Rodgers v. Com.

• Decision Date: 15 June 1984
• Docket Number: No. 830612,830612
• Citation: 318 S.E.2d 298,227 Va. 605
• Parties: Carroll K. RODGERS, Jr. v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia. Record
• Court: Virginia Supreme Court

Page 298

318 S.E.2d 298

227 Va. 605

Carroll K. RODGERS, Jr. v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia.

Record No. 830612.

Supreme Court of Virginia.

June 15, 1984.

Murray J. Janus, Robert J. Rice, Richmond (Bremner, Baber & Janus, Richmond, on brief), for appellant.

Todd E. LePage, Asst. Atty. Gen. (Gerald L. Baliles, Atty. Gen., on brief), for appellee.

Present: All the Justices.

THOMAS, Justice.

Carroll K. Rodgers, Jr. was convicted, in a non-jury trial, of second-degree murder in the death, by stabbing and strangulation, of his fiancee, Gloria Kyle. His conviction was based almost entirely upon an inculpatory statement given by him to Chesterfield authorities after he had been advised of his Miranda rights and after he had signed a form in which he waived those rights.

Prior to trial, Rodgers filed a motion to suppress his statement on the ground that it was not voluntary. The trial court held a full evidentiary hearing and denied the motion. On appeal, Rodgers reasserts his contention that his statement was not voluntary. We disagree with Rodgers. Therefore, we will affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This matter comes to us on appeal following a trial court finding of voluntariness, thus, the scope of our review is limited to the question whether the evidence supports the finding. At trial, the Commonwealth has the burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant's statement was voluntary. Stockton v. Commonwealth, 227 Va. 124, ---, 314 S.E.2d 371, 381 (1984); Griggs v. Commonwealth, 220 Va. 46, 49, 255 S.E.2d 475, 477 (1979); McCoy v. Commonwealth, 206 Va. 470, 474, 144 S.E.2d 303, 307 (1965). However, once the trial court makes a finding that the statement was voluntary, on appeal that finding is entitled to the same weight as a fact found by a jury and that finding will not be disturbed unless plainly wrong. Stockton v. Commonwealth, 227 Va. at ---, 314 S.E.2d at 381. See Townes v. Commonwealth, 214 Va. 683, 204 S.E.2d 269 (1974).

The test for voluntariness derives from federal constitutional law relating to the Fifth Amendment as applied to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment. In Stockton, we relied upon Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 225, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 2046, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973), and concluded that in order to determine whether a statement is voluntary, we must decide, in light of the totality of the circumstances, whether the statement is the product of an essentially free and unconstrained choice by its maker, or whether the maker's will has been overborne and his capacity for self-determination critically impaired. 227 Va. at ---, 314 S.E.2d at 381.

When the scope of review and the test for voluntariness are considered together, the question that confronts us on this appeal becomes apparent. We must here determine whether, in light of the totality of the circumstances, the trial court was plainly wrong in concluding that Rodgers' statement to the Chesterfield police was essentially a free and unconstrained choice on his part or, put another way, that his will was not overborne.

At the conclusion of the hearing on Rodgers' motion to suppress, the trial court made the following ruling:

It is true that this is an experienced interrogator and the accused has not had any experience of a criminal nature. But that alone is not enough to determine that he was coerced. There is no indication at the time of the interview this defendant was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. I think the statement is voluntarily made....

At the end of the trial, the court again made reference to the question whether the statement was voluntary. This time the court made the following comments to Rodgers' counsel:

[A]s you pointed out, your client was the subject of skillful tactics, almost mesmerizing interrogation by an experienced investigator. I'm familiar with the Spano case [Spano v. New York, 360 U.S. 315, 79 S.Ct. 1202, 3 L.Ed.2d 1265 (1959).] as you represented it, that if in fact the interrogator in conversation controls the mind and overbears the will of the person he was questioning, that admission will not be used. I listened closely during the suppression hearing. I had thought about the case since that time. I listened to direct testimony today. I reviewed in detail very carefully the tape and recall the matters which you urged me to consider and the context in which the statement was taken and the inducements that were offered. With all these matters considered, I felt that the confession or statement should not be suppressed, but I should consider it and weigh it as a trier of the fact.

If there is credible evidence to support the trial court's finding, we are bound to uphold it. See Stockton v. Commonwealth, 227 Va. at ---, 314 S.E.2d at 381.

