State v. Joseph

• Decision Date: 30 August 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-372,94-372
• Citation: 653 N.E.2d 285,73 Ohio St.3d 450
• Parties: The STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. JOSEPH, Appellant.
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Page 450

73 Ohio St.3d 450

653 N.E.2d 285

The STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. JOSEPH, Appellant.

No. 94-372.

Supreme Court of Ohio.

Submitted May 10, 1995.

Decided Aug. 30, 1995.

During the fall of 1989, defendant-appellant, Richard E. Joseph, began dating Cara M. Wireman. They began to date steadily until sometime in February 1990. Cara decided to end the relationship because she did not like the way appellant treated her and she attended her senior prom with someone else. In April, Cara started dating the victim, Ryan Young, a student at the same high school. Ryan and appellant knew each other from playing together on the school football team.

Cara testified that appellant was jealous of Ryan's relationship with her. Appellant wanted her to stop seeing Ryan so they could renew their relationship. This was evidenced by several letters appellant wrote to Cara indicating his jealousy and desire to continue dating Cara. In one letter, he indicated he had been secretly watching Cara and Ryan together for three hours. Cara knew that martial arts played a big part in appellant's life and she had previously seen him with guns and knives.

On Monday, June 25, 1990, the day prior to the kidnapping, Cara and Ryan observed appellant driving around in the area where Cara and Ryan both lived. Cara indicated she did not normally see appellant driving in this area.

On Tuesday, June 26, 1990, Ryan asked his mother if he could go to Cara's house, and he left around seven o'clock that evening driving his father's 1981 Cara's next-door neighbor, Rose Fetter, was outside walking her dog at about 11:15 p.m. that night, when she observed a clean white car driving slowly down Thayer Road. There were two occupants in the car. Fetter indicated she first saw the car being driven north up Thayer Road. About ten minutes later she observed the car heading south on Thayer Road. The car pulled into a dirt driveway leading to property owned by a local kennel club and parked for a few minutes. Just prior to Fetter's going into her home she observed the car back out of the driveway and head north for a second time. Fetter testified she and her husband took care of the property for the kennel club and that she mowed around the driveway earlier in the day and did not observe any tire tracks at that time. However, the next morning she noticed there were tire tracks in the driveway.

Oldsmobile. Ryan's mother received a telephone call from Ryan about 10:30 p.m. that evening and, during that conversation, she told him he could stay and finish watching the movie and then come straight home.

Ryan, Cara, and Cara's friend, Michelle Rumer, were at the same time watching the movie at Cara's house. The movie ended at approximately 11:30 p.m., at which time Michelle left to go home. Ryan stayed about fifteen or twenty minutes after Michelle left. Ryan and Cara walked out of Cara's house and into the driveway. As Ryan got into the car, Cara heard Ryan remark, "That looks like the White Cutlass that Dick [appellant] drives." Cara responded, "I doubt that. He wouldn't be out here." Ryan said, "I'm pretty sure that was him."

Ryan was wearing a baseball hat turned backwards on his head that night. Cara saw Ryan back out onto Thayer Road into a position that would permit him to drive north on Thayer. Just as Ryan backed onto the roadway, she saw the dome light in his car illuminate and heard a voice when the dome light came on. Cara also saw Ryan's head turn toward the passenger side door.

Cara went back into the house and watched television for about fifteen minutes. She decided to go to bed, so she went to shut the front door and saw the tail end of a white car drive by slowly heading south on Thayer Road. She saw the tail lights on the car and heard the brakes squeak. The subject car repeatedly turned around after passing Cara's residence and passed in front of her house approximately ten to twelve times. Cara testified the car matched the description of the car belonging to Bill Forest, a friend of appellant. Cara testified appellant and Jose Bulerin, appellant's friend and roommate, often borrowed Forest's car. Cara became upset and called Michelle concerning the car that had passed in front of her house. At about 12:35 a.m., Cara called the residence shared by appellant and Bulerin. She spoke with appellant's cousin, April Joseph, who testified neither appellant nor Bulerin was home to answer the call.

Cara again called Michelle and talked for a while before calling the appellant's residence a second time at 1:00 a.m. Appellant and Bulerin still had not returned home.

