State v. Lafferty

Citation309 A.2d 647
PartiesSTATE of Maine v. Paul A. LAFFERTY.
Decision Date11 September 1973
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine (US)

Fernand LaRochelle, Asst. Atty. Gen., Augusta, for plaintiff.

Irving Friedman, Lewiston, for defendant.

Before WEATHERBEE, POMEROY, WERNICK and ARCHIBALD, JJ.

ARCHIBALD, Justice.

The appellant was indicted for the murder of his estranged wife, Teresa Lafferty. The jury determined by its verdict that he was, in fact, guilty of murder, and the case is now before us on appeal. We deny the appeal.

Our review of the issues raised on appeal must be considered in three generalized categories, namely, errors arising from the rulings of the Justice below on motions to suppress certain evidence; errors committed during the actual trial; and, finally, alleged errors contained in the instructions to the jury.

The record before us is lengthy and counsel for the appellant was meticulously careful to preserve for appellant review each point which he felt might constitute reversible error. While we must consider all of the points thus saved for review, we have consolidated many of them because the same general legal conclusion becomes dispositive of these points.

Facts

Teresa Lafferty and her husband had become estranged and at the time of this episode Mr. Lafferty was living in Lewiston, employed in a mechanical capacity, and his wife in Wilton, working as a cashier in a supermarket. For a period of several weeks prior to April 29, 1971, Mrs. Lafferty and her husband had made periodic efforts at reconciliation. Mrs. Lafferty had a daughter (Terry) by a prior marriage, for whom the appellant claimed paternal affection.

In the general vicinity of 9:00 p. m. on April 29, 1971, Mrs. Lafferty, accompanied by her sister, drove into a parking lot in the town of Jay which was utilized by the 'Caledonia Lounge' for customer parking. A bartender employed at this lounge was likewise in this parking lot and observed what appeared to him to be a violent altercation between a man and a woman, subsequently proved to be the appellant and his wife. He ran to call for help and on returning he observed the exit of the appellant, describing it as follows: 'He jumped in his car and took off very fast.' He next observed Mrs. Lafferty lying on the ground 'all covered with blood.' He immediately ran back to the lounge to get some napkins and on his prompt return and while he was holding her leg to stay the flow of blood, she said: 'My God, I knew he'd do something like this. Please take care of my child.'

Another witness, who described Mrs. Lafferty's condition at this time, used this language: 'The girl was moaning and screaming that her wound pained her and she appeared to be in great pain.'

An ambulance arrived shortly and the victim was taken to a hospital in Farmington. Upon the subsequent arrival of the police, the area was searched and a press photographer found a hunting knife in a grassy area within a few feet from where Mrs. Lafferty had been lying. This was recovered and delivered to the investigating officers and ultimately was introduced at trial. It is allegedly the weapon that caused her death.

Mrs. Lafferty was in critical condition but rational when she arrived at the hospital. Emergency medical treatment was immediately rendered, followed by an operation (a left oracostomy) at approximately 11:00 p. m. The surgeon detected severed intercostal arteries which he ligated, and after a massage of her heart Mrs. Lafferty responded. However, in about one-half hour hemorrhaging recurred and medical efforts to revive her failed. She was pronounced dead at approximately 1:45 a. m. An autopsy revealed an actual count of twenty-three non-surgical wounds which were consistent with having been inflicted by the hunting knife. A pathologist attributed the cause of death to 'acute blood loss' resulting from 'wounds by a sharp instrument.'

Shortly after Mrs. Lafferty was removed to the hospital police investigation began and, based upon information obtained both at the scene and in the hospital, a radio message was transmitted requesting the apprehension of the appellant. This message was received by the Lewiston Police Department as well as the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Department, and an immediate effort was made by both departments to locate Mr. Lafferty, initially at 67 Shawmut Street, where he had lived until April 27, 1971.

