State v. Daughtry

• Decision Date: 28 July 1995
• Docket Number: No. 412A93,412A93
• Citation: 459 S.E.2d 747,340 N.C. 488
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Johnny Ray DAUGHTRY.

Page 747

459 S.E.2d 747

340 N.C. 488

STATE of North Carolina v. Johnny Ray DAUGHTRY.

No. 412A93.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

July 28, 1995.

Michael F. Easley, Atty. Gen. by William B. Crumpler and Valerie B. Spalding, Asst. Attys. Gen., and Simone E. Frier, Staff Atty., for the State.

W. Terry Sherrill and Ann L. Hester, Charlotte, for defendant-appellant.

WHICHARD, Justice.

Defendant was convicted of the first-degree murder of Jennifer Narron, his former girlfriend, and sentenced to death. He appeals from his conviction and sentence. We conclude that defendant received a fair trial, free of prejudicial error, and that the sentence of death is not disproportionate.

The State's evidence tended to show that the victim was killed on 9 April 1992. At that time she was living with her boyfriend, Michael Hopkins, in his Smithfield apartment. Hopkins testified that he last saw the victim alive at about 4:00 p.m., just before he went to bed. When he awoke around 7:30 p.m., he discovered the victim's body lying in a pool of blood near the front steps outside his apartment. Hopkins ran to his landlady's house and called the police; he waited at the end of the driveway until the officers arrived.

The Smithfield Police Department received a call at 7:38 p.m., and officers arrived at Hopkins' apartment a few minutes later. They found the victim's naked body face down next to the apartment steps. Her head lay in a pool of blood, and a stick protruded from her rectum. Her left arm extended along the left side of her body, palm up; her right index finger was in her mouth. SBI Special Agent David McDougall examined the scene. He found several articles of the victim's clothing on the ground near the body and a three-inch-thick log containing blood and strands of hair atop a woodpile not far away. He saw no signs of a struggle or other violence inside the apartment.

Dr. Karen Chancellor, a forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, testified that she found multiple bruises and abrasions on the victim's head, face, and neck. The lower jawbone was fractured in two places, and the back of the scalp had four separate lacerations, each exposing bone. She also found multiple skull fractures, hemorrhaging around the brain and brain stem, and bruises of the brain tissue. Chancellor testified that both internal and external lacerations existed in and around the vagina and rectum. Further, the injuries around the rectal area were consistent with an object being rotated in the rectum. She opined that death resulted from blunt-force trauma to the head, the victim had been hit at least five times, and the log McDougall found could have been used to inflict the injuries.

SBI Special Agent Scott Worsham testified that hair taken from the log was consistent with the victim's. He removed the stick from the victim's rectum under McDougall's supervision. The stick had been embedded about six and one-half inches into the rectum and inserted at such an angle that it could have penetrated some other part of the body, such as the vaginal area.

SBI Special Agent Mark T. Boodee, an expert in forensic serology, testified about the results of DNA testing, which revealed that blood samples taken from the pants defendant wore on the night of the murder contained DNA material that matched the victim's. SBI Special Agent Peter Duane Deaver, another expert forensic serologist, testified that blood found on the log and on defendant's pants was the same type as the victim's blood but not the same as defendant's.

Defendant testified that he and the victim had lived together for about three and one-half years; they broke up in March 1992. On the day of the murder he left work around 3:00 p.m., drank some beer on the way home, and also drank a few beers at a local tavern. He arrived at his grandmother's house, where he was living, between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. He then went to Mike Hopkins' home at about 6:30. He and the victim sat on the steps outside the apartment talking for a while. The next thing he remembered was being two or three blocks away from Hopkins' apartment, walking in an agitated state. He noticed a little blood on his hand. He then met some friends and drank with them from 8:30 until about 11:00 p.m. He did not get drunk.

Two psychiatric experts testified for defendant. Dr. Robert Rollins testified that defendant had average intelligence and no major disturbance of mood or thinking. Defendant was distrustful, expected people to mistreat him, and lacked concern about other people. Rollins diagnosed defendant with alcohol abuse and dependence as well as adjustment disorder, which included depression. Dr. Billy Royal diagnosed defendant with depression, alcohol and marijuana abuse, and personality disorder. He considered the disorder to include immaturity, impulsivity, and dependence in the relationship with the victim. Both doctors opined that defendant's ability to form a specific intent to kill and to premeditate and deliberate was impaired on 9 April 1992. Both also noted defendant's history of violence toward the victim.