The facts leading up to Rodgers' statement are as follows: At approximately 11:00 p.m. on Friday, May 7, 1982, Gloria, driving Rodgers' car, picked him up from work. She had used the car earlier in the day to move certain of her belongings to his apartment in anticipation of their marriage. They stopped to buy a six-pack of beer on their way to a local nightspot. Rodgers drank five of the beers in the short time it took them to drive to the nightclub. Earlier, at work, he had taken a "hit" of LSD. At the nightclub, Rodgers drank four more beers.

While at the nightclub, one of Rodgers' former girlfriends came up to speak to him. He greeted her with an embrace. When she sat down at Rodgers' table he put his arm around her and a strap on her dress fell from her shoulder. Gloria became angry and accused Rodgers of trying to pull the other woman's clothes off. Gloria ran from the table into the restroom. Shortly thereafter, she ran from the restroom, past Rodgers, and out the door. Rodgers got up to chase her. He bumped into several people and the club's "bouncer" told him to leave.

When Rodgers got outside he said he was detained momentarily by two other people. According to Rodgers, by the time he got to the car, Gloria was nowhere in sight but her pocketbook and his keys were inside the car. He said he drove around the block several times looking for her but could not find her. He explained that he did not go back into the club to search for her because the bouncer had thrown him out. He said he finally gave up looking for Gloria and drove to his apartment where he went to sleep.

Rodgers claimed that he last saw Gloria running out of the club at approximately 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 8, 1982. Later that day, after he had gone home and slept, he explained to his parents that Gloria had run away and asked whether they had seen her. On Saturday and Sunday Rodgers said he, his parents, and his sister made several efforts to locate Gloria but she could not be found.

On Monday, May 10, 1982, Mrs. Rodgers, defendant's mother, read, in the newspaper, a description of an unidentified body that sounded like Gloria. Mrs. Rodgers notified her husband who in turn called the police. A Chesterfield police investigator came to the Rodgers' home to talk with defendant and his father. In the course of the discussion, defendant and his father said they wanted to do everything possible to cooperate with the police.

At the request of the police, Rodgers and his father went to police headquarters for questioning. They were shown a picture of Gloria in the battered form in which her body had been found. Rodgers recognized her and broke down and cried. Both Rodgers and his father were advised of their Miranda rights and both signed a "Waiver of Right to Remain Silent And of Right to Advice of Counsel." Rodgers signed his waiver at 5:45 p.m. on May 10, 1982. After questioning, during which Rodgers told the police that the last time he saw Gloria was when she ran out of the club, Rodgers and his father were released.

As part of the questioning on May 10, 1982, the police asked for Rodgers' permission to search his apartment and his car. He agreed and signed a "Form for Consent to Search." The search of the car, which was conducted in the presence of Rodgers and his father, revealed minute stains of what appeared to be blood which were collected for laboratory analysis. The search of Rodgers' apartment revealed Gloria's pocketbook, which was found in a drawer.

On May 12, 1982, a Wednesday, the police called the home of Rodgers' parents to ask whether Rodgers would agree to come to police headquarters for further questioning. Rodgers agreed. Again, he was accompanied by his father. Again, he was advised of his Miranda rights. Again, he signed a waiver. This second waiver was signed at 1:46 p.m. on May 12, 1982. After the waiver was signed, the police asked Rodgers whether he would submit to a polygraph examination. He said yes.

Rodgers' father was allowed to accompany his son to State Police headquarters where the polygraph test was to be administered but was told that he could not be with his son during the examination. Before administering the test, the State Trooper who was to do the testing secured from Rodgers a signed "Agreement to Submit to Polygraph Examination." In that agreement, Rodgers stated that he was submitting to the test voluntarily. In addition, the State Trooper advised Rodgers of his Miranda rights. For the third time Rodgers signed a waiver of those rights. This third waiver was signed at 2:55 p.m., shortly before the polygraph test was administered.

Before beginning the test, the State Trooper checked Rodgers to see if he was suitable for testing. He asked Rodgers whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at that time. Based on Rodgers' negative reply and the Trooper's observations, he concluded that Rodgers was suitable for testing. At the conclusion of the test, which indicated that Rodgers was lying, both Rodgers and the Chesterfield investigator who accompanied him were advised of the results.

Because of the polygraph results, the Chesterfield investigator sought to interrogate...