Reedy v. State
| Decision Date | 08 December 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 03-03-00399-CR.,03-03-00399-CR. |
| Citation | 214 S.W.3d 567 |
| Parties | Charles REEDY, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Jon T. Evans, Paul M. Evans, Law Office of Evans and Lusk, Austin, for appellant.
Charles Reedy, Iowa Park, pro se.
C. Bryan Case, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., Austin, for appellee.
Before Chief Justice LAW, Justices B.A. SMITH and PURYEAR.
Appellant Charles Reedy appeals his conviction for murder. See Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 19.02(b)(1), (2) (West 2003). The jury found appellant guilty and the trial court assessed his punishment at thirty years' imprisonment. Because the jury's verdict is unsupported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt, we reverse the judgment of the district court and order appellant acquitted.
Appellant advances seven points of error. In the first two points, appellant challenges the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his conviction. In points three and four, appellant urges that the trial court erred in admitting the testimony of Michael Sinclaire in violation of Texas Rules of Evidence 401, 402, and 403. In the last three points, appellant contends that he was deprived of his constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel. Based on our conclusion that the evidence presented in this case, viewed in its entirety, fails to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt of all the essential elements of either count alleged in the indictment, we will sustain appellant's initial points of error without reaching his remaining contentions.
The indictment charged appellant with murder under section 19.02(b)(1) and (2) of the Texas Penal Code. See id. In two separate counts, the indictment alleged in pertinent part:
that CHARLES REEDY, on or about the 3rd day of December A.D.2001, and before the presentment of this indictment, in the County of Travis, and State of Texas, did then and there intentionally and knowingly cause the death of an individual, namely, John Teller, by striking him on and about the head with a hatchet and a dumbbell and a blunt object which is unknown to the Grand Jury.
And the Grand Jury further presents that CHARLES REEDY did then and there use a deadly weapon, to wit: a hatchet and a dumbbell and a blunt object which is unknown to the Grand Jury.
And the Grand Jury further presents that on or about the 3rd day of December A.D.2001, and before the presentment of this indictment, in the County of Travis, and State of Texas CHARLES REEDY did then and there with intent to cause serious bodily injury to an individual, namely, John Teller, commit an act clearly dangerous to human life, to wit: striking him on and about the head with a hatchet and a dumbbell and a blunt object which is unknown to the Grand Jury, thereby causing the death of John Teller.
And the Grand Jury further presents that CHARLES REEDY did then and there use a deadly weapon, to wit: a hatchet and a dumbbell and a blunt object which is unknown to the Grand Jury.
Prior to trial, the State waived and abandoned all the allegations in both counts as to "and a dumbbell and blunt object which is unknown to the Grand Jury." See Bates v. State, 15 S.W.3d 155, 161-62 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 2000, pet. ref'd) (). The record does not reflect the reason for this waiver by the State. The State was left with the burden of proving that either mode of the offense — intentionally and knowingly causing death pursuant to section 19.02(b)(1), as set forth in count I, or intending to cause serious bodily injury and committing an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes death pursuant to section 19.02(b)(2), as set forth in count II—was committed solely "with a hatchet." See Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 19.02(b)(1), (2).
At the guilt-innocence stage of the trial, the charge submitted by the court asked the jury to resolve both counts of the indictment.1 For whatever reason, however, the paragraphs under each count relating to the use of the hatchet as a deadly weapon were not submitted to the jury.2 The jury returned a general verdict: "We, the jury find the defendant Charles Reedy guilty of the offense of murder as alleged within the indictment." The verdict did not distinguish between the two modes of the offense submitted.3 When a general verdict is returned and the evidence is sufficient to support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt under any of the theories submitted, the verdict will be upheld. Swearingen v. State, 101 S.W.3d 89, 95 (Tex.Crim.App. 2003); McDuff v. State, 939 S.W.2d 607, 614 (Tex.Crim.App.1997); Rabbani v. State, 847 S.W.2d 555, 558 (Tex.Crim.App. 1992); Fuller v. State, 827 S.W.2d 919, 931 (Tex.Crim.App.1992); Kitchens v. State, 823 S.W.2d 256, 258 (Tex.Crim.App.1991).
Here, as will be detailed below, the evidence was insufficient to support a guilty verdict against appellant for the murder of John Teller as alleged in the indictment. Namely, the evidence was inconclusive as to the date of Teller's death and, relatedly, whether appellant was present in the relevant geographic area at the time of Teller's death. Further, there was no evidence presented to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant used a hatchet to intentionally inflict injury or death upon Teller.
We will review the facts in some detail because the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged.
Mary Ann Mensi testified that in December 2001, she lived in an apartment complex on St. Edward's Drive in Austin. She was a graduate student at the University of Texas. On December 17, 2001,4 Mensi took her dogs for a walk on a new path that had been cleared "fairly recently" by some bulldozing work. Mensi explained that this work had opened a path into a wooded area between her apartment complex grounds and the access road on Interstate-35. Mensi walked down the path and then down another path curving through the wooded area. Mensi came upon what appeared to be "a homeless camp" and smelled the pungent odor of a decomposing animal or human. Mensi returned to her apartment and called 911. She met Austin Police Officers Feinartz and Rodriguez, who responded to the 911 telephone call, and directed them to the campsite.
