State v. Andre R. Williams
| Decision Date | 24 March 1995 |
| Docket Number | 89-T-4210,95-LW-2926 |
| Parties | STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ANDRE R. WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant. CASE |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
HON DONALD R. FORD, P.J., HON. JUDITH A. CHRISTLEY, J., HON JOSEPH E. MAHONEY, J.
DENNIS WATKINS, TRUMBULL COUNTY PROSECUTOR, PETER J. KONTOS, PATRICK F. McCARTHY, ASSISTANT PROSECUTORS, 160 High Street, N.W Warren, Ohio 44481 (For Plaintiff-Appellee)
ATTY THOMAS E. ZENA, 407 Legal Arts Centre, Youngstown, OH 44503 and ATTY. GARY L. VAN BROCKLIN, 20 West Boardman Street, Youngstown, OH 44503 (For Defendant-Appellant)
This appeal has been taken from a final judgment of the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas. Appellant, Andre R. Williams, seeks the reversal of his conviction for aggravated murder and the imposition of the penalty of death.
Upon fully reviewing the record and considering the assignments of error raised by appellant, this court concludes that although errors were made during the course of his trial, none of these errors were prejudicial to appellant's right to a fair trial. Moreover, after independently reweighing the aggravating circumstances and the mitigating factors, we further conclude that the facts of this case warranted the imposition of the penalty of death. Accordingly, we affirm.
The charges against appellant were predicated upon an incident in which the victim, George Melnick, age sixty-five, was beaten to death. As part of this incident, Katherine Melnick, George's wife, was severely beaten. She was approximately sixty-five-years-old at that time. The incident occurred at the Melnicks' home in Warren, Ohio.
On the evening of August 15, 1988, at approximately 9:00 p.m., a neighbor of the Melnicks heard a car door shut. This noise came from the vicinity of the Melnick home. A short time later, the neighbor heard the sound of glass being broken. The neighbor then heard Katherine Melnick begin to scream. This screaming continued for at least twenty minutes. Once the screaming stopped, the lights in the Melnick home went out.
Two days later, another neighbor of the Melnicks contacted the Warren City Police, stating that she had not seen the couple since August 15, 1988. Upon arriving at the scene and entering the Melnick home, two police officers found Katherine Melnick lying partially beneath a table in the kitchen. Since she was still alive, the officers called the emergency squad, and she was taken to the hospital. The dead body of George Melnick was found in one of the bedrooms.
Once Katherine Melnick had been removed from the house, detectives from the police department began to search the premises. This search revealed that each room on the main floor had been thoroughly ransacked. The detectives also found blood in four of the five main rooms on that floor. In addition to the floor, blood was found on the walls and ceilings of some of these rooms.
As part of the search, the detectives found a piece of a cement block in the living room. Other pieces of a cement block were found in the ditch which bordered the front of the Melnick's property. In addition to the block, a piece of a brick was found on the ledge outside one of the kitchen windows. Also in the living room, the detectives found a bladeless ax handle which had been broken in one place.
Once members of the Melnick family had inspected the various items in the house, the detectives discovered that two primary items had been taken by the intruders. The first was a video cassette recorder which had been in the living room. The second item was Mrs. Melnick's purse. This purse contained approximately $2,000 in cash, primarily comprised of fifty-dollar bills.
An autopsy was performed on the body of George Melnick. This examination indicated that Mr. Melnick had suffered multiple lacerations and contusions to his head. The examination further showed that his skull had been fractured in at least three different places. The nature of these injuries indicated that he had been hit in the head with a blunt object a number of times. It was later determined that these multiple blows had been the ultimate cause of his death.
The nature of Katherine Melnick's injuries also indicated that she had been hit in the head with a blunt object a number of times. As a result of these blows, the doctors were forced to remove one of her eyes. Ultimately, Mrs. Melnick lost her ability to see with her remaining eye and also lost a considerable amount of her hearing; both disabilities were due to her injuries. The nature of her injuries was such that if she had not received treatment, she would have ultimately died.
The doctors also found a splinter of wood in Mrs. Melnick's head. This splinter had the same characteristics as the wood which comprised the ax handle. As part of her medical examination, doctors performed a rape kit test. The results of this test were negative.
In the days following the discovery of the Melnicks, the detectives investigating the incident received information indicating that appellant and a second individual, Christopher Daniel, had been involved in the incident. This information revealed that on August 16, 1988, the day following the incident, appellant purchased a used car from a local dealership. He paid for this car with a number of fifty-dollar bills. He then had the car painted, again using only cash to pay for the services.
Based upon the information received, the detectives asked appellant to come to the department for questioning. Appellant came voluntarily. In his statement, appellant told the detectives that he had been with his aunt and grandmother on the evening of the incident. He further stated that he bought the car using money which he had earned doing small jobs for one of his friends.
However, before he left the department, appellant asked one of the detectives if the detective could speak to a judge about the situation. The detective responded that he sometimes spoke to judges and prosecutors. Appellant then left without pursuing the matter any further.
Despite appellant's assertion of an alibi for the evening of the incident, the detectives continued to question various acquaintances of appellant. Although these individuals originally denied knowing anything about the matter, many of these individuals subsequently told the detectives that, in the days following the incident, appellant had admitted to them that he had been involved in the incident.
Based upon information received from one of these individuals, the detectives found the Melnicks' video cassette recorder in a wooded area approximately one-half mile from the home of Christopher Daniel's father. The detectives also found Katherine Melnick's purse approximately four hundred feet from Daniel's home.
The Trumbull County Grand Jury returned a seven-count indictment against appellant in September 1988. Appellant was then arrested in early October 1988.
The indictment contained three counts of aggravated murder, pursuant to R.C. 2903.01(B). Each of these counts alleged that appellant had purposely caused the death of George Melnick while committing, or attempting to commit, one of three underlying felonies. The underlying felonies included aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, and rape.
In addition, each of the aggravated murder counts contained four specifications of aggravating circumstances. Three of these specifications were based upon the basic allegation that appellant had caused the death of George Melnick while committing, or attempting to commit, the underlying felonies. Each count also contained the specification that appellant had murdered George Melnick during a course of conduct in which he had killed, or attempted to kill, two or more persons.
Besides the aggravated murder charges, the indictment against appellant contained separate counts of attempted aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, and rape.
After an individualized voir dire had been held, appellant's trial began in January 1988. During the state's case-in-chief, six separate witnesses testified that they each had heard appellant state that he had been involved in the incident. Although the statements these witnesses attributed to appellant varied in detail and were inconsistent as to some facts, the majority of these witnesses were consistent in indicating that appellant had given the following description of the events.
After deciding to break into the Melnick house, appellant and Daniel had waited for Katherine Melnick to finish a telephone call. Upon entering the home carrying a brick, Daniel threw that brick at Mrs. Melnick and then tried to subdue her. Appellant, who had carried in a piece of cement block, threw that piece of cement block at George Melnick. A struggle then ensued between appellant and Mr. Melnick. During this struggle, appellant picked up a lamp and hit Mr. Melnick in the head.
Two of the witnesses further testified that appellant told them that he "got some butt from the lady," which they took to mean that he had raped Mrs. Melnick. Two other witnesses indicated appellant said that he had only tried to rape her.
In addition, two witnesses testified that on the night of the incident, they saw appellant and Daniel. These witnesses further stated that, at that time, appellant and Daniel had in their possession a video cassette recorder and a large amount of cash.
At the conclusion of the guilt phase, the jury found appellant guilty on each of the three counts of aggravated murder and on each of the four specifications under each of the counts. The jury also returned a guilty verdict on the counts of aggravated burglary,...
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