical psychologist, counseled defendant six times during November and December 1986. Defendant sought counseling because he was depressed and concerned about the stability of his marriage. Defendant told Dr. Christiansen that he had had episodes during which he would beat himself about the head and face. Dr. Christiansen diagnosed defendant as having a masochistic personality disorder.

Dr. Christiansen next saw defendant on December 31, 1987, at the residential treatment facility in the Cook County jail. At the time, defendant was taking "Pamelar," an antidepressant medication. Dr. Christiansen talked with defendant for 3 hours. On the basis of this meeting and prior contacts with defendant, Dr. Christiansen opined that on April 9, defendant was suffering from a "brief reactive psychosis" when he shot his wife, and that he did not have the ability to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.

"Psychosis" is defined as "[a] mental disorder causing gross distortion or...

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