People v. Seifert

• Decision Date: 20 December 1989
• Citation: 152 A.D.2d 433,548 N.Y.S.2d 971
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. William SEIFERT, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 971

548 N.Y.S.2d 971

152 A.D.2d 433

PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. William SEIFERT, Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division Fourth Department.

Dec. 20, 1989.

[152 A.D.2d 435] Mark Mahoney, Buffalo, for appellant.

Kevin M. Dillon by John De Franks, Buffalo, for respondent.

Before BOOMER, J.P., and GREEN, PINE, LAWTON and DAVIS, JJ.

GREEN, Justice:

Defendant, William Seifert, was convicted of murder in the second degree, for killing his younger brother, Mark Seifert. The People's theory at trial was that defendant lured Mark to an isolated rural area in Cattaraugus County on February 13, 1984, shot him in the head with a rifle and then disposed of his body. Although Mark has not been seen or heard from since that date, neither has his body been recovered. Defendant argues on appeal that the evidence, which is entirely circumstantial, is legally insufficient to support his conviction for murder in the second degree. He further argues that Erie County lacked geographical jurisdiction to prosecute the murder charge, that the suppression court erred by failing to suppress certain evidence obtained during a search of his van, and that various trial errors deprived him of a fair trial.

DEFENDANT'S PLAN

On February 8, 1984, defendant asked Carol Reese, a waitress with whom he was acquainted, for a favor. He gave her a handwritten letter and asked her to pose as a secretary for Tri-State Developers, to telephone Mark Seifert, and to read the letter to him. Reese knew defendant only as "Bill" and defendant did not tell her that Mark Seifert was his brother. Reese reached Mark by telephone on Saturday, February 11, 1984. She read the letter, which informed Mark that he had been recommended to act as a contractor for a large recreational development project in Cattaraugus County. She asked him if he could meet with a Tri-State representative on Monday morning at 10:00 A.M. at a site located on Pleasant Valley Road in the Town of Yorkshire, an isolated rural area. Mark agreed to attend the meeting and Reese read to him detailed directions to get to the meeting site. She also told Mark that another contractor, who would be driving a blue van, was also expected to attend the meeting. Reese then telephoned defendant and told him that Mark would come to the meeting.

Although Reese had asked Mark to keep the meeting confidential, Mark told his landlady, his sister, and several others about it, expressing excitement that this would be his big financial break. According to his landlady, on February 12, 1984, Mark set his alarm for 6:00 A.M., and when she awoke at 9:00 A.M. on February 13, 1984, Mark was gone. He had taken his briefcase, but no other personal belongings with him. He was last seen by Burton Pleace, an acquaintance, at a diner located in Yorkshire Corners, about a 10-minute drive from the proposed meeting site. Mark told Pleace he was going to a meeting with a developer on Pleasant Valley Road and asked Please to verify the accuracy of his directions, which he had written on a piece of paper. Mark left the diner at approximately 9:25 A.M. Three persons who lived in the vicinity of Pleasant Valley Road and who were familiar with firearms heard a single rifle shot sometime between 9:30 A.M. and 10:00 A.M.

At 10:45 A.M., the Delevan Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to Pleasant Valley Road, where they discovered a car fully engulfed in flames. It was determined that the fire was started by use of an accelerant. The vehicle was identified as a Lincoln Continental, registered to Mark Seifert. An engraved cigarette lighter, which Mark had recently purchased, was found under the front seat. Despite an extensive inquiry conducted by the State Police, Mark Seifert has not been seen or heard from since February 13, 1984.

INVESTIGATION AT THE SCENE

At the scene of the car fire, State Police investigators discovered two pools of blood, which were later discovered to contain what appeared to be bone fragments and brain tissue. Photographs were taken, and samples of the bone, tissue, and blood-stained wood chips were removed to the Erie County Medical Center for analysis. Several strands of a blue nylon-type fiber were located within 25 feet of the place where the blood, tissue, and bone were found. No evidence of human remains were detected inside the burned-out vehicle.

