State v. Bowman
| Decision Date | 31 May 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. SC 90618.,SC 90618. |
| Citation | 337 S.W.3d 679 |
| Parties | STATE of Missouri, Respondent,v.Gregory BOWMAN, Appellant. |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Stephen B. Evans, Katherine E. Hummel and Katherine Schierholz, Evans Partnership, St. Louis, for Bowman.Terrence M. Messonnier, Attorney General's Office, Jefferson City, for State of Missouri.
Gregory Bowman was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder, section 565.020, RSMo 2000, for killing Velda Rumfelt. Bowman was sentenced to death consistent with the jury's recommendation. This Court has exclusive jurisdiction. Mo. Const. art. V, sec. 3. The judgment of conviction is affirmed. The death sentence is reversed because two of the aggravating circumstances found by the jury consisted of murder convictions that were reversed and vacated on appeal. The case is remanded.
Velda Rumfelt was murdered in 1977. There were ligature marks and a laceration around her throat. Her bra was stuffed in her mouth. A large amount of sperm was found in her vagina, which was consistent with recent sexual intercourse. The medical examiner concluded that strangulation was the cause of death. Rumfelt's clothing was removed and kept as evidence. No one was charged with Rumfelt's murder.
In 1979, Bowman was convicted in Illinois of killing Ruth Ann Jany and Elizabeth West and was sentenced to two concurrent terms of life imprisonment. In 2001, the convictions were vacated and new trials were ordered on grounds that Bowman's confessions were coerced. Bowman remained in jail in Illinois until he posted bail in 2007.
Shortly after Bowman's release from jail, James Rokita, an investigator with the Belleville, Illinois, police department, forwarded Bowman's DNA profile to the St. Louis County police department. St. Louis County investigators compared Bowman's DNA profile to the DNA profile extracted from sperm recovered from Rumfelt's underwear. Bowman's DNA profile matched the DNA profile of the sperm recovered from Rumfelt's underwear. The estimated frequency of the DNA profile derived from the sperm was 1 in 460,000,000,000,000. Additional testing determined that Bowman's DNA could not be excluded as the contributor of non-sperm DNA recovered from Rumfelt's clothing.
Bowman was charged with Rumfelt's murder. The State presented evidence that Bowman's DNA was found in Rumfelt's underwear. Dr. Mary Case, the St. Louis County medical examiner, testified that the cause of death was strangulation and that Rumfelt was the victim of a probable sexual assault. One of Rumfelt's friends testified that she saw Rumfelt walking with an unidentified young man on the evening of June 5, 1977. Another friend testified that she saw Rumfelt on the morning of June 6, 1977. Rumfelt's body was discovered on June 7, 1977. The jury convicted Bowman of first-degree murder.
During the penalty phase, the State presented testimony from seven witnesses. Two witnesses were victims of crimes committed by Bowman. Bowman filed a motion in limine to limit victim impact evidence. The motion was overruled, and Bowman's objection was deemed to be continuing.
The State's first witness testified that in 1972, Bowman held a knife to her throat, made her undress and then robbed her. In that case, Bowman was convicted of armed robbery, aggravated battery and unlawful restraint.
The second witness testified that in 1978, Bowman held a knife to her throat, forced her into a car, drove off and threatened to kill her. In that case, Bowman was convicted of kidnapping and unlawful restraint.
A third witness testified that in 1972, Bowman held a knife to her throat, took her to an isolated area and tried to sexually assault her. Bowman let her go but threatened to kill her if she told anyone. No charges were filed.
Two police officers testified regarding their investigation of the Elizabeth West and Ruth Ann Jany murder cases in Illinois. One of the officers testified regarding his involvement in the investigation of the West and Jany cases. The other officer testified that Bowman admitted to killing both victims. Bowman eventually recanted both admissions. The jury heard that Bowman was convicted of both murders.
The sixth penalty phase witness was Elizabeth West's mother. She testified regarding the impact that Elizabeth's murder had on the family.
Finally, Rumfelt's brother testified about the impact of her murder. He testified that Rumfelt was a talented young woman, that he and his sister had a close relationship, and that for nearly 30 years, the family did not know what had happened to her.
