Sanchez-Velasco v. State, SANCHEZ-VELASC
| Decision Date | 11 October 1990 |
| Docket Number | SANCHEZ-VELASC,A,No. 73143,73143 |
| Citation | 570 So.2d 908 |
| Parties | 15 Fla. L. Weekly S538 Rigobertoppellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Barbara S. Levenson, Coral Gables, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Giselle D. Lylen, Asst. Atty. Gen., Miami, for appellee.
Rigoberto Sanchez-Velasco appeals his convictions for first-degree murder, sexual battery of a victim under twelve years old, and theft, and his resulting sentences of death, life in prison, and five years in prison, respectively. We have jurisdiction. 1 For the reasons expressed, we affirm the convictions and the sentences, including the sentence of death.
The relevant facts are as follows. Rigoberto Sanchez-Velasco resided with Marta Molina in Hialeah on December 12, 1986. When Ms. Molina went to work that afternoon, she left her eleven-year-old daughter, Katixia (Kathy) Encenarro, in the care of Sanchez-Velasco, with instructions that the child was to go to a neighbor's apartment later that evening. During the evening, Kathy spoke to Ms. Molina by telephone, as did Sanchez-Velasco, and Ms. Molina learned that Kathy had stayed in her own apartment. Ms. Molina had locked both deadbolt locks on her door when she left for work that day. When she arrived home, she found only one of the deadbolts locked. She had found out earlier that day that Sanchez-Velasco had made a duplicate set of her keys without her permission and that he was unable to lock one of the deadbolts with his duplicate key. Ms. Molina's apartment was very neat when she returned home late that evening, and there were no signs that it had been searched or ransacked. However, Sanchez-Velasco was not in the living room where he normally slept. When she went to Kathy's bedroom and pulled down her blanket, Ms. Molina found Kathy's dead body. Kathy's face was swollen, and she was naked and bleeding from her vagina. Missing from the apartment were Kathy's gold chains, her identification bracelet, and Ms. Molina's fur coat.
The medical examiner concluded that a T-shirt had been twisted around Kathy's neck and that scratches on her neck were consistent with neck chains having been caught up in the shirt. Also, the medical examiner determined that Kathy had been raped while she was alive and that strangulation was the cause of her death.
Hialeah police officers investigating the murder believed that Sanchez-Velasco was the last person to see Kathy alive, and they considered him to be either a suspect or a material witness. They contacted several of Sanchez-Velasco's friends, whose names had been provided by Ms. Molina. One of them, Gilberto Estrada, complained that Sanchez-Velasco had stolen his stereo, and he set up a meeting with Sanchez-Velasco in Miami Beach and informed the police of the meeting. The Hialeah police officers went to Miami Beach in an unmarked police car. They arrested Sanchez-Velasco for grand theft of the stereo, which they believed to be valued at over $300, and they placed him in handcuffs. The officers then learned from Estrada that he had receipts totaling only $180; thus, the value of the stereo was less than $300. They called the office of the state attorney and were advised that they had no grounds for a grand theft arrest. The officers testified that they then removed the handcuffs and Sanchez-Velasco walked off and sat on some nearby boards next to the street.
According to the officers' testimony at trial, the following events then occurred. Approximately ten minutes later, a detective approached Sanchez-Velasco, identified himself, and asked if Sanchez-Velasco would be willing to talk to him about Kathy's murder. Sanchez-Velasco replied that he would talk to them, but only in Hialeah. Without assistance and without handcuffs, he got into the back seat of an unmarked Hialeah police car. During the drive to Hialeah, Sanchez-Velasco spontaneously stated that he wished to go to the Newport Hotel to retrieve some property and that the least he could do was give the jewelry back to Kathy's mother. At this point, Sanchez-Velasco had been told nothing concerning the facts of the case. He led them to the rear of the hotel near the beach, and he searched near a pile of wood without finding anything but a straw hat. The ride to Hialeah then resumed, and Sanchez-Velasco again broke the silence, remarking in Spanish that he would prefer to go to the electric chair right away rather than to "rot in jail."
