State v. King

Citation546 S.E.2d 575,353 N.C. 457
Decision Date08 June 2001
Docket NumberNo. 204A99.,204A99.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of North Carolina
PartiesSTATE of North Carolina v. James Donald KING.

Roy A. Cooper, Attorney General, by John H. Watters, Special Deputy Attorney General, Raleigh, for the State.

M. Gordon Widenhouse, Jr., Chappel Hill, for defendant-appellant.

WAINWRIGHT, Justice.

On 4 August 1997, defendant was indicted for first-degree murder. Defendant was tried capitally before a jury at the 26 October 1998 Criminal Session of Superior Court, Guilford County. The jury found defendant guilty of first-degree murder on the basis of premeditation and deliberation. After a capital sentencing proceeding, the jury recommended a sentence of death for the first-degree murder, and the trial court entered judgment in accordance with that recommendation. Defendant appeals his first-degree murder conviction and sentence of death to this Court.

The State's evidence at trial tended to show as follows: In the early morning hours of 11 September 1988, defendant shot and killed his wife, Gloria Underwood King (the victim), while she was walking home from playing bingo with friends. The victim received seven gunshot wounds, four of which were inflicted to her head. Several area residents heard the gunshots and saw the victim's body lying on a sidewalk in front of Jones Elementary School in Greensboro, North Carolina. However, no one was able to identify the gunman at the time of the shooting.

Greensboro police arrived at the scene at approximately 1:30 a.m. on 11 September 1988. The victim showed no signs of life. Officers observed a bingo marker on the ground near the victim's body.

An autopsy performed on the victim's body revealed that the victim received seven gunshot wounds. One bullet entered the right side of the victim's head, fracturing the skull and causing a subdural hematoma. A small-caliber bullet was removed from the skull in the area of this gunshot wound. A second bullet struck the victim in the same area, causing a small fracture to the skull. This bullet was also removed from the victim's skull. A third bullet, which was fired at close range, struck the victim near the right eyebrow and passed into the scalp. Bullet fragments were removed from the victim's scalp in the area of this injury. A fourth bullet struck the victim just below her right eye. A fifth bullet struck the victim on the back of her neck. Bullet fragments were removed from this wound. The amount of soot or stippling surrounding this wound indicated that the wound was inflicted at very close range. Gunshot wound number six was located on the victim's right hand near the base of her second finger. The wound was surrounded by a small amount of powder, indicating a close-range gunshot. Finally, gunshot wound number seven was located at the base of the victim's right thumb and was described as a defensive wound. The bullet was recovered from the soft tissue of the victim's right hand. The testifying pathologist opined that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.

On 15 September 1988, the police located defendant's vehicle in downtown Greensboro. The police later searched the vehicle and found, among other things, two .22-caliber bullets, an automobile insurance policy belonging to defendant, and a bottle of Thunderbird wine.

At trial, the victim's daughter, Erika Underwood, testified that defendant and the victim were married on 9 June 1986 and separated near the end of 1987. After the separation, defendant visited the victim approximately once a week. Underwood testified that, as a result of suffering a stroke, defendant walked with a very noticeable limp at the time the victim was killed. Sometime during the separation, the victim learned that defendant was seeing another woman, Betty James (Betty), and the victim visited Betty's apartment to confront her. During her testimony, Underwood read journal entries made by the victim during the days before she was killed. In her journal, the victim described the deterioration of the relationship between defendant and the victim, including the victim's knowledge of defendant's girlfriend, Betty. The victim described defendant as selfish, uncaring, untruthful, and stingy. She also wrote that she had no desire to reconcile with defendant.

Katie Chavis, a friend of the victim's, testified at trial that, in September 1988, defendant and the victim visited her, and defendant sat outside in his automobile. The victim wanted to borrow money from Chavis to go play bingo. During that visit, the victim told Chavis that she knew defendant "had a lady pregnant." The victim also stated that defendant told her if she left him, he was going to kill her, and that she was tired of living in fear. In a previous conversation, the victim told Chavis that defendant had beat her and forced her to have sex and that she was afraid. Chavis encouraged the victim to keep a diary that would serve as a "paper trail" regarding defendant's abusive conduct.

