People v. Smith

• Decision Date: 15 November 1995
• Citation: 217 A.D.2d 221,635 N.Y.S.2d 824
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Eric SMITH, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 824

635 N.Y.S.2d 824

217 A.D.2d 221

PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Eric SMITH, Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division,

Fourth Department.

Nov. 15, 1995.

Kevin Bradley, Canisteo, for appellant.

John Tunney, District Attorney of Steuben County, by John Cirando, Bath, for respondent.

Before DENMAN, P.J., and GREEN, FALLON, BALIO and BOEHM, JJ.

DENMAN, Presiding Justice.

Defendant, Eric Smith, was convicted following a jury trial of intentional murder for the strangulation and bludgeoning of four-year-old Derrick Robie on August 2, 1993, in Savona, New York, a crime committed when defendant was 13 years old. Defendant was sentenced to the maximum indeterminate term of 9 years to life, which he is serving at a facility operated by the State Division for Youth. On this appeal, we are called upon to decide whether defendant's oral and written statements to police should have been suppressed as involuntarily made; whether the jury's finding that defendant was criminally responsible for his actions is against the weight of the evidence; whether the People failed to rebut beyond a reasonable doubt the common-law presumption that a 13-year-old is not criminally responsible; whether the court erred in instructing the jury on the defense of lack of responsibility by reason of mental disease or defect; whether reversal is required as a result of the court's admission of evidence concerning the victim's personality; whether the court improperly denied removal of the case to Family Court; and whether the sentence is harsh and excessive. We conclude that none of defendant's contentions requires reversal and that the judgment of conviction therefore should be affirmed.

Factual Background

According to evidence adduced at the Huntley hearing and at trial, at 9:12 A.M. on Monday, August 2, 1993, four-year-old Derrick Robie, carrying his lunch in a canvas bag, left his home to walk to a nearby park to participate in a recreation program. Several minutes later, on McCoy Street near the park, defendant, who was riding his bicycle, encountered Derrick, whom he knew from the recreation program.

According to the oral and written statements defendant gave to police one week later, defendant called out, "Hey, kid," prompting Derrick to turn around, at which point defendant "knew I wanted to take him someplace and hurt him." Defendant asked Derrick if he wanted to go to the recreation program by way of a "short cut," but Derrick said that he wasn't "supposed to." Defendant repeatedly assured Derrick, "It's okay, I'm right here," then got off his bicycle and led Derrick through a wooded vacant lot adjacent to the park. As the boys reached a secluded area behind an overgrown hedgerow defendant put down his bicycle, let Derrick go ahead of him and then reached around and choked Derrick's neck with his right arm. Derrick dropped his lunch bag and kicked his feet and swung his fists in an attempt to get away. Defendant started to release Derrick in order to readjust his grip and choke Derrick with his hands, but because Derrick began to "gasp some air," defendant "squeezed harder." After about 30 seconds, Derrick no longer made any noise, so defendant "figured he was dead" and laid him on the ground. When Derrick again began "gasping for air", defendant dumped Derrick's lunch on the ground, picked up a paper napkin, and stuffed it in Derrick's mouth. Defendant then attempted to stuff a plastic sandwich bag in Derrick's mouth, but pulled it out when Derrick bit defendant's finger. Defendant picked up a small rock, kneeled over Derrick, and struck him with it three times on the right side of the head; picked up a large rock and, with both hands, threw it three times on Derrick's head; then picked up another large rock and threw it twice on Derrick's chest and once on his midsection. At that point, defendant took the drink from Derrick's lunch and poured it on Derrick's face. He then pulled down Derrick's pants, took a stick, flipped over Derrick's body, and "put the stick up his butt." Defendant flipped over the body again, dragged it several feet to a rockpile, and left the area on his bike. After about five minutes, defendant returned to the scene to check the body. As defendant subsequently related to police, he wanted to "double, triple check to make sure" that the victim was dead. "I was worried if he wasn't there he might say something however I figured if he's dead, and I believed he was, I won't have to worry about anything." Defendant then left the scene.

