State v. Doyle, 84,814.

Decision Date25 January 2002
Docket NumberNo. 84,814.,84,814.
Citation38 P.3d 650,272 Kan. 1157
PartiesSTATE OF KANSAS, Appellee, v. FRANCIS PATRICK DOYLE, Appellant.
CourtKansas Supreme Court

Janine Cox, assistant appellate defender, argued the cause, and Jessica R. Kunen, chief appellate defender, was with her on the brief for appellant.

W. Scott Toth, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Steven J. Obermeier, assistant district attorney, Paul J. Morrison, district attorney, and Carla J. Stovall, attorney general, were on the brief for appellee.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

LOCKETT, J.:

Defendant Francis Doyle appeals from convictions of first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and aggravated burglary, claiming (1) there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's finding of premeditation; (2) the prosecutor's closing argument violated the defendant's due process right to a fair trial; (3) the trial judge's failure to dismiss a prospective juror for cause was reversible error; and (4) the trial judge committed reversible error in admitting a 911 dispatch tape recording into evidence.

Doyle was a newspaper carrier for the Kansas City Star from 1975 to 1985, when he retired. Doyle had been an involved father and, after his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1977, he became the sole caretaker of his disabled wife until she entered a nursing home during the later stages of the disease. Subsequent to the death of his wife, Doyle began to exhibit subtle personality changes. Doyle was 79 years old at the time of the crimes.

One of the victims, Marguerite Bacher, had been married to Walter Bacher for 53 years and, for the last 35 years of their marriage, the Bachers lived on High Drive in Leawood, Kansas. Like Doyle, Walter worked as a newspaper carrier for the Kansas City Star. Walter died in 1995 after 40 years with the Kansas City Star.

After Walter's death, Marguerite and Doyle became acquainted. Marguerite introduced Doyle to her nephew, Fred Cloud. Doyle helped Marguerite around the house. She gave him a key to the house so he could care for her dog and do other chores when she traveled. In the fall of 1998, Marguerite returned to her high school in Caldwell, Kansas, for a class reunion. At that time, she became reacquainted with her high school boyfriend, Lawrence Kubik. He proposed, and they were married shortly thereafter.

Marguerite's marriage to Kubik changed the relationship between Doyle and Marguerite. Kubik took over the odd jobs, like yardwork, that Doyle had performed prior to the marriage. Doyle began stalking Marguerite. This concerned Marguerite, but her nephew told her to let it go.

On the night of February 3, 1998, Doyle, who had the key to Marguerite's house, removed his personalized license plate from the front of his car and drove to Marguerite's house. Around 10 p.m., Marguerite's neighbor, Norma Brooks, saw Doyle driving his car very slowly past Marguerite's house. She thought it was unusual, but she was not concerned.

In the early morning hours of February 4, 1998, a 911 dispatcher received a call from Marguerite's address. The caller was a woman who asked that help be sent immediately. The dispatcher was unable to get any further information from the woman, who was clearly in distress. The dispatcher sent a call out to officers in the area.

Officers Randy Rausch, Todd Chappell, Greg Turney, and Paul Sullivan responded to the call. Rausch approached the one area of the dark house that had a light, the master bedroom. Rausch observed an individual swinging a baseball bat up and down in a chopping motion. Rausch shouted to alert the other officers to the attack. He called dispatch and requested an ambulance.

When the officers entered the house, they found there were two victims, Marguerite and Kubik. Kubik was in the bed and Marguerite was partly in the bedroom and partly in the bathroom. They then discovered Doyle crouched behind a table with a baseball bat in his hand. Doyle identified himself to the officers.

After securing Doyle, the officers checked the victims' conditions. Kubik never spoke or moved. Marguerite was nonresponsive to questions from the officers. It was clear that both victims had suffered extensive trauma. Doyle was arrested and interviewed. During the taped interview, Doyle discussed his friendship with Marguerite and her subsequent marriage to Kubik. Doyle said that he had received a telephone call from Marguerite at about 12:05 a.m. on February 4, 1998. Marguerite said she was having some trouble with Kubik and asked Doyle to come to the house. When he arrived, he had used his key to enter the house because there was no response when he rang the doorbell. He called out, but there was no answer. He went into the bedroom and found Kubik on the floor at the foot of the bed and Marguerite in the bathroom. Doyle described the scene as very bloody. He said he leaned over Kubik, who tried to fight him off. Doyle explained that was how he ended up with blood on his clothes. Doyle said Kubik eventually asked Doyle to "go get him." Doyle said he did not go over to Marguerite. Rather, he picked up a baseball bat and started into the living room in search of the perpetrator. At that time, he heard the breaking glass and the voices of the officers. Doyle stated he hid behind the cabinet because he knew he was "in a mess" with the baseball bat in his hand. Doyle stated to the officers that he had nothing to do with Kubik's and Marguerite's conditions. Kubik did not survive. Marguerite survived, although she had sustained considerable trauma.

