State v. Beishline, s. WD

• Citation: 926 S.W.2d 501
• Decision Date: 02 July 1996
• Docket Number: Nos. WD,s. WD
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Eric John BEISHLINE, Appellant. Eric J. BEISHLINE, Appellant, v. STATE of Missouri, Respondent. 49528, WD 51090.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)

Page 501

926 S.W.2d 501

STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Eric John BEISHLINE, Appellant.

Eric J. BEISHLINE, Appellant, v. STATE of Missouri, Respondent.

Nos. WD 49528, WD 51090.

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District.

July 2, 1996.

Rehearing Denied Aug. 27, 1996.

Daniel J. Dodson, Joan F. Gummels, Dodson and Gummels, Jefferson City, for appellant.

Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, Philip M. Koppe, Asst. Atty. Gen., Kansas City, for respondent.

Before ULRICH, P.J., and BRECKENRIDGE and HANNA, JJ.

BRECKENRIDGE, Judge.

Eric Beishline appeals from convictions of murder in the first degree, § 565.020.1, RSMo 1994, and robbery in the first degree, § 569.020, RSMo 1994. ¹ Mr. Beishline contends that the trial court erred by overruling his motion to suppress evidence seized from his apartment; that the trial court erred by sustaining a motion in limine filed by the State; that the prosecutor withheld exculpatory evidence; and that there was insufficient evidence to support the convictions. Mr. Beishline also appeals from the denial of his Rule 29.15 motion for post-conviction relief, claiming that his trial counsel was ineffective for entering into an unfavorable stipulation with the State, and for failing to investigate and call a witness whose testimony would have supported a defense of diminished capacity.

The judgments of the trial court and the motion court are affirmed.

In the case at bar, Mr. Beishline was found guilty of robbing and murdering 72-year-old Anna Norton of Troy, Missouri. The facts pertinent to this case, however, begin with an assault on another woman, 84-year-old Evelyn Hoech of Warrenton, Missouri. On January 7, 1993, Ms. Hoech was at home when Mr. Beishline came to her door and indicated he was an insurance salesman. Mr. Beishline left after attempting to sell Ms. Hoech some annuities, but returned to the house several hours later. Mr. Beishline forced his way inside, threw Ms. Hoech to the floor, and rendered her unconscious by placing a rag, which he soaked in some sort of fluid, over her face.

When Ms. Hoech regained consciousness thirty-five to forty minutes later, Mr. Beishline was gone and Ms. Hoech called the police. A paramedic who responded to the scene shortly thereafter testified that she smelled gas in the residence. She walked to the stove and noticed that the gas burners were unlit, but the knobs controlling some of the burners were turned on.

A police investigation of the incident led to the issuance of a warrant for Mr. Beishline's arrest. Mr. Beishline was apprehended in Columbia, Missouri at approximately 2:40 a.m. on January 9, 1993, as he walked toward his car carrying a coat and some luggage. Mr. Beishline asked the arresting officers if he could return the items which he was carrying to his apartment, and the officers assented. Once inside the apartment building, Mr. Beishline scuffled with the officers and attempted to escape, but was subdued.

After Mr. Beishline was taken into custody, his car was towed to a police department garage, where it was searched pursuant to a warrant. While searching the vehicle, the police found a woman's purse containing a driver's license issued to Anna Norton. An officer ran a routine check on the driver's license, and discovered that, about three hours earlier, Anna Norton had been reported missing.

On January 9, 1993, a warrant was issued for a search of Mr. Beishline's apartment, authorizing police to look for any personal effects or property of Ms. Norton, or any document or other record pertaining to Ms. Norton. The ensuing search was conducted the same day and, although the police did not find any evidence relating to Ms. Norton, they did seize a variety of items belonging to Mr. Beishline.

David Nelson, the police officer who executed the search warrant, testified at a pre-trial hearing that he seized an overcoat, dress shirt, and slacks belonging to Mr. Beishline because those items matched the description of clothing which Ms. Hoech had described her assailant as wearing. Officer Nelson further explained that he seized these items because the overcoat and pants had been listed as items to search for in a prior search warrant authorizing a search of Mr. Beishline's automobile, and because there appeared to be blood on the shirt.

Officer Nelson also testified that he seized surgical gloves because he was aware that "suspects sometimes wear gloves to conceal their fingerprints," and that he seized a briefcase containing a camouflage mask and some tubes because he believed the tubes to be part of a paintball gun found earlier in Mr. Beishline's automobile. In addition, Officer Nelson seized insurance documents relating to Irene Miller and Herbert Bellman because he was aware that those individuals had died under suspicious circumstances, and that Mr. Beishline was possibly involved.