The blood was analyzed and determined to be of human origin, type O. Veterans Administration medical records document Mark Seifert's blood type as O. Four human enzymes were detected in the blood, including the PGM2 enzyme, which is found in only 6% of the population. Dr. Koeppen, a forensic pathologist, identified the tissue found on the scene as brain tissue from a large mammal, which appeared identical to human brain tissue. The tissue had hemorrhaged, which happens only in living tissue. The bone fragments, because of their size and shape, were consistent with a gunshot wound to the head. Tests performed revealed blood and human protein on the bone fragments. No non-human blood was detected at the scene. Dr. Justin Uku, Erie County Chief Medical Examiner, testified that the bone fragments found at the scene were consistent with the type of fragments that would result from a gunshot wound to the head. He further opined that the trauma capable of producing such fragmentation would be fatal.

DEFENDANT'S ACTIONS

On Sunday, February 12, 1984, the day before Mark's alleged meeting with a representative of Tri-State Developers, defendant called two persons for whom he worked and told them that he would not be at work the following morning. He left his home between 8:00 and 8:30 A.M. in his blue van, and did not arrive at a job site until sometime after noon on that day. On the evening of February 13, as part of the investigation into Mark Seifert's disappearance, State Police Investigator Mullins telephoned defendant. Defendant said that he drove a borrowed blue Cadillac to a local diner for breakfast that morning, then went to a health spa to work out. Defendant said nothing about Mark's meeting with a representative of Tri-State Developers. The following morning, Investigator Mullins visited defendant at his work site and asked him why he sounded so nervous during their telephone call the night before. Defendant stated that his nervousness was caused by the knowledge that one of his two vans was not registered properly. Defendant did not return home that evening or for six days thereafter.

That same evening, Carol Reese saw a television news report concerning the discovery of Mark Seifert's burning car in Cattaraugus County. She went to the police and stated that, at defendant's request, she had arranged for Mark to attend a business meeting at 10:00 A.M. at that location. She turned over to police the letter defendant had asked her to read to Mark. The following morning, when defendant had still not returned home, defendant's wife called the State Police and reported that defendant was missing. Both the blue van and defendant's white van were gone. According to defendant's wife, one of defendant's two "long guns" was also missing. On February 15, 1984, police located defendant's blue van in a supermarket parking lot in East Aurora. The license plates, registration and inspection stickers, and vehicle identification number tags had been removed.

Defendant returned home on February 20, 1984, and was interviewed by a State Police investigator in the presence of his attorney. Defendant denied any knowledge of Mark's present whereabouts. When confronted with the information from Carol Reese, defendant stated that he had received a call from a man named "Jim" who represented a Mr. Sandburg of Tri-State Developers in Pennsylvania. Jim told him that they wanted him and Mark to be the major contractors for a large recreational development project in the area of Pleasant Valley Road, and Jim insisted upon the participation of both brothers. Jim told defendant to contact Mark and set up a meeting for February 13 at 10:00 A.M. Because they had not been getting along very well, defendant feared that Mark would not agree to work with him, so he decided to have Reese telephone Mark. Defendant felt that once Mark got there and realized the importance of the job, he would agree to work on the project. Defendant claimed he did not attend the meeting because Jim called him back and told him that due to adverse weather conditions, the developer had decided that only Mark need come to the meeting. Defendant admitted that he had been driving his blue van on Monday, February 13. He expressed the fear that someone had "set him up". He acknowledged familiarity with the Pleasant Valley Road area, but stated that he had not been down there for about 10 years.

William Strickland, who has known defendant for 15 to 18 years, indicated that every year his motorcycle club, of which defendant was a member, sponsored a cross-country race in the Yorkshire area that usually included Pleasant Valley Road. Defendant recently participated in the race and usually helped with the layout of the course. Subsequent police investigation revealed that defendant had not signed in at his health club on the morning of February 13.

THE VAN

Pursuant to a consent form signed by defendant's wife, the State Police impounded and searched defendant's blue van, which they had located in the supermarket parking lot. A piece of carpet from the rear of the van nearest the back door appeared to be newly cut away. Wood chips were found in the rug near the driver's seat. The rug was made of blue nylon. Fibers from the rug and the fibers found at the scene were tested and found to match. The rugs in the van also contained a significant number of orange-colored polyester fibers, testing of which revealed a strong association with an orange polyester fiber found at the scene.

Ralph Marcuccio, a forensic scientist and serologist, found human blood on fabric and...