State v. Evans, s. 20530

• Decision Date: 22 April 1999
• Docket Number: 22505,Nos. 20530,s. 20530
• Citation: 992 S.W.2d 275
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Rodney Clay EVANS, Defendant-Appellant. Rodney Evans, Movant-Appellant, v. State of Missouri, Respondent-Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 275

992 S.W.2d 275

STATE of Missouri, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Rodney Clay EVANS, Defendant-Appellant.

Rodney Evans, Movant-Appellant, v. State of Missouri, Respondent-Respondent.

Nos. 20530, 22505.

Missouri Court of Appeals,

Southern District,

Division Two.

April 22, 1999.

Motion for Rehearing and Transfer

Denied May 13, 1999.

Application to Transfer Denied

June 29, 1999.

M. Shawn Askinosie, Springfield, MO, for Appellant.

Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Att. Gen, and Karen L. Kramer, Asst. Att. Gen., Jefferson City, MO, for Respondent.

Before SHRUM, P.J., GARRISON, C.J., and BARNEY, J.

PER CURIAM.

A jury convicted Appellant Rodney Clay Evans ("Defendant") of murder in the first degree pursuant to Section 565.020.1, RSMo 1994, for the murder of Sheilah Evans, his wife. The trial court entered its judgment of conviction and imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility of probation or parole. Defendant brings appeal 20530 from this judgment, raising six points of trial court error, discussed below. Defendant also filed a motion to vacate the judgment and sentence per Rule 29.15, Missouri Court Rules (1996). The motion court denied relief after an evidentiary hearing. Defendant brings appeal 22505 from that order.

Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction. "Appellate review is limited to a determination of whether there is sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror might have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." State v. Chaney, 967 S.W.2d 47, 52 (Mo. banc 1998). In applying this standard, the Court accepts as true all of the evidence favorable to the State, including all favorable inferences drawn from the evidence and disregards all evidence and inferences to the contrary. Id. "Even where evidence of a defendant's guilt is solely circumstantial, the evidence is sufficient to support a conviction if the evidence is such that a reasonable juror would be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt." State v. Myszka, 963 S.W.2d 19, 23 (Mo.App.1998). All of the elements of a homicide case, including the corpus delicti may be proved with circumstantial evidence. Id. The jury resolves questions of credibility and inconsistencies in the evidence. State v. Neely, 979 S.W.2d 552, 561 (Mo.App.1998). A jury may accept part of a witness's testimony while disbelieving other portions. State v. Redmond, 937 S.W.2d 205, 209 (Mo. banc 1996). A jury may also draw certain inferences from a witness's testimony, but reject others. Id.

The events which serve as the impetus for this case occurred on September 8 and 9, 1994. An in depth recitation of the evidence is essential to the understanding of the issues on appeal. On the night of September 8, Defendant picked up his wife, Sheilah Evans ("Sheilah") at the Airport in Tulsa. ¹ The couple returned to their home in Nixa about 1:00 a.m. on September 9th. Approximately two hours after Defendant and Sheilah returned home, Defendant called 911 to report that he had found his wife unconscious in the pool. The Nixa police department and paramedics arrived at the residence at 2:55 a.m. and described Defendant as administrating CPR to Sheilah at the shallow end of the outdoor pool located in the back yard of the home. Defendant appeared to be upset. The first officer on the scene, Tim Matthews, could smell intoxicants upon Defendant's person. There was a large amount of water adjacent to the deep end of the pool. Both Sheilah and Defendant were nude. After taking over CPR but getting no response, paramedics pronounced Sheilah dead on the scene at 3:06 a.m.

When asked what happened, Defendant told Officer Matthews that when he and his wife returned from the airport he had made them each a strawberry daiquiri and that they had gone to bed and had sexual intercourse. After finishing, Sheilah told him that she was going to take a bath. After about twenty minutes, Defendant got up to see what was taking her so long but was unable to find her in the bathtub. ² He said he went to look for his wife and eventually found Sheilah lying at the bottom of the deep end of their pool. He stated he pulled Sheilah out of the pool at the deep end and then dragged her down to the shallow end, where he attempted CPR and called 911. Defendant also told Officer Matthews that he and Sheilah had been having marital problems but were hoping to work things out. At trial, Officer Matthews also acknowledged that Defendant had told him his wife had been in the Marian Center ³ for suicidal tendencies and depression and that she was taking numerous antidepressant medications, which made her tired. Officer Matthews found no obvious signs of a struggle in the house or around the pool. He also observed that Defendant did not seem to be injured in any way, nor did he find unusual marks on Sheilah's hands or feet or elsewhere on the body. Officer Matthews also testified that he examined the bathtub in the couple's bedroom but found no moisture anywhere, no wet towels, nor anything indicating that a bath had been taken within probably twenty-four hours.