The officers found a body in the campsite outside a tent. They left the scene undisturbed and called E.M.S. and the Austin Police Homicide Unit. Police homicide investigators responded. They found a man's body lying face down on a rug covered with a blanket. Removing the blanket, it was observed that the body was nude except for a sweater on the upper body and socks on the feet. A pair of pants and underwear and a pair of boots were lying nearby. One officer also found a pair of eyeglasses near the body containing some light colored or blond hair.5 A cot with blankets and a pillow or pillows was found next to the body. A blue jacket was seen under the cot.6 The man's body was in the late stages of decomposition. The back of the skull had been crushed, leaving a gaping hole from one side to the other. Off to one side was a square-shaped indentation within the larger hole, approximately one inch by one inch in size. All of the brain tissue and eyes were missing, eaten apparently by animals or maggots.
A wallet was discovered lying close to the body containing a California driver's license and a social security card, both issued to John Irving Teller, Jr. Fingerprints taken from the body matched Teller's known fingerprints on file with the Austin Police Department.
A Bank of America envelope postmarked November 21, 2001, and addressed to Charles Reedy, Jr. (appellant) at the Austin Labor Depot on South Lamar Avenue was found in the fire pit at the campsite.7 Scraps of a burnt newspaper's "Employment Guide," dated December 3 to December 9, 2001, were also found in the fire pit. It was shown from other evidence that this weekly circulation of job advertisements was available to the public as early as December 1, 2001.
Among the items collected at the scene on December 17, 2001, were a ten-pound dumbbell, a three-liter soda bottle, and five empty "Kentucky Deluxe" whiskey bottles. In the tent at the campsite were found an axe, a tarp, a tea kettle, a Coleman stove, "food stuff," blankets and pillows, and camping equipment. Swabs were taken from the mouths of the bottles collected. Tests performed on the swabs from the soda bottle and one whiskey bottle showed a mixture of DNA from Teller and appellant with no indication of additional contributors. Another whiskey bottle swab, when tested, revealed only appellant's DNA. The first swab on the left end of the dumbbell was positive on the presumptive test for blood. Later DNA tests on the dumbbell were inconclusive.
Dr. Vladimir Parungaó, deputy medical examiner of Travis County, performed the autopsy on December 18, 2001. He found Teller's body in an advanced stage of decomposition and estimated that the body had been decomposing for a "few days to a few weeks." He explained that decomposition of a body may be affected by the weather and the filthiness of an area. Animals, flies, and insects may be attracted to the body, causing it to be consumed faster. Dr. Parungaó stated that it would be difficult to determine the exact date of death. The doctor found a skull defect in the head from the left temporal area to the right parietal area with the exposure of the cavity, which was empty. He could not determine the number of injuries to the head because of decomposition and because insects had eaten all of the surrounding area. Dr. Parungaó also found that the body had "washerwoman skin" on the feet, indicating that the skin in that area had been soaked in water for some time. He could not say when this occurred.
When asked his opinion of the cause of death, Dr. Parungaó stated that Teller died "as a result of a fracture due to blunt trauma to the head."...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Connell v. State
...be convicted of an offense unless each element of the offense is proved beyond a reasonable doubt."). 2. Reedy v. State, 214 S.W.3d 567, 579-80 (Tex.App.-Austin 2006, pet. ref'd) (citations omitted), abrogated on other grounds by Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9 (Tex.Crim.App. 3. Montanez v. S......
-
Pena v. State
...Pena was the murderer. As legal authority for his legal insufficiency arguments, Pena relies entirely on Reedy v. State, 214 S.W.3d 567 (Tex.App.-Austin, 2006, pet.ref'd), abrogated by Hooper, 214 S.W.3d at 15–17. In Reedy, the Austin Court of Appeals applied an incorrect legal sufficiency ......
-
Mayhew v. State
...no testimony to support an inference that the child had leg injuries before the collision. Mayhew relies upon Reedy v. State, 214 S.W.3d 567 (Tex.App.-Austin 2006, pet. ref'd) (abrogated by Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9 (Tex.Crim.App.2007) for the proposition that medical causation testimon......
-
Lockwood v. State
... ... Thus, Lockwood had a motive to obtain a source of water for himself and the other four occupants of the home. Evidence of motive is generally relevant and admissible to prove that a defendant committed the offense alleged. See Crane v. State, 786 S.W.2d 338, 349-50 (Tex.Crim.App.1990); Reedy v. State, 214 S.W.3d 567, 583 (Tex. App.-Austin 2006, pet. ref'd); Keen v. State, 85 S.W.3d 405, 413-14 (Tex.App.-Tyler 2002, pet. ref'd) ... Third, Lockwood and his co-occupants were in possession of the "proceeds" of the crime, namely, city water. See Poncio v. State, 185 S.W.3d ... ...