Platt v. State

• Decision Date: 01 October 2012
• Docket Number: No. S12A1442.,S12A1442.
• Citation: 291 Ga. 631,732 S.E.2d 75
• Parties: PLATT v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

291 Ga. 631

732 S.E.2d 75

PLATT

v.The STATE.

No. S12A1442.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Oct. 1, 2012.

Robert L. Wadkins, Stephen Allen Craft, Victoria Lynn Novak, Columbus, for appellant.

Julia Fessenden Slater, Dist. Atty., Michael Eugene Craig, Asst. Dist. Atty., Paula Khristian Smith, Senior Asst. Atty. Gen., Samuel S. Olens, Atty. Gen., Brittany Nicole Jones, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

BENHAM, Justice.

Appellant Zyderrious Platt was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, feticide, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm for the October 3, 2009, shooting death of his pregnant wife Jelani Platt ¹ Appellant contends that the evidence was insufficient to authorize the jury to find him guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of the crimes for which he was convicted. For reasons stated below, we affirm appellant's convictions.

The evidence construed in favor of the jury's verdict showed that on October 3, 2009, the victim's mother became concerned when the victim failed to pick-up the victim's nephew that morning to take him to his football game, failed to appear at the nephew's football game, and failed to return her mother's texts and voice messages. The victim's mother went to the victim's apartment and spoke with appellant. Appellant told the victim's mother that the couple had an argument over rent money the night before, that he left the apartment, and, when he returned, the victim was not at home. The mother briefly looked around the couple's apartment, but did not see anything unusual. The victim's mother then went to the home of the victim's friend who advised that she had dinner with the victim the night before and drove her back to the Platts' apartment around midnight. The victim's mother then called the police to report the victim as missing. Responding to the mother's report, a patrol officer arrived at the victim's apartment and spoke to appellant and the victim's mother. Appellant repeated to the officer the same story he gave to the victim's mother. Later that afternoon, a police officer observed appellant place a trash bag into the dumpster. The officer retrieved the trash bag and found a 9mm handgun wrapped in a towel. The police then arrested and jailed appellant for possessing a weapon as a convicted felon. The police subsequently executed a search warrant of the Platts' apartment where they discovered the victim's car keys, identification, and wallet in a dresser drawer under some clothes.

Days later, appellant, who was still in jail on the weapon's charge, asked to speak with police. After being read his Miranda² rights, appellant led police to the victim's body which was partly submerged in a retention pond. The victim's body was wrapped in a blanket with a boulder placed between her legs. The victim had a gunshot wound to the head. While at the retention pond, the police also recovered a live 9mm round of ammunition.

Back at the station, the police again read appellant his Miranda rights and appellant gave an audio-recorded statement that was reduced to writing. In his statement, appellant said that he and the victim had an argument about the rent and that he put his hands around the victim's neck during the argument. Appellant stated that when he left the apartment just after the argument, the victim was standing at the top of the stairs, holding her neck and gasping for air. When he returned to the apartment, appellant said he saw the victim lying at the bottom of the stairs and that he could not revive her. Believing the victim to be dead, appellant placed the victim into the back of his truck and drove to the retention pond. While trying to move the body from the truck, straddling the body, and holding a gun in his hand, appellant stated that the gun went off and, as a result, he shot the victim. After shooting the victim, appellant wrapped the victim in a blanket with a boulder, placed her in the pond, and left the scene. At trial, the prosecutor played the audiotape of appellant's statement for the jury.

In addition, the prosecution proffered testimony concerning prior difficulties between appellant and the victim, including the testimony by the victim's best friend that appellant had threatened to kill the victim if she ever left him. The prosecution also proffered physical evidence. The firearms expert...