Defendant stated to paramedic June Snyder that he and his wife had engaged in sexual relations in various locations throughout the home that morning. He also explained to Ms. Snyder that his wife had been "out of the hospital for severe depression for two weeks" and explained to Officer Belin that his wife had previously considered suicide by carbon-monoxide poisoning. Concerning his and Sheilah's marital situation, Defendant explained to Officer Belin that his wife had said "don't push me, I need time." Defendant also stated to Officer Belin that he was taking Prozac and Ativan, to help him get through "this marriage situation." Nevertheless, Defendant related to Officer Belin that they were getting along "good all night."

Additionally, Defendant explained to Officer Belin that he found his wife at the deep end of the pool but pulled her out through the shallow end of the pool, instead of the deep end of the pool, as Officer Matthews testified Defendant told him.

Under cross-examination, Officer Belin acknowledged Defendant had told him that he and his wife "had experienced a great deal of marriage difficulty in the past few months." Officer Belin also acknowledged Defendant had told him that "his wife had filed for divorce and had gotten an ex-parte ... due to their ongoing problems...."

At trial, another of the officers investigating the case, Corporal Dwayne Isringhausen of the Missouri State Patrol, testified that Defendant had told him Sheilah was insured in the total amount of $152,000.00. Defendant also related that "they had the perfect marriage, no fussing," ⁴ but that Defendant had discussed details of an ex-parte order that Sheilah had previously obtained against Defendant. Corporal Isringhausen testified that Defendant largely disputed Sheilah's claims relating to the ex-parte order and that "Sheilah was a liar" and that she "started lying about three months ago." Defendant also informed Corporal Isringhausen that, on the morning in question, he and his wife had showered together. He also stated that after showering he smelled marijuana in the air. Defendant then said that he and Sheilah had engaged in sexual relations and the last statement he heard from her was that she was going to take some sleeping pills. Defendant told Corporal Isringhausen he must have dozed off for about twenty minutes. Defendant also stated to Corporal Isringhausen that he had, at times past, needed to carry Sheilah to the bathroom because she was "so drugged from the medication that was prescribed to her by Dr. Caputo." However, as best can be gleaned from the transcript, Defendant told Corporal Isringhausen that Sheilah "[did not] seem to be drugged or intoxicated at the time that she went into the pool, and he thought maybe she had tripped on a cat or something of that nature and fell in."

At trial Sabry Broussard, Jr., admitted having a "relationship" with Sheilah, but said it ended on August 20, 1995.

Randall Lee Cantwell, a co-worker of Defendant, testified that he had known Defendant 18 to 20 years. Cantwell testified that Defendant had told him that Defendant and Sheilah were going through a divorce and that Defendant wanted the house and wasn't happy with Sheilah's proposal regarding the division of their property. Cantwell stated Defendant told him about a month before Sheilah's death that "[i]f she keeps it up, they're liable to find her floating in the pool." Cantwell testified Defendant repeated the same statement to him two or three times and that he "wasn't laughing and joking" about it. He also related that Defendant told him Sheilah was having an affair, and Defendant wanted to use Cantwell's truck to follow her. Cantwell further stated that Defendant told him that Sheilah was in the Marian Center and that Defendant had heard she was suicidal from one of the nurses there, and that "what he would do is get her to kill herself."

John Blanton, another co-worker of Defendant, testified that shortly before Sheilah's death Defendant related to him that Defendant and Sheilah were going through a divorce and Defendant didn't like it. Blanton said Defendant told him Sheilah had a restraining order against Defendant, and he was going to have to find a place to live. Defendant also stated to Blanton that Defendant had "thoughts of killing her, but he didn't think he could go through it." Defendant further related to Blanton that "his divorce lawyer said 'she may get in that car and kill herself or fall off in that pool.' "

David Acuff, another co-worker of Defendant, testified that Defendant had moved into Acuff's house and stayed three or four days around the 19 th of August, prior to Sheilah's death. Acuff recounted how Defendant had told him, the Thursday before Sheilah's death, that he was upset about the divorce and losing his house. Defendant related to Acuff...