Cara went to sleep and was awakened by a phone call from Ryan's mother, Sharon Young, at approximately 4:00 a.m. that morning. At about that time, Ryan's father, Rick Young, awoke and discovered that neither his son nor the car Ryan had been driving was home. The Youngs drove down Thayer Road toward Cara's house in search of their son. They found the 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ryan had been driving abandoned just north of the bridge on Thayer Road. Rick entered the car and nothing apparently was out of place. The keys were still in the ignition and the car was still in gear. There were no indications of a robbery, as Ryan's wallet and money were, respectively, left on the seat and console tray of the car. A wet spot and char marks were found on the passenger seat of the car. The seat had not been wet or dirty the day before.

Inspector William Dailey took a material sample of a burnt log located across the road opposite from Cara's house on the morning of June 27, 1990. The inspector observed that the vegetation there was trampled down so that it led him to believe that someone may have been sitting in that area. The vegetation still had its color and the breaks in the leaves appeared to be fresh. He also took a sample of the blackened stain area on the front seat of Ryan's car for purposes of comparison with the burned log. Chemical analysis performed later revealed that the samples were consistent with one another.

The sheriff's department was notified and a search began. After talking with Cara, Deputy Gene King of the Allen County Sheriff's Office proceeded to appellant's residence to question him concerning Ryan's disappearance. King arrived at appellant's residence at approximately 5:10 a.m. on the morning Ryan was discovered missing and observed a white Cutlass in the driveway. King testified that the hood and radiator of the car were warm to the touch. There was also a dirty hand print on the trunk lid of the vehicle.

King spoke with appellant and Bulerin. Appellant was hesitant to respond to questioning, as he persistently stared at the ground and his answers were invariably inaudible. The deputy testified that in spite of the early morning hour, appellant did not appear to have been asleep. The deputy also noticed fresh blisters on appellant's right hand.

Appellant was questioned both later that morning and about a week afterwards by law enforcement officers. Appellant disclaimed any knowledge of Ryan's disappearance. Appellant told the sheriff's detectives that on the day of the disappearance he reported to work at Frank's Car Wash. He then left with Forest to go to work at Indian Lake in Logan County. Forest testified that they had been building a deck in order to install a hot tub adjacent to a house.

Appellant, Bulerin, and Forest were using Visqueen to cover up the deck to protect against the rain.

Appellant told detectives that the trio worked until about 6:30 p.m. before starting back to Lima to attend karate class. According to Forest, the karate class was taught by Bulerin with appellant helping out as a co-instructor. Appellant and Bulerin then left karate class in Forest's car, the white Cutlass. Forest testified he left class with his girlfriend and did not see either appellant or Bulerin again that night. Appellant and Bulerin went home, got cleaned up, and then left to get something to eat. Appellant stated that, afterwards, the pair drove around in Forest's car for several hours before returning home and going to bed at approximately 2:30 a.m. Appellant also stated that the brakes on Forest's car did squeak on that night.

Although Forest's car had new tires on it, Bulerin took Forest's car and changed the tires the day following Ryan's disappearance. Three of the tires that had been on Forest's car the night of Ryan's abduction were recovered by Detective Sergeant James Ketchum, who testified the tread pattern on one of the tires was similar to the tire prints found in the driveway to the kennel club located on Thayer Road.

Forest had kept a knife clipped to the sun visor in his car that was identical to another knife owned by a friend of his. The knife of Forest's friend was subsequently turned over to Lieutenant Van Horn by Forest for the investigation. Forest's knife had been in Forest's automobile on June 26, 1990; however, it had not been seen since. Forest testified that appellant and Bulerin had used his car, had access to it, and traveled in it together frequently. Appellant and Bulerin also kept articles in his car, and he had observed a piece of material described as plastic, vinyl, or Visqueen and a shovel in his trunk. Forest had observed the same shovel before at appellant's house. Forest also testified that he had watched a lot of movies with appellant and Bulerin, many of which dealt with the martial arts. He also knew that appellant had a black mask.

Monte Stinebuck worked at Frank's Auto Wash with appellant, Forest, and Bulerin. He testified that he saw appellant and Bulerin on Thursday, June 28, 1990, and it was rainy that day. A discussion ensued regarding hauling some trash from the car wash and taking it to Joseph's Sand and Gravel Pit. They had never taken trash there before and the truck was loaded a quarter full.

Throughout the week following Ryan's disappearance, an extensive search was conducted. On July 4, 1990, the ...