State v. Howell

• Decision Date: 29 February 2000
• Citation: 34 S.W.3d 484
• Parties: STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Karen R. HOWELL, Natasha W. Cornett, Jason B. Bryant, Edward D. Mullins, Joseph L. Risner, and Crystal R. Sturgill, Appellants.
• Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals

34 S.W.3d 484

STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Karen R. HOWELL, Natasha W. Cornett, Jason B. Bryant, Edward D. Mullins, Joseph L. Risner, and Crystal R. Sturgill, Appellants.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, at Knoxville.

February 29, 2000.

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David L. Leonard, Leonard & Kershaw, Greeneville, TN, for appellant Howell.

Stacy L. Street, Hampton & Street, Elizabethton, TN, for appellant Cornett.

Robert J. Jessee, Johnson City, TN, for appellant Bryant.

Stephen W. Owens, Pikeville, KY, Gerald Eidson, Rogersville, TN, for appellant Mullins.

Mark D. Slagle, Johnson City, TN, and T. Wood Smith, Greeneville, TN, for appellant Risner.

Greg W. Eichelman, and Michael A. Walcher, Office of the Public Defender, Morristown, TN, for appellant Sturgill.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Kathy Morante, Deputy Attorney General, Criminal Justice Division, Nashville, TN, C. Berkeley Bell, District Attorney General, Cecil C. Mills, Jr., Assistant District Attorney General, and Eric D. Christiansen, Assistant District Attorney General, Greeneville, TN, for appellee.

OPINION

GARY R. WADE, Presiding Judge.

The defendants, Karen Howell, Natasha Cornett, Crystal Sturgill, Joseph Risner, Jason Bryant, and Dean Mullins, entered pleas of guilt to the attempted murder of Peter Lillelid and the first degree murders of Vidar, Delfina, and Tabitha Lillelid.¹ In exchange for the pleas of guilt, the state agreed to withdraw its requests for imposition of the death penalty. Each defendant waived the right to trial by jury and the trial court conducted a consolidated sentencing hearing. At the conclusion of the proceeding, the trial court sentenced each defendant to life in prison without the possibility of parole for each of the three first degree murder convictions and twenty-five years for the attempted murder conviction. The trial court ordered each sentence to be served consecutively.

In this appeal of right, each defendant challenges the application of the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and questions the propriety of consecutive sentencing. The defendants Karen Howell and Natasha Cornett contend that the trial court erred by failing to grant separate sentencing hearings. Howell has adopted the allegations of error made by the other defendants. Crystal Sturgill contends that the trial court should have granted a severance of her sentencing hearing and also argues that the trial court erred by vicariously applying aggravating circumstances to her. Joseph Risner contends that the trial court erred by applying nonstatutory aggravating circumstances; he also adopted the issues presented by the other defendants. Jason Bryant, a juvenile, asserts that the trial court erred by imposing a life sentence without the possibility of parole in violation of Tenn. Code Ann. ž 37-1-134, which sets out the procedure for transfer from juvenile court. Dean Mullins contends that the trial court erred by failing to grant separate sentencing hearings for the six defendants and by vicariously applying aggravating circumstances to him in arriving at the maximum sentence. He also maintains that the state improperly sought the death penalty in violation of an agreement between him and the state.

We affirm the sentences imposed by the trial court as to defendants Howell, Cornett, Bryant, Mullins, and Risner. Due to her involvement in the crimes, but because of the significant difference between the level of her participation and that of the other defendants, the sentence of the defendant Sturgill is modified to three concurrent terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; the twenty-five year sentences for attempted first degree murder shall be served consecutively as to all defendants except Sturgill.

Each of the six defendants was indicted for three counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted first degree murder, two counts of especially aggravated kidnaping, two counts of aggravated kidnaping, and one count of theft of property valued over $1,000. The charges stemmed from the April 6, 1997, murder of Vidar Lillelid (34) and Delfina Lillelid (28), the murder of their six-year-old daughter, Tabitha Lillelid, and the attempted murder of their two-year-old son, Peter Lillelid. The crimes were committed near a rest stop in Greene County, Tennessee.

The defendants were en route from their homes in Pikeville, Kentucky, to New Orleans, Louisiana. Before leaving Kentucky, they had acquired two guns, a 9mm and a .25 caliber pistol. Shortly after their departure, they realized that their car, which belonged to Joseph Risner, would not likely sustain the length of the trip. They discussed the possibility of stealing a car from a parking lot or a dealership before meeting the Lillelids, who were returning to their residence from a religious convention, at a rest stop on Interstate 81 near Greeneville.

