State v. Artis

• Citation: 325 N.C. 278,384 S.E.2d 470
• Decision Date: 05 October 1989
• Docket Number: No. 504A84,504A84
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Roscoe ARTIS.

Page 470

384 S.E.2d 470

325 N.C. 278

STATE of North Carolina v. Roscoe ARTIS.

No. 504A84.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Oct. 5, 1989.

Lacy H. Thornburg, Atty. Gen. by Joan H. Byers, Sp. Deputy Atty. Gen., and Debra C. Graves, Associate Atty. Gen., Raleigh, for state.

Malcolm Ray Hunter, Jr., Appellate Defender by Gordon Widenhouse, Asst. Appellate Defender, Raleigh, for defendant.

MARTIN, Justice.

Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree of Joann Brockman and sentenced to death. Our review of the guilt and penalty phases of his trial reveals no prejudicial error.

Evidence adduced by both defendant and the state at defendant's trial tended to show the following events occurring in Red Springs on 22 October 1983:

On that day at about 9:30 a.m., the victim's aunt, Alice McLaughlin, observed defendant walking up the road towards Joann's home. Mrs. McLaughlin watched defendant knock on Joann's door and subsequently enter. About an hour later, Mrs. McLaughlin saw defendant and Joann leave the latter's house and walk past her own house in the direction of a shopping center. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. McLaughlin saw her brother, Curtis McKinnon, tracing the same route towards the shopping center. He testified that he walked past defendant and Joann, who were sitting under a pear tree, arguing. Mr. McKinnon testified that he ran into his brother-in-law, Johnny Haywood, at the shopping center. Mr. Haywood drove back towards the pear tree around 11:30 but saw no one. Shortly after she saw McKinnon walk past her house, Mrs. McLaughlin heard Joann call "help" three times. But because she had known Joann to "cut the fool" a lot, Mrs. McLaughlin did not respond to the cries.

Sometime later, Mrs. McLaughlin saw defendant walking back towards Joann's house. He stopped to ask Mrs. McLaughlin if she had seen Joann. She answered that the last time she had seen her niece was when she was with defendant. Defendant continued towards Joann's house and approached the door, but neither knocked nor entered. He turned around and headed back the way he had come. Mr. McKinnon, who by now had returned home by way of the pear tree, where he had neither seen nor heard anyone, also witnessed defendant's approach to and departure from Joann's door.

Joann's fiance, David Moore, returned from work around 3:00 p.m. He was concerned about Joann's absence and went looking for her with Curtis McKinnon. The two found Joann's wig and shoes near some buildings not far from the pear tree. They called Joann's mother and contacted the police to report that Joann was missing.

In the early evening, Joann's mother, Johnny Haywood, and Deputy Sheriff McLean searched the area near the pear tree and eventually came upon Joann's body partially covered with dirt and brush. Except for a sweater and bra pushed up above her breasts, Joann's body was naked. There was blood on her nose and mouth, on her sweater, and a film of blood on her hands.

An autopsy revealed that although there was a large bruise on Joann's forehead, this had not resulted in a skull fracture nor had it been fatal. Abrasions on her neck, hemorrhaging in the connective tissue around the windpipe, and lungs full of fluid indicated that the cause of death had been asphyxia due to manual strangulation. In addition, the vagina was dilated, consistent with Joann's having died during sexual intercourse.

At defendant's trial, the state offered three statements made by defendant the night and early morning following the discovery of Joann's body. The first of these statements, which had been preceded by defendant's being read Miranda warnings and signing a waiver of rights form, was exculpatory. Defendant later testified that he had not made the subsequent, inculpatory statements, and he denied their truth.

The first statement was transcribed at around 10:00 p.m. In this statement defendant said he had come back to his sister's house at dawn from an all-night spree in South Carolina. He had gone to sleep at 6:00 a.m., awakened at 8:30, and walked up to the store with his sister and her boyfriend around 9:00 a.m. At 9:30 he bought some peppermint schnapps and drank it all, pitching the bottle into a field behind a grocery store. (The officers' search for the bottle proved fruitless.) Defendant had then walked to Joann's house, meeting her aunt on the way, but had found the door chained. He neither knocked nor entered, but turned around and walked back to his sister's house, where he slept from 10:30 till 4:00 p.m., when the police came and picked him up.

