State v. Byrne
| Decision Date | 13 January 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 85-KA-0877,85-KA-0877 |
| Citation | 483 So.2d 564 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana v. Edward R. BYRNE, Jr. |
| Court | Louisiana Supreme Court |
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Henry N. Brown, Jr., Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.
M. Randal Fish, Bossier City, Ford E. Stinson, Jr., Indigent Defender Office, Benton, for defendant-appellant.
Shortly after 2:00 p.m. on August 14, 1984, the body of Roberta Johnson was discovered in the locked office of a Bossier City gas station. Three weeks later the grand jury of Bossier Parish returned a true bill indicting Edward R. Byrne, Jr. for first degree murder in violation of La.R.S. 14:30. 1 Defendant was appointed counsel and entered a plea of not guilty on September 5, 1984. On November 27, 1984, a twelve person jury found the defendant guilty as charged. In the penalty phase of defendant's bifurcated trial, the panel unanimously recommended the death penalty, finding the existence of three aggravating circumstances: (1) the victim had been killed during the commission of an armed robbery; (2) the offense was committed in a particularly heinous, atrocious and cruel manner; and (3) the victim was a witness to a crime committed by the defendant. See La.C.Cr.P. 905.4 (1984). On January 29, 1984, the defendant was sentenced to death.
The following evidence was adduced at trial. On June 26, 1984, Byrne ended a 4 month liaison with a Leesville cocktail waitress, a Korean woman named Ha Su Hyant, by moving out of her mobile home and "borrowing" her 1984 beige and black Chevrolet Chevette. Byrne drove to Bossier City where he contacted Gary Clements, a friend and former co-worker. Clements informed the defendant that a friend, "Robbie" Johnson, managed a Racetrack Service Station located in Bossier City, and that in her position she handled large sums of money. Byrne requested that Clements introduce him to Roberta. Defendant and Roberta began dating shortly thereafter.
Roberta was described as being about 5'8"' tall, and weighing about 250-300 lbs. Her roommate describes her as being extremely attractive, but insecure about being heavy. On the other hand, the defendant is 6'3"' tall, and weighed about 190 lbs. It was the state's contention that the defendant's friendship with Roberta Johnson was fostered by his intention to rob her. Byrne acknowledged that "he began thinking about [the planned robbery] before [he] started going with Robbie." While it was shown that the two eventually became lovers, the defendant admitted that the robbery was the "only reason [why he] went with [Roberta] to start with."
During their relationship, Byrne became familiar with Roberta's business routine. He often drove Roberta to work and visited her there with sufficient frequency to become known to other service station employees. Roberta often spoke to Byrne about the daily bank deposits which she was required to make. On at least two occassions, Byrne drove Roberta to the National Bank of Bossier where she deposited the service station's daily receipts. It was over this course of events that the defendant learned that the amount of the deposits ranged from seven to ten thousand dollars.
At 10:00 a.m. on August 13, 1984, Teresa Hudgins, Roberta's roommate, left their Mark Avenue home and drove to Longview, Texas for an overnight stay at her parents' home. She was not to return until about 6:00 p.m. the following day. The defendant was aware of this fact, and on August 13, he spent the night with Roberta. The following day, the defendant dropped her off at work at approximately 6:00 a.m. Byrne returned at approximately 9:00 a.m. and joined Roberta in the manager's office. He was observed by the cashier on duty, Mary Carroll, and the second shift attendant, Mary Jo Breedlove, who had stopped at the station to purchase gasoline and speak with Roberta. Both recognized the late model Chevette parked next to the manager's office as "belonging" to Byrne. At some point, Byrne and Roberta carried a supply of cigarettes from the manager's office to the cashier's booth. The two returned to the manager's office "just a laughing and hugging[,] just ... happy." Upon returning, Roberta told Byrne that they could leave for the bank immediately after she removed the service station's daily receipts from the floor safe located in the cashier's booth. At that point, Byrne decided that the time to carry out his robbery plan had arrived.
Roberta Johnson returned to the office carrying a "big blue bag," subsequently determined to have contained $7,686.60. When Roberta turned to leave the office, Byrne struck her on the base of the neck with a "ballpeen" hammer. Byrne found the hammer on top of a desk in the manager's office and used it because it "was the nearest available weapon." Roberta cried out and fell down and started screaming. Byrne continued to strike Roberta's head as she lay face down on the concrete office floor. Byrne bludgeoned the victim about the back of the head and neck "[u]ntil she quit screaming and crying." Byrne then removed the money pouch from underneath the victim's body and the office keys from her purse. He dropped the hammer on the floor, exited the office and locked the door behind him. The service station attendant, Mary Carroll, apparently did not hear the victim's screams and was not immediately aware of the incident. As she shelved cigarettes, she observed the beige and black Chevette drive away from the station, but was unable to see the automobile's occupant(s). Byrne fled the service station in the borrowed Chevette and drove south to Leesville.