Kubik was 77 years old at the time of his death. An autopsy revealed 16 lacerations to Kubik's head. Inside the skull, there was extensive bleeding, both inside and outside the dura. Over the surface of the brain, there were nine separate subarachnoid hemorrhages. There were 10 areas of injury to the tissues of the brain. On the vertex of Kubik's skull, there were six lacerations, each the result of a different blow. On his forehead, there were two lateral lacerations, and on his left eye, there was a third. His nasal bridge and left cheek bone were fractured. His left ear had been torn off and sewn back on by the plastic surgeon at the hospital before Kubik died. The hemorrhaging and contusions were caused by blunt trauma or the forcible striking of the head, resulting in at least four skull fractures.

Kubik had suffered separate blows to the torso. One blow appeared to be high in the underarm area where there was a contusion. There was another contusion a little lower. There were fractures to the right third and fourth ribs and six to seven abrasions and contusions around the right elbow, right forearm, right hand, and left elbow, and two abrasions to the left forearm and left hand. There was a fracture of the small bone in the left hand. These may have been defensive wounds. The cause of Kubik's death was blunt force injuries to the head, thorax, abdomen, and extremities. Of these, the blows to the head were most significant.

As a result of the attack, Marguerite underwent surgery on her right hand where four fingers had been broken; her left hand, where three fingers had been broken; and her left kneecap, which was also broken. Marguerite suffered skull fractures and was hospitalized for almost 6 months. She suffered memory loss of the attack, loss of the ability to walk, and she no longer has short-term memory. At the time of trial, she was still undergoing rehabilitation therapy to learn to walk, use the telephone, swallow, and to understand counting and the alphabet. She resided in a nursing home.

Doyle was charged with the first-degree premeditated murder of Kubik, attempted first-degree murder of Marguerite, and aggravated burglary. He was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder, attempted second-degree murder, and aggravated burglary. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for 25 years on the murder conviction, 49 months, to run consecutively, on the attempted second-degree murder conviction, and 32 months, to run concurrently, on the aggravated burglary conviction. Doyle appealed, raising four issues.

Evidence of Premeditation

At trial, Doyle's defense was that he was not capable of forming criminal intent or premeditation because he had senile dementia or Alzheimer's disease. When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged in a criminal case, the standard of review is whether, after review of all the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the appellate court is convinced a rational factfinder could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Jasper, 269 Kan. 649, 655, 8 P.3d 708 (2000). Both the defense and the prosecutor agreed that Doyle suffered from some level of dementia—the issue was the degree of the disease and how the disease affected Doyle's ability to form intent or premeditation.

Premeditation is a "`state of mind' relating to a person's reasons and motives for acting as he or she did." State v. Cravatt, 267 Kan. 314, 328, 979 P.2d 679 (1999). Unless a person actually communicates his or her reasons for taking another's life, evidence of premeditation must be proved by circumstantial evidence. Such evidence, however, is sufficient to establish even the gravest offenses, as in this case. Premeditation cannot be inferred from the use of a deadly weapon alone, but it may be inferred where other circumstances also exist. 267 Kan. at 328-29; see State v. Hill, 233 Kan. 648, 652, 664 P.2d 840 (1983).

The experts in this case used different tests and criteria in making their determinations. The defense presented expert testimony of Dr. William O'Connor, a clinical psychologist who had interviewed and tested Doyle. O'Connor testified that the mental degeneration impaired Doyle's ability to think abstractly and to reason verbally. O'Connor testified that Doyle had the normal ability to retain...

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  • State v. Anthony
    • United States
    • Kansas Supreme Court
    • 27 October 2006
    ...prosecutor infer that the two blows came first?" We see plenty of evidence to support the prosecutor's remarks. See State v. Doyle, 272 Kan. 1157, 1164, 38 P.3d 650 (2002) (prosecution given wide latitude in language, manner, presentation of closing argument as long as remarks consistent wi......
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    ...the propriety of the action taken by the trial court, it cannot be said that the trial court abused its discretion." State v. Doyle, 272 Kan. 1157, 1168, 38 P.3d 650 (2002). In Gregg, this court was faced, as a matter of first impression, with whether the trial court abused its discretion i......
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    ...is the jury's function, not an appellate court's, to weigh the evidence and determine the credibility of witnesses. State v. Doyle, 272 Kan. 1157, 1162-63, 38 P.3d 650 (2002). After reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, we determine that there was sufficient......
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