At sentencing the State relied on its guilt phase evidence and also introduced an eight-by-ten-inch photograph that depicted the stick protruding from the victim's rectum. This photograph had been excluded from the guilt phase.

Defendant's sister testified at sentencing that defendant supported the victim as best he could and always helped his two deaf Psychiatric testimony offered at sentencing showed that defendant grew up in a dysfunctional family environment that included abuse of his mother and severe punishment of defendant for his transgressions. He became dependent upon alcohol early in his teenage years; this dependence exacerbated the difficulty he experienced in dealing with the end of his relationship with the victim. According to the expert testimony, defendant suffered from depression, substance dependence, and personality disorder at the time of trial.

brothers. She also stated that their father, who was not at home much due to his work, hit defendant and assaulted their mother. Further, defendant used various drugs, including marijuana and cocaine.

The jury found defendant guilty of first-degree murder under the theory of premeditation and deliberation and under the felony murder rule; it also convicted defendant of first-degree sexual offense. At sentencing the jury found two aggravating circumstances: "The capital felony was committed while the defendant was engaged in a sex offense"; and "The capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel." The jury found one statutory mitigating circumstance, "The capital felony was committed while the defendant was under the influence of mental or emotional disturbance," and fourteen of the nineteen nonstatutory mitigating circumstances submitted. It unanimously recommended a sentence of death, which the trial court accordingly imposed.

Additional facts will be presented as necessary for analysis of the issues.

PRETRIAL PHASE

First, defendant contends the trial court erred by denying his pretrial motion to suppress the statement he made to Lieutenant Cuddington and Agent Dees at the Smithfield Police Department on 10 April 1992 and all evidence obtained as a result thereof. He argues that his statement was obtained illegally and that the physical evidence should have been excluded as the fruit of the poisonous tree. The State's evidence at the pretrial hearing tended to show that Cuddington and Dees began to look for defendant at approximately 1:00 a.m. on 10 April after they learned of defendant's past relationship with the victim. They found defendant at his grandmother's house at 3:00 a.m. While Cuddington asked defendant if he would go to the police station for questioning, Dees remained in the yard near the street. Both Cuddington and Dees drove unmarked police cars and wore plain clothes at that time. Defendant agreed to accompany Cuddington to the police station and rode in the front seat of Cuddington's squad car. He was not handcuffed or frisked.

Cuddington and Dees escorted defendant into the shift commander's room at the Smithfield Police Department at about 3:25 a.m. Dees sat at one desk, Cuddington sat at another, and defendant sat in a chair six or eight feet in front of Dees. The officers left the door open at first but later closed it to shut out hallway noise. They told defendant they wanted to shut the door and explained why; defendant voiced no objection. The officers assured defendant that they would not lock the door and that he was not under arrest and could leave at any time. Dees then advised defendant of his Miranda rights as a precaution. Defendant indicated that he understood each right, and at about 3:28 a.m. he agreed to waive them. Dees then began asking defendant general questions about his occupation and usual daily activities before inquiring into his actions on 9 April 1992. Defendant stated that he had stopped at a tavern after work that day and consumed six or seven beers. He also stated that he saw the victim on his way home from the tavern and that they said "hello" in passing.

Defendant then sat back in his chair and said, "I think I need to speak to a lawyer." Cuddington asked if defendant had a particular lawyer in mind; defendant said he was not sure. Cuddington handed defendant a telephone directory opened to the Yellow Pages section containing attorney listings for the Smithfield area. As he did so, Dees told defendant he could talk to a lawyer and could continue to talk to the police if he wanted to. Defendant briefly perused the Yellow Pages and then said, "well, let's go ahead and talk," or words to that effect. Dees reminded defendant Defendant testified at the hearing that he had accompanied Cuddington to the police station because he felt he had to, even though no one placed handcuffs on him, pulled a weapon, or touched him in any way. None of the officers made defendant feel...