Vidar Lillelid, who was an active Jehovah's Witness, approached Cornett and Howell at the rest stop in order to discuss his religious views. He was accompanied by his son, Peter. Eventually, Risner and Bryant joined the conversation. Meanwhile, Mrs. Lillelid and her daughter, Tabitha, were seated at a nearby picnic table. After a time, Risner, Bryant, Howell, and Cornett joined the entire Lillelid family and continued their conversation. At some point, Risner displayed one of the guns and said, "I hate to do you this way, but we are going to have to take you with us for your van." As he then directed the Lillelid family into their van, Vidar Lillelid pleaded with the group, offering his keys and wallet in exchange for permission to remain at the rest stop. Risner refused.

Vidar Lillelid drove the van while Risner, still armed, sat in the passenger seat. Risner, Bryant, Howell, and Cornett were in the van with the Lillelids. Mullins and Sturgill followed in Risner's car. In an attempt to calm the children, Delfina Lillelid began to sing. Bryant purportedly ordered her to stop. Risner directed Mr. Lillelid first to the interstate and then to a secluded road at the next exit.

What happened thereafter is in dispute. The accounts given by Risner, Cornett, Howell, Mullins, and Sturgill are consistent, except for minor discrepancies. They claim that Bryant began to take charge of the situation once Risner ordered the van to a stop. Risner, who was in possession of the 9mm weapon, contends that he handed the gun to Cornett at that point, explaining that he could not continue. Cornett maintains that she placed the weapon on the floor of the van while Bryant, who had the .25 caliber gun, ordered the Lillelids to stand in front of a ditch. According to all but Bryant, the Lillelids pleaded for their lives and especially for the lives of their children, promising that they would not call the authorities. The other defendants contend that when Bryant refused, Cornett and Howell then pleaded with Bryant to let the Lillelids go. According to the other defendants, Bryant again refused, explaining that the Lillelids would likely call the police. When Bryant promised that he would not hurt the children, Howell and Cornett testified that they returned to the van, where Risner had remained. They then heard a rapid succession of gunshots. Some claim that Mr. Lillelid was the first to be shot, while others say that it was Mrs. Lillelid. All contend that when the shooting stopped, Bryant returned to the van, and said, "They're still fÔÇöing alive." He then grabbed the other gun and fired another round of shots. Bryant, they said, laughed and bragged about the shootings. After the shootings, Risner went to his car and removed the license plate and registration from his vehicle. Risner claims that he accidentally struck one or more of the bodies when, in response to an order from Bryant, he turned the van around. They each claim that Sturgill and Mullins remained in Risner's car throughout the entire episode.

At the sentencing hearing, Bryant testified that it was Risner who ordered the Lillelids out of the van and directed them to stand by a ditch. He contended that Risner first shot Vidar Lillelid with the .25 caliber weapon and then slapped Mullins on the shoulder, and that Mullins also shot at the victims. Bryant claimed that he kept his eyes closed during the shootings and that he never fired either weapon. Bryant contended that Mullins and Risner ordered the others into the van after the shootings. The defendants then drove the Lillelids' van to a gas station where they purchased a road map. They stopped at a Waffle House while traveling through Georgia but left the restaurant when a group of police officers arrived. They decided to abandon their plans to travel to New Orleans and instead drove toward Mexico. When they reached the border, they were initially denied admittance because they did not have the proper forms of identification but eventually found a way into the country. While in Mexico, Bryant was shot in the hand and leg. The source of the wound is disputed by the defendants. Bryant testified that Risner asked him to take the blame for the shootings because Bryant was a juvenile. He claimed that when he hesitated, Risner shot him in the hand and in the leg. The other defendants asserted that Bryant's wounds were self-inflicted.

Later, the defendants were stopped by the Mexican authorities. When they claimed they were lost, the officers ordered the defendants out of the van and conducted a search. When they found a knife and a photo album belonging to the Lillelid family, they ordered the defendants to the border to re-enter the United States. American officers searched the defendants at the border patrol and took them to an Arizona jail. At the time of their arrest, several of the defendants had in their possession personal items belonging to the victims.

Upon their return to Tennessee, the state filed formal charges and provided notice seeking the death penalty for each defend...