While investigating the victim's murder, the police learned that, on 6 September 1988, defendant visited his cousin, Herbert "Billy" Alston. Defendant told Alston that he wanted to get the victim to come back to him. Alston and defendant visited the victim's apartment, but she was not at home. Defendant and Alston then visited a woman, whose first name was also "Gloria," and asked her to go and talk to the victim about reconciling with defendant. On 8 September 1988, defendant and Alston visited Gloria once again, and defendant asked her to take his car and go talk to the victim on his behalf about reconciling. At one point, defendant directed Alston to obtain the registration card from defendant's vehicle. When Alston looked over the sun visor for defendant's registration, he observed a .22-caliber revolver with no handle grips.

Alston also spent time with defendant on 10 September 1988, the day before the victim was killed. Defendant and Alston went to see defendant's girlfriend, Betty, and defendant asked her if she knew anyone from whom he could borrow a vehicle. Betty told defendant that she did not know of anyone who had a vehicle, and defendant and Alston returned to Alston's residence. Defendant stayed at Alston's house until approximately 11:30 p.m. on 10 September 1988, the night before the murder.

The police also spoke with Betty during the investigation. Betty dated defendant before his marriage to the victim and resumed her relationship with defendant after his separation from the victim in 1988. According to Betty, she learned that she was pregnant with defendant's child in August of 1988.

On 7 September 1988, defendant came to Betty's residence at approximately 6:00 p.m., carrying a handgun and ammunition. Betty described the gun as having no handle grips. Defendant told Betty he wanted to kill the victim with the gun. Defendant stated that he had to do it because the victim had hurt him too many times and would not talk to him. Defendant left later that evening to find out why the gun was not "shooting right." Defendant told Betty he had fired the weapon out in the country, and it did not work properly. Defendant returned at approximately 10:30 p.m., placed the gun in the nightstand drawer, and spent the night with Betty.

The next morning, on 8 September 1988, defendant once again told Betty that he was going to kill the victim. Betty convinced defendant not to go through with his plan. The next day, defendant yet again spoke of killing the victim, and once again, Betty talked him out of it. Defendant did not stay with Betty that night. However, on 10 September 1988, defendant visited Betty and told her that she had kept him from killing the victim for two days but that she would not stop him anymore.

When the police visited Betty during the investigation, she gave them a trash bag that contained an unfired .22-caliber bullet and several envelopes addressed to defendant. Betty explained that defendant had left the bullet in her nightstand.

Shortly before the murder, defendant spoke with Mac Durham, an individual who previously served time in prison with defendant. During that conversation, defendant asked Durham, "[I]f you put a .22 against somebody's head, will you kill them?" Durham told defendant that it would kill the person because a .22 caliber gun is a deadly weapon.

During the investigation, the police located three women who played bingo with the victim shortly before she was murdered on 11 September 1988. Two of the women, Minnie Hayes and Verna Pennix, departed the bingo parlor with the victim at approximately 12:30 a.m. At that time, they observed defendant waiting outside for the victim. Defendant approached the victim, led her near the building by her arm, and began talking with her. According to Pennix, the victim acted fearful when she saw defendant. When Hayes and Pennix asked the victim whether she was leaving with them, she did not respond. However, defendant informed the women that he would take the victim home. The third woman, Loretha Foushee, exited the bingo parlor approximately ten minutes after the victim left the building. Foushee observed defendant talking with the victim up against the side of the bingo parlor and noted that defendant had his arms on either side of the victim, "boxing her in."

At trial, Special Agent Gerald F. Wilkes of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) testified as an expert in the field of firearms and ammunition examination. Agent Wilkes performed an examination of the bullets and bullet fragments that were recovered by the Greensboro Police Department during the investigation. Agent Wilkes determined that a spent round submitted to him, as well as the live rounds recovered during the investigation, were .22-caliber long-rifle bullets. According to Agent Wilkes, the live rounds he examined were similar in physical characteristics to the lead bullet projectile removed from the victim's wrist.

Kathleen M. Lundy, an...

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