The jury found six aggravating circumstances: (1) Bowman had a history of serious assaultive convictions due to his convictions for armed robbery, aggravated battery and unlawful restraint; (2) Rumfelt's murder involved depravity of mind and was outrageously wanton and vile because the killing was random and, therefore, exhibited a disregard for human life; (3) Bowman had been convicted of kidnapping and unlawful restraint; (4) Bowman threatened a teenage girl with a knife; (5) Bowman abducted and murdered Elizabeth West; and (6) Bowman abducted and murdered Ruth Ann Jany.
The trial court sentenced Bowman to death in accordance with the jury's findings. Bowman appeals.
Bowman raises six points on appeal alleging errors in the guilt phase of his trial. None of these points warrant reversal.
Bowman first asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the admission of his DNA profile. The argument is two-pronged. First, Bowman argues that the release of his DNA profile by the Illinois state police violated his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure because he originally consented to submit a DNA sample only to assist in the West and Jany murder investigations. Second, Bowman argues that the release of his DNA profile violated the Illinois genetic privacy act (IGPA) and that the IGPA extends the protections afforded by the Fourth and Fourteenth amendments.
The trial court's decision to overrule a motion to suppress evidence will be reversed only if it is clearly erroneous. State v. Granado, 148 S.W.3d 309, 311 (Mo. banc 2004). Whether the conduct at issue violates the Fourth Amendment is an issue of law that an appellate court reviews de novo. State v. Sund, 215 S.W.3d 719, 723 (Mo. banc 2007). The United States Constitution and the Missouri Constitution afford individuals the same level of protection from unreasonable searches and seizures; therefore, the analysis is the same. State v. Woods, 284 S.W.3d 630, 634 (Mo.App.2009).
In July 2001, an Illinois circuit court entered an order permitting authorities to take a blood sample from Bowman as part of the investigation into the West and Jany murders. Bowman consented to the procedure. In 2007, James Rokita, an investigator with the Belleville, Illinois, police department, forwarded Bowman's DNA profile to the St. Louis County police department. Bowman asserts that the transfer of his DNA profile from Illinois to Missouri for purposes of investigating Rumfelt's murder constitutes an unreasonable search and seizure because he only consented to a blood sample for purposes of assisting the West and Jany investigations.
There is no dispute that taking a blood sample DNA sample implicates the Fourth Amendment. However, the Fourth Amendment analysis focuses on the intrusiveness of the initial search, not on the subsequent use of information obtained from that search. Bowman consented to the blood sample. The Fourth Amendment was not violated when Bowman gave the blood sample yielding the DNA sample. Likewise, the subsequent use of the DNA sample obtained from the valid search and seizure does not constitute a Fourth Amendment violation. The use of Bowman's DNA profile after it legally was acquired is neither a search nor a seizure.
Bowman argues that although the initial search and seizure was valid, the subsequent use of his DNA profile in the Rumfelt case exceeded the scope of his consent and, therefore, constitutes a Fourth Amendment violation. There is nothing in the record showing the terms of any agreement between Bowman and Illinois authorities that would limit the use of Bowman's DNA profile. The court order authorizing the sample did not limit the subsequent use of his DNA profile. Moreover, Bowman cites no case standing for the proposition that the Fourth Amendment bars law enforcement from using lawfully obtained personal information in an unrelated criminal investigation. If that were the case, the commonplace practice of identifying a suspect based on fingerprints lawfully obtained during a previous criminal investigation would constitute a Fourth Amendment violation. The rule is no different rule because the identifying feature is DNA obtained pursuant to a court ordered blood sample.1
Bowman argues that the IGPA, 410 ILCS 513, restricts law enforcement from using information generated in a criminal investigation to investigate a separate crime. Bowman concludes that the IGPA extends the right of privacy and protections afforded by the Fourth and Fourteenth amendments by further restricting when genetic information can be released.
Bowman's argument fails because state law privacy protections do not extend the protections afforded by the Fourth Amendment as applied to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment. For instance, in Virginia v. Moore, 553 U.S. 164, 171–174, 128 S.Ct. 1598, 170 L.Ed.2d 559 (2008), the Court held that violation of a Virginia state law pertaining to the legality of an arrest did not impact the constitutional analysis of the reasonableness of the search incident to the arrest. Likewise, even if the IGPA barred the sharing of genetic information in unrelated criminal cases, a violation of those provisions would not support a finding...
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