Defendant was questioned again near midnight regarding blood on his shirt. This, defendant initially said, was chicken blood. He offered his shirt to officers for testing, then admitted that it was not chicken blood, but Joann's. He told officers where they could find Joann's pants and agreed to accompany officers to the scene where he had last been with her. He indicated how she had been lying when he left her, which coincided exactly with the position of her body when found that afternoon, and located her pants under a piece of tin where he had left them. When defendant returned with the officers to the police station at approximately 1:00 a.m., he was interviewed once more, resulting in the following inculpatory statement, the transcription of which was completed by 3:00 a.m.:

I went to the liquor store in Red Springs about 9:30 a.m., 10-22-83. I was walking. I bought a pint of Peppermint Schnapps for $3.45 from the black dude at the liquor store. I walked over behind the Food Lion Store and I drank about two thirds of the pint. I took the rest of the liquor and stuck it in my belt.

I walked down the dirt road after that, towards Joanne's house. I think her last name is Brockman, or something like that. I first went by Joanne's aunt's house. I saw her aunt standing in the yard. I hollered and asked her aunt if Joanne was home. Her aunt said she didn't know, that Joanne had gone out but she didn't know if she had come home or not.

I went to Joanne's house and knocked on the door. Joanne came to the door. Joanne had told me to come in, long time no see. We sit down and started talking. Joanne wanted a drink of that liquor I had. Joanne drank the rest of the liquor that I had. Joanne said, "I want you to be my main man." I have been messing around with Joanne for some time.

Joanne wanted me to go outside and get some old shingles to burn on the fire. I went outside and got an old tire and put it on the fire. I asked Joanne if we were going to do anything. Joanne asked me if I wanted to and I told her yeah. I got in the bed and I had sex After that, Joanne asked me to give her ten dollars, because there was some stuff at the store she wanted. I gave Joanne a ten-dollar bill and she put it in her bra.

with Joanne. Joanne got up afterwards and she took a bath.

After that, me and Joanne left the house, walking towards the store. We walked passed [sic] her aunt's house on the way. We were talking and Joanne said something about this man she was seeing in Lumberton. I asked Joanne who he was and she told me it weren't none of my business. I told her I had give her my money. She said, "Yeah, and you going to give me some more of your money." Joanne called me a few words and she made me mad, because I was pretty high at the time.

I grabbed Joanne by the arm and told her to let's go over there near the barn, on the right side of the road, and sit down and talk. I wanted to whip her, but I didn't want to hurt her. Joanne said, "I ain't going no damn where with you."

I grabbed Joanne by her arm and drug her over to the back of the barn to the corner. We sit down at the back of the barn and we talked a while. Joanne started talking about this guy in Lumberton again, and it made me mad. Joanne said she was going out with him tonight. We stood up and I reached down on the ground and picked up a big stick and I hit her side of the head. The stick was about as big around as my wrist. The stick was about three or four feet long.

After I hit her, she said I didn't love her. I grabbed Joanne by the arm and snatched her. I was going to take her over to where she was found and beat her again. Joanne was pulling away from me, and I was dragging her. She lost a wig she had on and her shoes. I drug Joanne over to where she was found at, and I still had the stick in my hand.

When me and Joanne were arguing about the man in Lumberton, on the dirt road, she took out something and told me she would cut my ass. I don't know if it was a knife or a fingernail file. I didn't take Joanne to be serious because I didn't believe she would cut me. After that, I never did see the knife or fingernail file again. Joanne had the knife or finger file inside a small, round black bag with a shoulder strap.

When I drug Joanne over to where she was found, I asked her if she was going to give me a little bit. She told me no, she was going to give it to that guy in Lumberton. I got mad and I took the stick and hit her in the head real hard. When I hit Joanne, she fell to the ground on her side. I asked Joanne again if she was going to give me some. Joanne said no again. Joanne was still laying on her left side, and I was standing to the left of her. I hit Joanne again with the stick and I hit her pretty hard. After that, Joanne didn't move any more.

Before I hit her at the second place I took her, I told Joanne to take her clothes off. I guess she took them off because she was scared of me. Joanne was wearing jeans and she took them off. She was wearing a white sweater, but I don't know if she took it off or not. She didn't have any panties on.

After I hit Joanne the last time with the stick, she was still laying on her side. I turned her over on her back. I dropped my pants down around my knees. I took my penis and put it inside Joanne, between her legs. I had sex with Joanne for about five minutes. I didn't feel right, so I got up. I didn't come...