State v. DeRaad

• Decision Date: 14 January 1969
• Docket Number: No. 52590,52590
• Citation: 164 N.W.2d 108
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Donald LeRoy DeRAAD, Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 108

164 N.W.2d 108

STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Donald LeRoy DeRAAD, Appellant.

No. 52590.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Jan. 14, 1969.

Martin R. Dunn, Des Moines, for appellant.

Richard C. Turner, Atty. Gen., James C. Sell, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Ray A. Fenton, County Atty., Des Moines, for appellee.

MASON, Justice.

Donald LeRoy DeRaad seeks reversal of his conviction for murder in the second degree as defined in sections 690.1 and 690.3 of the 1966 Code. Defendant had been charged by a grand jury indictment with murdering Mary Jorgenson, alias Mary Albers, alias Mary Wilson in Polk County May 15, 1966. Following a plea of not guilty the matter proceeded to trial by jury which returned a verdict of guilty. Motion for new trial was overruled and defendant was sentenced to imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a term of 75 years.

I. Defendant first contends the evidence against him generates nothing more than mere suspicion, speculation or conjecture he committed the murder and argues the trial court erred in refusing to direct a verdict in his favor based upon insufficiency of evidence. He maintains the evidence is totally lacking in respect to proving he administered the beating which killed Mary Jorgenson.

On appeal by defendant based on claimed insufficiency of evidence to support a conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. The finding of guilt by the trier of fact is binding on us unless we are satisfied it is without substantial support in the evidence or is clearly against the weight thereof. State v. Frink, 255 Iowa 59, 64, 120 N.W.2d 432, 435; State v. Stodola, 257 Iowa 863, 865--866, 134 N.W.2d 920, 921--922; State v. Daves, 259 Iowa 584, 585, 144 N.W.2d 879, 880; State v. Wimbush, 260 Iowa 1262, 1264, 150 N.W.2d 653, 654; State v. Allnutt, Iowa, 156 N.W.2d 266, 267; and State v. Anderson, Iowa, 159 N.W.2d 809, 812, and authorities cited in these opinions.

However, the State must prove all essential elements of the crime charged and mere presence at the scene of a crime is not enough to prove defendant committed the offense. State v. Daves, supra, 259 Iowa at 585--586, 144 N.W.2d at 880--881, and citations.

In State v. Frink, State v. Wimbush, both supra, and State v. Horrell, 260 Iowa

945, 948, 151 N.W.2d 526, 529, we quote this from State v. Miskell, 247 Iowa 678, 686--687, 73 N.W.2d 36, 41:

'In a criminal action the cause should be submitted to the jury and the court should not direct a verdict of acquittal if there is any substantial evidence reasonably tending to support the charge. (Citing authorities) * * * (T)he State's evidence, with all reasonable inferences therefrom, must be taken as true and viewed in the light most favorable to the State, and it is necessary to consider only the evidence which tends to support the verdict.'

Either direct or circumstantial evidence, or both, on each and every essential element to conviction is sufficient to warrant a finding of guilty, if it satisfies triers of facts beyond a reasonable doubt. For this purpose circumstantial evidence may be equal in value to and sometimes more reliable than direct evidence. See State v. Manly, 211 Iowa 1043, 1050, 233 N.W. 110, 113, and State v. Heinz, 223 Iowa 1241, 1255, 275 N.W. 10, 19, 114 A.L.R. 959. However, where circumstantial evidence alone is relied on as to any one or more of essential elements the circumstances or circumstances must be entirely consistent with defendant's guilt and wholly inconsistent with any rational hypothesis of defendant's innocence and so convincing as to exclude a reasonable doubt that defendant was guilty of the offense charged. In support see State v. Blydenburg, 135 Iowa 264, 278--279, 112 N.W. 634, 640; State v. Hooper, 222 Iowa 481, 485, 269 N.W. 431, 433; State v. Boyle, 230 Iowa 305, 308, 297 N.W. 312, 314; and State v. Keyser, 257 Iowa 73, 79, 130 N.W.2d 701, 704, and citations in these opinions.

II. With these rules in mind we turn to the evidence in considering defendant's first assigned error.

Defendant and the murdered woman checked into the Martin Hotel in Des Moines between 9 and 10 p.m. May 14 as Mr. and Mrs. John Wilson and were escorted to room 322 by the hotel manager. About 10:30 the manager returned to the room with some ice cubes defendant had ordered. Defendant opened the door, took the bucket of ice and asked the woman with him for money to pay for the service. The manager checked the third floor at 11 p.m. and again at 1 a.m. before retiring. There were no complaints or disturbances reported to him either time.

Around midnight the hotel bellboy delivered a six-pack of beer to defendant's room. Defendant opened the door far enough to receive the beer and pay the bellboy who testified that at the time he noticed defendant's right hand was swollen but because of the position of the partially-opened door, he was not able to see anyone other than defendant in room 322 that night. About 4 a.m. May 15 as he was escorting other guests to rooms on the third floor he heard a voice come from room 322 which he described as sounding like 'a child or a lady, but it was a muffled voice and kind of like someone trying to wake up or something'. He also heard a male voice saying, 'This is the last time now. I'm telling you this is the last time.' He assumed the male voice to be defendant's.

About 10 a.m. May 15 a hotel maid went to room 322 to clean, found the door unlocked, went in and observed someone lying in the bed covered with a spread with one foot hanging out. There was blood on the pillows, on the wall and behind the bed. The manager was called, went to the room, pulled back the bedspread, observed the woman he had registered the night before. Her body had been mutilated. When he found no pulse, he locked the room and called the police.

While investigating the scene of the crime the police learned defendant was known to have kept deceased's company on several occasions for over two years. Latter some of the officers proceeded to defendant's home on Merle Hay Road and were met at the front door by defendant who said, 'I've been waiting for you. I have been listening to the radio, and from the description being put out, I knew you fellows would be out here pretty soon.' Defendant was advised of his constitutional rights, informed he was under arrest for the deceased's murder and asked to get dressed. As he was doing so one officer asked him for the clothing he had been wearing the night before when he checked into the Martin Hotel. This officer testified defendant denied being there but went to the closet, got a sport coat, a pair of trousers and a shirt which he said was the clothing he had been wearing and gave them to the officer. A report from the F.B.I. laboratory later revealed human blood on defendant's clothing but the type was unidentifiable. Two officers testified as to the appearance of defendant's swollen right hand.

After dressing, defendant was taken to the Martin Hotel where he was identified by the hotel manager as the man who had checked into the hotel on the evening of May 14 as John Wilson. He was then taken to the police station and booked about 3 p.m. May 15.

The Polk County medical examiner performed an autopsy, diagnosed the cause of death as a cerebral hemorrhage resulting from a severe beating and placed the time of death anywhere from 1:30 to 5 a.m. May 15. He expressed the opinion that the brain hemorrhage was of a traumatic nature of a type due to an injury, not from natural causes. The deceased woman had a fractured nose, had been badly beaten, burned with cigarettes and matches about the body and whipped in various areas of the body with a dismembered coat hanger. A more detailed description of the bruises and burns about the body would serve no useful purpose. She was identified as Mary Jorgenson.

In investigating room 322 police found beer cans with defendant's fingerprints and his fingerprint in blood on the inside of a glass. The blood type could not be determined. Various articles of bed clothing which contained blood, numerous cigarette butts of the type defendant smoked, burned matches and a coat hanger, the...