State v. Davis

• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: Lawrence E. Mooney
• Citation: State v. Davis, 32 S.W.3d 603 (Mo. App. 2000)
• Decision Date: 17 October 2000
• Parties: (Mo.App. E.D. 2000) State of Missouri, Respondent, v. Martiez Davis, Appellant ED76691

32 S.W.3d 603 (Mo.App. E.D. 2000)

State of Missouri, Respondent, v. Martiez Davis, Appellant

ED76691

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District

10/17/2000

Appeal From: Circuit Court of St. Louis, Hon. Henry E. Autrey, Judge

Counsel for Appellant: Nancy L. Vincent

Counsel for Respondent: John Munson Morris, III and Karen L. Kramer

Opinion Summary: Martiez appeals the judgment on his convictions for first-degree murder, armed criminal action, and attempted forcible rape.

Division Four holds: (1) The trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding expert testimony on interrogation techniques. (2) The trial court properly admitted defendant's videotaped testimony and oral statements to police. (3) There was sufficient evidence to show deliberation for first-degree murder. (4) The trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to admit evidence of another condom which had no purpose other than to cast suspicion on another. (5) The trial court did not abuse its discretion or commit reversible error in denying defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment.

Lawrence E. Mooney, Judge

Defendant appeals the judgment entered on his convictions for murder in the first degree, Section 565.020, RSMo. 1994¹; armed criminal action, Section 571.015; and attempted forcible rape, Section 566.030. His points on appeal are that the trial court erred in: (1) refusing to admit expert testimony on interrogation techniques; (2) admitting defendant's statement to police; (3) failing to grant an acquittal because without the statement there is not enough proof to link him to the crime; (4) failing to grant an acquittal based on the state's failure to prove the mens rea for first-degree murder; (5) excluding rebuttal testimony regarding a condom found in his basement; and (6) refusing to dismiss the indictment against defendant.

We affirm.

Facts

At the time of Crystal Brooks' murder, defendant, who was nineteen, lived with his father and two brothers in a second-floor flat at 4036 Russell. He had access to the building's common basement that had a door leading to the outside. Crystal was thirteen years old and lived with her mother at 4436 Russell.

Around sunset on the day of the murder, a neighbor heard Crystal shouting at defendant, telling him to get away and leave her alone. Near midnight that same day, Crystal was with three friends on the friends' front porch at 4033 Russell. When told to go home, Crystal and one of her friends left, walking past defendant's house on the way home.

Defendant was also on his front porch that night with his brother and some friends, celebrating his brother's birthday and drinking beer. Defendant's brother and friends left, but defendant stayed on the porch, seeing Crystal and her friend walk to Crystal's house.

About 5:30 a.m. on March 20, 1997, Crystal's mother noticed Crystal was missing. Crystal's lifeless body was found lying face down in the alley behind her house with no clothing on the top part of her body and her pants and underpants pulled below her pelvic area. Crystal's jacket was found on the roof of the garage and had her blood on it. Her shirt was found twenty-two feet from her body and had her blood on it. Her bra and tee shirt were found nearby in the front seat of an abandoned car. The bra was still clasped together in the back but the front appeared to have been torn or cut apart. The tee shirt had Crystal's blood on it.

The police were called, and after they left, family members and neighbors, including defendant, looked for more evidence. During this search, two of Crystal's aunts saw dried blood on defendant's right hand. In addition, defendant saw a towel on a garage roof near the crime scene. He jumped up, grabbed the towel, and threw it on the ground. Police returned later and seized that towel with Crystal's blood on it and another stained towel found on defendant's dresser.

Later that day, one of Crystal's aunts saw defendant trying to throw away a red Cardinals jacket in a dumpster in the alley. When defendant noticed Crystal's aunt watching him from the third-floor window of Crystal's house, defendant retrieved the bag containing the jacket and took it back to his house.

After interviewing Crystal's two aunts about the blood on defendant's hands, two detectives went to defendant's house, but he was not home. The police picked up defendant and took him to the police station on March 21, 1997. He was advised of his Miranda² rights and he chose to waive them. Initially, defendant told police that after the birthday celebration on his front porch, he went in the house to bed around 11:30 p.m. and did not awake until 5:00 a.m. the next morning. Defendant claimed the blood got on his hands when he retrieved the towel from the garage roof.