On January 11, 1993, a second search warrant was issued to search Mr. Beishline's apartment for any insurance documents or correspondence pertaining to Theodore Pisarek, Emilie Mersey, and Della Crane, who the police believed to be additional victims of crimes perpetrated by Mr. Beishline. The ensuing search was conducted the same day, and resulted in the seizure of several boxes of insurance documents.

On January 15, 1993, Ms. Norton's body was found floating in the Missouri River. An autopsy revealed numerous injuries, including four broken ribs and a fractured sternum resulting from a compression of her chest. The medical examiner concluded that Ms. Norton had died from suffocation, either because of the compression of her chest or because something had been held over her nose and mouth. Laboratory tests revealed the presence of high levels of chloroform in her body.

On January 20, 1993, police officers executed a third warrant to search Mr. Beishline's apartment, and to search the storage locker on the ground floor of the apartment building. The items seized included a one-gallon bottle of chloroform found in a blue nylon gym bag.

At his trial, Mr. Beishline presented a defense of diminished capacity based upon expert testimony that his prolonged cocaine use had resulted in "cocaine psychosis" which rendered him incapable of the deliberation required to commit first-degree murder. In interviews with several expert witnesses hired by the defense, Mr. Beishline admitted that he took Ms. Norton from her home, drove to a remote location, and when Ms. Norton tried to escape, he tackled her, sat on her chest, and placed a rag containing chloroform over her mouth and nose. He further admitted that he later determined that Ms. Norton was dead, and disposed of her body in the Missouri River.

Following the trial, a jury found Mr. Beishline guilty of both first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. He was sentenced as a prior and persistent offender to life imprisonment without the possibility of probation or parole for the murder conviction, and to life imprisonment for the robbery conviction. The trial court ordered the sentences to run consecutively to each other, and to run consecutively to sentences in three other cases.

This court will first address Mr. Beishline's sole point on appeal from the denial of his Rule 29.15 motion for post-conviction relief, as that point raises issues which recur in his various points on direct appeal. Mr. Beishline claims that his trial counsel was ineffective for entering into an unfavorable stipulation with the State, and for failing to investigate and call a witness whose testimony would have supported a defense of diminished capacity.

Prior to trial, the parties stipulated that the State would not object to Mr. Beishline's introduction of evidence relating to a defense of diminished capacity, and that the State would not attempt to offer any evidence during the guilt phase of the trial regarding Mr. Beishline's alleged involvement in the deaths of Irene Miller or Herbert Bellman. In turn, the defense agreed not to object to the State's presentation of evidence, during the guilt phase of the trial regarding Mr. Beishline's alleged involvement in crimes involving Evelyn Hoech and Della Crane.

There was evidence that Mr. Beishline had been involved in a business relationship with Mr. Bellman, and that Mr. Beishline had been visiting Mr. Bellman at or near the time of Mr. Bellman's death. Also, there was evidence that Mr. Beishline had had contacts with Ms. Miller, and that he was videotaped trying to cash one of her checks close to the time of her death. The deaths of Mr. Bellman and Ms. Miller were originally believed to be from natural causes, but subsequent autopsies of both victims revealed high concentrations of chloroform in their bodies.

At trial, the State did present evidence regarding Mr. Beishline's attack on Ms. Hoech, and the substance of that evidence has already been described herein. But despite the stipulation, the State elected to not present any evidence regarding Mr. Beishline's involvement in crimes against Ms. Crane.

In his brief, Mr. Beishline contends that his trial counsel gained nothing by entering into the stipulation, as he would have been entitled to present his defense of diminished capacity without it, and because evidence of his involvement in the deaths of Mr. Bellman and Ms. Miller--which the stipulation prevented the State from introducing during the guilt phase of the trial--would not have been admissible in any event. Therefore, Mr. Beishline argues, the only real consequence of the stipulation was prejudicial to the defense, namely, that the State was guaranteed that it could introduce evidence regarding Mr. Beishline's attack on Ms. Hoech.

Daniel Gralike, Mr. Beishline's trial counsel, explained his reasons for entering into the stipulation when he testified at the evidentiary hearing on Mr. Beishline's Rule 29.15 motion. Mr. Gralike stated that he sought to prevent the State from presenting evidence regarding Mr. Bellman and...