Derrick's mother, concerned when Derrick did not return home from the park, reported him missing at approximately 11:00 A.M. Derrick's body was found at approximately 3:45 P.M. The State Police immediately took charge of the investigation and catalogued the physical evidence, details of which were not released to the public. An autopsy revealed severe head injuries, including multiple skull fractures and cerebral swelling and contusions, extensive tearing and bleeding of tissues in the chest, a perforation of the intestinal wall, and pinpoint hemorrhages on the neck, face, and eyes, indicative of asphyxiation. The cause of death was determined to be blunt trauma to the head with contributing asphyxia. Over the course of the next several days, police interviewed approximately 500 witnesses, many more than once. Police spoke with defendant on the morning of Thursday, August 5, when defendant and his mother walked into the police command post to offer information that defendant's mother thought might be helpful in the investigation. Defendant revealed that he had been in and out of the park three or four times that morning, but stated that he had not seen Derrick.

At about 5:00 P.M. on August 5, investigators went to the home of defendant and interviewed him, with the permission of his parents, to clarify some minor discrepancies between defendant's statements and those of other witnesses. During that interview, which lasted 45 to 50 minutes, defendant revealed for the first time that, while riding on McCoy Street that morning, he had seen Derrick walking on the opposite side of the street, near the murder scene. Defendant described Derrick's clothing and lunch bag in close detail. The police had defendant perform an impromptu vision examination, but defendant couldn't see well because he didn't have his glasses, which had broken several weeks earlier. When the officers became skeptical that defendant could have seen such details from across the street, defendant became emotional and spontaneously asked, "You think I killed him, don't you?", to which police responded, "No." When police asked defendant if he had seen anything else, defendant said, "I'm not the type of person that would kill, hurt, or sexually molest anyone." The interview ended when defendant's great-grandfather, a retired Sheriff's deputy, asked that the officers leave.

Approximately an hour later, at 7:00 P.M., State Police investigators, accompanied by District Attorney Tunney, returned to defendant's home to ask if they could resume the interview. The officers assured defendant's great-grandfather, who had assumed the role of defendant's protector, that they were not accusing defendant, but merely trying to acquire accurate details from him, since he was the last known person to have seen Derrick alive. Ultimately, police persuaded the family to allow Eric to accompany them to McCoy Street, so that defendant could reenact his movements and observations on the day of the murder. During the reenactment, defendant pointed out where he had seen Derrick, but could make out only the outline of an investigator playing the role of Derrick. Because it was getting dark, the parties agreed to return the next day to reenact the scene.

The next morning, defendant and his great-grandfather accompanied the police to McCoy Street to reenact the scene, and the reenactment was videotaped. Again, there were problems with defendant's account because defendant described others' movements inconsistently and was unable to see or describe an object carried by the officer portraying Derrick. The officers questioned whether defendant really had seen Derrick, and said they needed to know before wasting time pursuing a false lead. Investigators subsequently interviewed defendant for two hours at the command post in the presence of defendant's great-grandfather. During the interview, defendant equivocated whether he had seen Derrick. At the end of the interview, police still were not sure that defendant had seen Derrick.

Police had no contact with defendant or his family on August 7. On Sunday afternoon, August 8, Eric told his mother, grandfather, and great-grandfather that he had killed Derrick. Through an intermediary, defendant's great-grandfather arranged a meeting with District Attorney Tunney at the Steuben County Office Building in Bath. Defendant's great-grandfather sought to handle the matter as "peaceful and as quiet as we can," and specifically asked to avoid the involvement of the State Police, the prospect of public arrest, and the possibility of a Grand Jury proceeding or other preliminaries. The District Attorney persuaded defendant's great-grandfather that the State Police, in the person of BCI Captain DeLap, had to take defendant's statement. The District Attorney called for DeLap to come to the District Attorney's office, and defendant's great-grandfather called his family to have defendant brought there. Defendant was taken to the office by his mother, stepfather, and grandfather shortly after 10:00 P.M. The family decided that only defendant's stepfather and great-grandfather would stay with defendant while he was being questioned by DeLap. The District Attorney left the room before the interview began because, as he earlier had explained to defendant's great-grandfather, he would have to prosecute the case and did not want to witness the statement. By all accounts, the...