State v. Crawford

• Decision Date: 31 July 1996
• Docket Number: No. 483A94,483A94
• Citation: 472 S.E.2d 920,344 N.C. 65
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Daryl Fredrick CRAWFORD.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

Page 920

472 S.E.2d 920

344 N.C. 65

STATE of North Carolina v. Daryl Fredrick CRAWFORD.

No. 483A94.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

July 31, 1996.

Michael F. Easley, Attorney General by Mary D. Winstead, Associate Attorney General, for the State.

Malcolm Ray Hunter, Jr., Appellate Defender by Benjamin Sendor, Assistant Appellate Defender, for defendant-appellant.

FRYE, Justice.

Defendant, Daryl Fredrick Crawford, was indicted on 21 September 1992 for the murder of his wife, Jeannetta Crawford. In a noncapital trial, the jury found defendant guilty of first-degree murder on the basis of malice, premeditation, and deliberation. On 1 June 1994, the trial court entered a judgment imposing a sentence of life imprisonment for the first-degree murder conviction.

On appeal to this Court, defendant makes four arguments. After reviewing the record, transcript, briefs, and oral arguments of counsel, we conclude that defendant received a fair trial, free of prejudicial error.

The State's evidence presented at trial tended to show the following facts and circumstances: Jeannetta Crawford (the victim) and defendant were married in 1980. The victim's first husband had died, and she had one child, Charles Clark, who was born of that marriage. Defendant and the victim had two children, Jennifer and Joshua. By 1990, both the victim and defendant were pastors at Solid Rock Full Gospel Church in Durham, North Carolina.

On 19 June 1991, the victim applied for an apartment at Lynn Haven Apartments. On the rental application, the victim stated as her reason for moving out of her present residence: "I have become separated from my husband because of abuse and violence in the home." The victim told defendant that she needed time to herself. On 3 July 1991, the victim filed a motion for a domestic violence protective order, stating that she had left defendant, that she had been receiving threats, that defendant was harassing her and following her, and that she needed protection. Following this incident, the victim moved into Lynn Haven Apartments. While the victim resided at Lynn Haven Apartments, defendant would visit her and the children daily. On 1 November 1991, the victim gave the apartment complex notice of her intent to vacate on 1 December 1991 because she and her husband were going to attempt reconciliation. The victim returned home and lived with defendant.

In May 1992, the victim completed cosmetology school and was working as an apprentice in a beauty salon. While the victim worked at the salon, defendant would call or come by the salon several times a day. His visits made some of the customers nervous. In June 1992, while discussing with her employer the customers' reaction to defendant's visits to the salon, the victim confided in her employer that she and defendant were having marital problems.

The victim's employer, Juliette Alston (Alston), testified at trial that the victim told her that defendant had beaten their youngest child, Joshua. The victim brought Joshua into the salon for a haircut and showed Alston the bruises. Joshua had one bruise on his leg and another on his arm. The victim told Alston that she was upset about defendant beating Joshua and that she had to "get away" from him. The victim also told Alston that she had called Lynn Haven Apartments and asked whether she could rent an apartment again on an emergency basis because she needed to get out of her house and because she was afraid for herself and her children.

In July 1992, the victim told Alston that defendant had used funds from their checking account to purchase a gun. When the victim confronted defendant and asked him about the gun, defendant put his hands around her throat and said, "I don't need a gun to kill you." Defendant later returned the gun that he had purchased.

Alston further testified that the victim told her that defendant would come home from work at night while she was asleep, and when she awoke, he would be standing over her. At this time, defendant was working nights as a postal clerk. On one occasion, the victim asked, "Why you're [sic] standing over me, Daryl?" Defendant responded, "Because of immense anger. I'm just so angry."

In early August, while the victim was in Delaware on a speaking engagement, Alston had a conversation with defendant. Alston and her husband had taken their dog to defendant's house to breed it with defendant's dog. On that occasion, defendant asked Alston and her husband to pray for him because he and the victim were having marital problems. Defendant said, "Sometimes, I feel like if I had a gun, I would kill her." Alston and her husband talked with defendant and told him that a gun was not the way to handle the situation. Defendant then said that he felt like a fool putting the victim through cosmetology school, and now she was talking about divorcing him. Defendant also told the Alstons, "I don't think I could stand to see her with anybody else."