At noon, Byrne stopped by the Leesville home of Dorothy Lacombe, a cocktail waitress at the "Town Tapper Lounge," and unsuccessfully invited her to dinner. Byrne then checked into the Continental Motor Lodge at 1:29 p.m. He paid for the room with a $100.00 bill. Although unaccompanied at the time, Byrne informed the clerk that the room would be occupied by two people. He then went to numerous night clubs around Leesville, and at around 2:00 a.m. on August 15, 1984, Byrne convinced Ms. Lacombe to spend the night with him. Upon reaching the motel room Byrne asked Ms. Lacombe to marry him. Ms. Lacombe agreed. Their plan was to go to Mexico where she could first obtain a divorce, and then marry Byrne.
Meanwhile, the regional office of Racetrack Service Station, as was its routine, had telephoned the National Bank of Bossier to ascertain the amount deposited that day by its Bossier City outlet. It was informed that no deposit had been made that day. At 2:00 p.m. on the day of the homicide, a representative of the regional office informed Mary Carroll that Roberta, her boss, had failed to appear at the bank as required by company policy. Upon confirming this fact with a bank official, Ms. Carroll contacted Patricia Allen, the assistant manager of the service station, and advised her of the situation. Ms. Allen arrived at the service station a few minutes later and proceeded to the manager's office to locate the telephone number of the regional office. Ms. Allen unlocked the office door and discovered Roberta Johnson's body. She immediately notified the Bossier City Police.
Bossier City Detective George West obtained a description of the automobile driven by the defendant and determined that it was owned by Ha Su Hyant of Leesville. Upon enlisting the assistance of the Leesville Police, officer Harry James of that department contacted Ms. Hyant at her mobile home on the morning of August 15 at 2:22 a.m. Officer James was informed that Byrne was in Leesville, and that he continued to use the Chevette. At 3:08 a.m., officers West and Scott discovered the suspect automobile in the parking lot of the Continental Motor Lodge. After consulting the desk clerk, the officers proceeded to Room 114 where Byrne, nude and accompanied by Dorothy Lacombe, was placed under arrest and advised of his Miranda rights. Approximately $6,900 in cash was seized from the motel room. Byrne was taken to the Leesville Police Station where he was booked, photographed and fingerprinted. During this process, and after being advised of his Miranda rights, Byrne asked a policeman whether Roberta Johnson had died. Scott responded affirmatively and asked the defendant what he expected to happen. Byrne responded that he "expected to be long gone before anybody found out what happened." Byrne then admitted hitting the victim with the hammer several times.
Later that afternoon, Detective West of Bossier City assumed custody of Byrne and transported him to Bossier City. After being Mirandized, and en route to Bossier City, defendant admitted "having planned this armed robbery from the very beginning...." Byrne restated his surprise at his immediate apprehension and advised Detective West that he had planned to initially flee directly to Florida. At the Bossier City Police Station, Byrne confessed that he had killed Roberta Johnson while perpretrating the robbery during a taped interview with police. As the only eyewitness to the homicide, defendant provided police with this account of the incident in a taped confession recorded shortly after his arrest. There is no question that the confession was free and voluntary, and that the defendant had been properly Mirandized. The confession was admitted into evidence, and the defendant acknowledged the accuracy of this account of the incident during cross-examination.
An autopsy of the victim conducted by Dr. McCormick, the Bossier Parish Coroner, revealed that Roberta died as a result of shock "due to multiple traumatic injuries consisting primarily of multiple fractures and brain injury." The victim's body evidenced the infliction of at least twelve and possibly as many as fifteen blows administered by a round object, whose size and configuration was consistent with the round end of a hammer. At trial, the coroner was shown the hammer...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Williams
...516 So.2d 349 (La.1987); State v. Bates, 495 So.2d 1262 (La.1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1042, 107 S.Ct. 1986, 95 L.Ed.2d 826; State v. Byrne, 483 So.2d 564(La.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 871, 107 S.Ct. 243, 93 L.Ed.2d 168 (1986); State v. Wingo, 457 So.2d 1159(La.), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1......
-
State v. Willis, 05-218.
...Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 774 (West 1998). However, a prosecutor is afforded considerable latitude in making closing arguments. State v. Byrne, 483 So.2d 564 (La.1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 871, 107 S.Ct. 243, 93 L.Ed.2d 168 (1986); State v. Morris, 404 So.2d 1186 (La.1981). As a general rule......
-
State v. Norah, 2012–KA–1194.
...cases is to admonish the prosecution rather than finding reversible error. Id., 11–0091 at p. 29, 96 So.3d at 695 (citing State v. Byrne, 483 So.2d 564, 575 (La.1986)); Sharp, 418 So.2d at 1349. This is because a mistrial is a drastic remedy, see Draughn, 05–1825 at p. 44, 950 So.2d at 614,......
-
State v. Hampton
...This court has stated as a general matter that a prosecutor retains considerable latitude in making closing arguments. State v. Byrne, 483 So.2d 564 (La.1986),cert. denied, 479 U.S. 871, 107 S.Ct. 243, 93 L.Ed.2d 168 (1986); State v. Morris, 404 So.2d 1186 (La.1981). Even when it has found ......