Police returned to defendant's home and found a Cardinals jacket stuffed in the rafters of the basement. Tests confirmed Crystal's blood was on that jacket. In addition, a fork with Crystal's blood on it was found in the jacket pocket with a Steak 'n Shake receipt bearing defendant's name. About six feet from the jacket, police found a used condom in the basement rafters containing defendant's seminal fluid.

Defendant was booked for some outstanding traffic charges and was interviewed again by two detectives on March 22, 1997. Before the interview, defendant was read his rights and indicated that he understood them. He admitted the jacket was his and that he usually carried a fork and knife from Steak 'n Shake in his pocket. Defendant made another statement about what happened that night and agreed to make a statement on videotape. He was again advised of his rights, which he waived.

According to defendant's statement to the police, his friend Jeff appeared about the same time as the girls walked by.³ Both defendant and Jeff smoked cigarettes dipped in embalming fluid. After asking whether defendant knew the girls and how old they were, Jeff went to talk to them. About five minutes later, Jeff and Crystal walked toward the side yard and defendant followed them. Jeff took defendant's Cardinals jacket and Crystal sat on it in the backyard near the alley. Jeff kneeled in front of Crystal, and when she tried to get up, he grabbed her by the neck. Crystal accused Jeff of trying to kill her, but he denied it. Crystal sat back down on the coat and quickly jumped back up. Jeff grabbed her again and started saying, "Man, she gonna tell, man. She gonna tell!" Defendant had a fork from Steak 'n Shake in his pocket and started to hand it to Jeff but stopped. Crystal hesitated, started to get up, then laid back down again. Then Crystal said, "Oh no. No, no." Jeff became upset and said, "Man, she's gonna tell on both of us." Defendant took the fork and jabbed at Crystal repeatedly.

Defendant grabbed his coat from under Crystal and ran toward his basement followed by Jeff. He put the fork back in the jacket pocket. In the basement, defendant used a towel to wipe blood off his arm. At the end of the videotaped statement, police had defendant hold his hands up to the camera to document his scratches and scrapes. Defendant also had fork tine imprints in the palm of his right hand.

The medical examiner found that the fatal wound was an incision on Crystal's neck, and the wound was inconsistent with having been produced by a knife. Further, he declared that the fork from defendant's jacket was "perfectly consistent" with the wounds on Crystal's body.

The jury found defendant guilty of first-degree murder, attempted forcible rape, and armed criminal action that referenced the murder. He was acquitted of armed criminal action

regarding attempted rape. As to the respective guilty verdicts, the trial court sentenced defendant to life without the possibility of probation or parole, to another life sentence, and to thirty years, to be served concurrently.

Analysis

I. Expert Testimony

In his first point, defendant argues that the trial court erred in excluding expert testimony on interrogation techniques, false confessions, and coercive persuasion, presenting an issue of first impression in Missouri. Defendant offered testimony by Dr. Richard Leo, an expert in the field of interrogation psychology. Defendant contended that the jury would be aided in determining the reliability of his statements to police. The state objected and the trial court held a hearing wherein an extensive offer of proof was made. The trial court declared the testimony inadmissible since it would not aid the jury.

In the offer of proof, Dr. Leo revealed he would testify about interrogation techniques, how such techniques influence criminal suspects, and whether the techniques correlate to false confessions. In addition, he would explain to the jury how and why false confessions occur and principles to use to evaluate the reliability of a confession.⁴

Because the trial court has discretion to allow or exclude expert testimony, we will only reverse the trial court for abuse of discretion. State v. Williams, 828 S.W.2d 894, 899 (Mo.App. E.D. 1992). The trial court abuses its discretion when the ruling is clearly against the logic of the circumstances or when it is arbitrary and unreasonable. Id.

In ruling on the admissibility of expert testimony, the trial court considers whether such testimony assists the jury or if it unnecessarily diverts the jury's attention from relevant issues. State v. Lawhorn, 762 S.W.2d 820, 822-23 (Mo. banc 1988). Further, such testimony is inadmissible if it relates to the credibility of witnesses for this constitutes an invasion of the province of the jury. Id. For example, in State v. Taylor, the Missouri Supreme Court decided that expert testimony regarding whether a rape victim was actually assaulted at the time and place she claimed improperly bolstered the victim's story. 663 S.W.2d 235, 240-41 (Mo. 1984). Expert testimony regarding a witness's reliability in distinguishing truth from fantasy was deemed inadmissible...