Yolanda Johnson (Johnson), an evangelist and friend of the victim, testified that she became aware of defendant's and the victim's marital problems in 1986 when defendant spoke with her about them. Defendant would talk to Johnson regarding his marital problems whenever the victim would leave him. On several occasions, the victim stayed with Johnson when she left defendant. Often, when the victim was separated from defendant, defendant would harass Johnson and the victim; threaten Johnson; make harassing telephone calls late at night to Johnson, Johnson's parents, or anyone else he thought knew the victim or her whereabouts; "stalk" Johnson's house; knock on Johnson's door; ask Johnson's neighbors for Johnson's or the victim's whereabouts; and follow the victim.

The victim and Johnson would sometimes go to other cities to preach and minister through music and song. On one occasion, defendant followed the victim and Johnson to Fayetteville. While in Fayetteville, defendant told Johnson that he would "clip [her] wings" and that he had "bought a gun to do that very thing." Johnson testified that defendant purchased a gun on two occasions and that the victim's children had seen the guns. According to Johnson, the victim said that she was becoming more afraid or fearful of defendant.

Alice Crawford, the wife of defendant's first cousin, testified at trial that defendant had spoken with her about his marital problems and that she had been aware of those problems for about six years prior to the victim's death. She testified that defendant had accused her of interfering in his affairs and had threatened her. She further testified that the victim had told her about defendant's threats and physical abuse in the home and that the victim had decided to leave defendant during the summer of 1992 because he was still interfering in her ministry and in her friendships, even though he had said that he would stop when she moved back in with him.

Sherry Williams (Williams) also testified that defendant had accused her of interfering in his affairs and that defendant had threatened her. Williams testified that the victim had confided in her about the victim's marital problems. Several days after the victim's death, Williams found a note and an audiocassette in a bedside stand in Williams' home. She recognized the handwriting as that of the victim. The note described specific instances of defendant's conduct, including the purchase of a shotgun, harassment, false accusations, physical abuse of the victim and her youngest son, and knocking holes in a door. The victim wrote, "I was forced to leave my house because of his violent actions," and "He has become very abusive." The note consisted of dated entries from "July 4th" until "Friday, August 7th."

On 13 August 1992, both the victim and defendant spoke separately with James Blount (Blount), defendant's brother-in-law, about their marital problems. The victim and her children had gone to Blount's house. While there, the victim asked Blount to check her Volkswagen automobile to determine whether defendant had tampered with the brakes or the engine while defendant was checking the oil. While Blount was checking the automobile, the victim told him that defendant had been pressuring her about her whereabouts, her affiliation with her church, and their family situation. The victim then stated that she felt that she needed to get away again.

After checking the victim's automobile, Blount received a telephone call from defendant. The victim gestured for Blount not to tell defendant that she was there. During the telephone conversation, defendant told Blount: "I just can't deal with this no more. I can't put up with it any more." Defendant said that the victim was thinking about leaving him again and that she had planned to go through the court this time. Defendant stated several times that, before he would have any court tell him what to do about seeing his children or his wife, he would kill the victim. Blount then attempted to convince defendant that the court may be the "best way to go," if defendant and the victim could not resolve the matter between themselves. Throughout their conversation, Blount reminded defendant about his ministry, his religion, his beliefs, and the fact that both he and the victim were ministers. Blount suggested that they use the situation as a "stepping stone" so they could "direct other couples that were having marital problems."

Defendant, sounding as though he was in tears, said that he was hurting inside and that he was thinking about their life together, how he helped put the victim through school, and how she seemed not to want to contribute to paying the bills. Blount spoke with defendant for some fifteen or twenty minutes, and before the conversation ended, defendant said, "I feel much better that we talked." Defendant then asked Blount whether the victim was there, and Blount responded in the affirmative and invited defendant to come see her. Defendant arrived...