Evidence presented at trial indicates that when they arrived at the Hialeah police station, the officers gave proper Miranda 2 warnings to Sanchez-Velasco before discussing the case and that he declined attorney representation and waived his rights. According to Sanchez-Velasco's statements to the police, on the night of the murder he slept from the time of Ms. Molina's departure for work until 7 or 8 p.m., when he was awakened by the sound of Kathy on the phone with her sister. Later, he reheated some food for Kathy, which she ate. She then asked Sanchez-Velasco if he still loved Maria (his former girlfriend), and he responded by grabbing Kathy by the neck with both hands. She fell on the bed, and he pulled her T-shirt up around her neck, twisting it like a tourniquet. Kathy fell to the floor, so he stood on the bed and used the twisted T-shirt to lift her back onto it. She did not make any noise, and he believed she was dead. He then removed her clothes, then his own, and he raped her. Sanchez-Velasco then took Kathy's jewelry and other property, called a taxi, and left around midnight after covering Kathy's body with a blanket.
At a hearing on a motion to suppress the above statements, the trial judge found that: (1) the statements were all voluntarily made; (2) appellant had voluntarily entered the police car and had traveled to the Hialeah police station of his own volition; and (3) probable cause existed to arrest Sanchez-Velasco for grand theft and for murder. In making the determination that Sanchez-Velasco had voluntarily entered the vehicle, the trial judge also considered Sanchez-Velasco's statements that he had considered turning himself in to the police and that he had also contemplated suicide.
Evidence at trial also established that Sanchez-Velasco had arrived at a hotel by taxi around 12:30 to 12:45 a.m. on December 13, 1986. He asked the night clerk if he was interested in purchasing a white fur coat or one of two neck chains. At trial, the night clerk identified one of the chains that Sanchez-Velasco had offered to sell him. That chain had previously been identified as one of those taken from Kathy the night of the murder.
Blood samples were taken from both Kathy and Sanchez-Velasco. His blood sample revealed that he has blood type "A" and a "PGN" of 1-2-. "A" antigens found in Sanchez-Velasco's saliva established that he is a secreter. Kathy's blood standard indicated that she had blood type "O" and a "PGN" of 1+2+. An expert testified that Kathy would not naturally have "A" antigens in her body fluids. However, analysis of vaginal and cervical swabs revealed the presence of sperm, "A" antigens, and other enzymes consistent with someone with blood type "A" having had sex with the child. In addition, sperm consistent with appellant's blood type was also found on the sheets on Kathy's bed. Also examined from the crime scene were hair and fiber samples. One of the hairs submitted was from a Caucasian and was coated with a substance which tested positive as blood. The hair was consistent with the defendant's pubic hair standards. Finally, appellant's fingerprints were found on the dresser in Kathy's room.
Prior to trial, Sanchez-Velasco was examined for competency at the time of the offense and competency to stand trial. He was found competent in both instances. At the trial, Sanchez-Velasco interrupted the proceedings during the testimony of one of the police officers, exclaiming that the officer was lying. 3 Defense counsel moved for a mistrial and for examination of the competence of the appellant. The examination determined that the appellant was competent. The trial court denied the motion for mistrial and found that he was competent to proceed. Sanchez-Velasco chose not to testify during the guilt phase of the trial, and he put on no other evidence. The jury found Sanchez-Velasco guilty of first-degree murder, sexual battery of a victim under twelve years of age, and theft as a lesser included offense of grand theft. He was found not guilty of burglary.
During the penalty phase, the state again presented the medical examiner, who testified extensively concerning the pain that Kathy endured from both the rape and the strangulation. The defense presented a mental health expert who testified that Sanchez-Velasco was suffering from an emotional disturbance, though he was legally sane, and that the crime was "an impulsive, violent outburst of a person tainted with some disorder." The psychologist also testified that Sanchez-Velasco had been hospitalized in Cuba, but there was no indication that he had received psychiatric treatment. Sanchez-Velasco told the psychologist that he had no problems with drugs or alcohol.
Against the wishes of his attorney, Sanchez-Velasco made a statement to the jury on his own behalf. During his statement, Sanchez-Velasco apologized for his outburst on August 12; stated that he previously had been convicted of three minor offenses; claimed to have had numerous relationships with women who had children, similar to the relationship he had with Marta; claimed to love children; stated that the officers forced him to accompany them from Miami Beach to Hialeah; stated that the detectives lied when they said he did not demand his rights; denied being the person who made the tape-recorded confession; claimed to have been beaten into the confession; denied ever seeing Marta's coat; asserted that a man of his age could not...
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