As the result of a telephone call received by the police at approximately 12:20 a. m. (April 30, 1971), a Deputy Sheriff and two members of the police department convened at another Lewiston address, 17 Elliot Street. There, after some conversation with a Mr. and Mrs. Beaulieu who were the actual occupants of an apartment at this address, these officers observed Mr. Lafferty leave the apartment and enter an automobile which they had observed parked in a driveway and which matched the description previously given them by police radio communication. As the officers approached, Mr. Lafferty got out of the car, walked towards them and said, 'I give up. I'm not armed.' He was immediately frisked, handcuffed, and placed in the police cruiser. Previous to leaving for police headquarters, one of the officers took the key from the vehicle and, without making any search or observation of its contents, locked it.

At that point in time it is fair to say that none of the officers was personally aware of the precise charge for which this arrest was being made. The officers said nothing to Mr. Lafferty, nor did they give him any warning or advice. They described Mr. Lafferty as being sober.

En route to the police station appellant made a statement to the police. One officer testified as follows:

'One of the statements, his first statement, was that he inquired as to the condition of his wife. We advised him that we did not have this information available. We did not know. Then he made the statement, 'I know I got her twice with a knife, once on the stomach good, and once when she fell down."

Mr. Lafferty was held briefly at the Lewiston Police Department and was then transported to the Androscoggin County Sheriff's department where he was later interviewed by a Maine State Police Detective. The so-called Miranda warnings were given, following which the appellant personally wrote out a four-page statement inculpating himself in the death of his wife. This statement was ultimately admitted in evidence. Additionally to the written statement, the police detective was allowed to testify as to verbal statements made by Mr. Lafferty in explanation of certain ambiguities apparent from reading the written statement. The written statement described the stabbing in this language:

'(M)y wife start toward my car as she did I know she would run I drew my kife she saw it and panic when did I stabbed her she didn't know it till got to my car said get in was on passeger side she started to and ran again about 3 ft I stabbed her in back and right said and then I went crasy as by me said stop and she was laiding she try to call Elaine and I was get back in car she moved and look at me when back and stabbed her 3 or 4 time more in Back this time she roll over I turn back I think I hit her neck or ear with my kife and look at her just look at me and moaned and I got in car and drove out fast . . ..'

After the appellant had finished writing the statement, the Detective interrogated the appellant for the purpose of explaining away the ambiguities arising from poor English, lack of punctuation and misspelling. The officer was allowed to testify as to the explanation given him by Mr. Lafferty of these ambiguities. The result of the explanation was a clear statement in which the appellant admitted the fatal stabbing of his wife by the use of a hunting knife.

Shortly after the Lewiston police had delivered Mr. Lafferty to their headquarters, they returned to the locked vehicle at 17 Elliot Street. With the aid of a flashlight they observed what appeared to be blood stains on the exterior of the door on the driver's side in the vicinity of the door handle. They also observed clothes hanging over the back of the front seat on which there appeared to be blood stains. They then unlocked the car (the key having been in their possession since the arrest) and drove it to the garage maintained by the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Department. Subsequently, a search warrant was obtained, the car opened, its contents photographed, the clothing removed, and the suspect blood spots scraped from the car door and preserved.

Alleged Errors in Ruling on Motion to Suppress

Prior to the trial a motion to suppress was filed. This motion was directed at the suppression of evidence taken from the automobile and the several statements made by the appellant to the police officers.

The Justice below refused to suppress any of the physical evidence. He held that the officers had probable cause for the arrest, that the seizure of the automobile was not only incident to a lawful arrest but necessary to preserve evidence and 'incidentally to protect defendant's property.' In any event, he held that the search warrant was validly issued and executed.

With reference to the oral statements made in the police car immediately following the arrest, the Justice below said, 'I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that they were voluntary and admissible even though no prior warnings were given.'

He also ruled that the defendant's written statement and his oral explanation thereof were admissible because he was satisfied 'beyond a reasonable doubt' that the Miranda rule had been complied with and that the statements were entirely voluntary.

We consider first those issues generated by the denial of the motion to suppress.

Initially, we concern ourselves with the question of whether the arrest itself was valid. The argument is advanced that the subsequent seizure of the contents of the automobile, the statement made en route to the police station, and the...

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