State v. McLaughlin

• Decision Date: 07 September 1988
• Docket Number: No. 637A84,637A84
• Citation: 323 N.C. 68,372 S.E.2d 49
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Elton Ozell McLAUGHLIN.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

Page 49

372 S.E.2d 49

323 N.C. 68

STATE of North Carolina v. Elton Ozell McLAUGHLIN.

No. 637A84.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Sept. 7, 1988.

Lacy H. Thornburg, Atty. Gen., Elizabeth G. McCrodden, Associate Atty. Gen., Joan H. Byers, Sp. Deputy Atty. Gen., James J. Coman, Sr. Deputy Atty. Gen., and William N. Farrell, Jr., Sp. Deputy Atty. Gen., Raleigh, for the State.

T. Craig Wright, Michael W. Willis, Malcolm Ray Hunter, Jr., Appellate Defender, Whiteville, and Louis D. Bilionis, Asst. Appellate Defender, Raleigh, for defendant-appellant.

E. Ann Christian and Robert E. Zaytoun, Raleigh, for North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, and John A. Dusenbury, Jr., Asheville, for North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers, amicus curiae.

MEYER, Justice.

These three cases arise from a contract murder which spawned two further murders committed in an effort to eliminate witnesses and evade justice.

James Elwell Worley was killed on 26 March 1984. Little more than a month later, on 29 April 1984, his wife, Shelia Denise Worley, and her daughter, Psoma Wine Baggett, were killed. The State's evidence tended to show the following events. Sometime before 26 March 1984 defendant approached an acquaintance, Eddie Carson Robinson (who testified for the State at defendant's trial), about an offer defendant had received from Shelia Denise Worley to "take care of her husband" for between $3,000 and $5,000. Defendant offered to split the money with Robinson if Robinson would help him by driving a car. Robinson agreed to the scheme.

According to Robinson, the men were obliged to abandon their first attempt on James Worley's life, but two nights later, equipped with a .22-caliber rifle, a piece of pipe and a container of gasoline, they returned in defendant's car to Worley's house and parked on the dirt road. As the men approached Worley's house on foot, Robinson carried the rifle and defendant carried the pipe. They entered the house by the back door, went into a hallway and saw James Worley asleep in a bedroom. Defendant took the rifle from Robinson and in the presence of Worley's wife, Denise, shot Worley twice in the left chest from a distance of between two and three feet, killing him.

With Denise Worley's help, defendant and Robinson dressed Worley's corpse and placed it on the passenger seat of Worley's Volkswagon. With Robinson following in the Volkswagon, defendant drove away from the house in his own car. Eventually, both cars stopped on the side of the road. Robinson then poured the container of gasoline into the Volkswagon and onto Worley, and ignited it. At approximately 2:00 a.m. on 26 March 1984 the still burning Volkswagon was discovered. Although Worley's body was badly burned all over, it showed greater charring on the left side. Dr. Deborah L. Radische, a pathologist from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, testified that James Worley died from the gunshot wounds to his chest.

According to Robinson, after James Worley's death, defendant and Robinson were in contact, but the latter received no money for his part in the killing. The two men discussed the situation and the fact that, according to defendant, Denise Worley had been talking to the police. By Robinson's account, defendant was afraid that, because Denise Worley was a witness to the killing, she could put both men in the penitentiary.

On the afternoon of 29 April 1984, defendant and Robinson decided to kill Denise Worley that night. The men spent the afternoon at defendant's trailer, smoking marijuana and drinking a little wine. Denise Worley visited the trailer, had a discussion with defendant and left. She returned that night, with her two children, four-year-old Psoma Wine Baggett and an infant. When Denise Worley arrived, Robinson was in the back bedroom, but he moved to the bathroom on defendant's instructions, where he picked up the iron pipe which defendant had instructed him to use in the killing. After defendant had turned off the lights and was holding Denise Worley in a romantic pose, Robinson crept out of the bathroom and twice hit her over the head with the pipe. According to Robinson, Denise Worley fell backwards into the hallway, whereupon defendant straddled her, grabbed her by the throat and dragged her to the bathroom. Defendant placed Denise Worley into the half-filled bathtub and held her head under water until she stopped struggling. The men then cleaned up the blood from the bathroom and hallway floors, removed Worley's body from the bathtub and placed it in the trunk of her car. They returned to the house to get the two children who were asleep and put them into Worley's car.

With Robinson driving Denise Worley's car and defendant driving his own, the two men drove to a field not far from a bridge at a place called White's Creek. As they opened the trunk of Worley's car, the four- -year-old, Psoma Wine Baggett, awoke and got out of the car. Defendant told Robinson that they would have to get rid of the child because she could testify against them. When Psoma walked to the back of the car asking for her mother, defendant struck her twice with the iron pipe. Defendant then removed Denise Worley from the trunk of the car and put her in the passenger side. Psoma was put on the floor on the passenger side. As the child lay there, defendant gave the pipe to Robinson and told him to hit her. Robinson did so. Defendant drove his own car and Robinson drove Worley's car to the bridge. Robinson got out of Worley's car and let it roll down the embankment into the creek. Defendant then pulled Denise Worley halfway out of the car so that her head and torso were in the water. He threw Psoma several feet from the car into the water. As the men left the creek, Robinson could hear a crying sound. The infant was left in the car physically unharmed.

Dr. John Butts, forensic pathologist and then-Associate Chief Medical Examiner for North Carolina, who performed the autopsy on Denise Worley, testified that in his opinion, Denise Worley had died as a result of drowning as well as trauma to the head, but that she was still alive when she entered the water. Dr. Deborah L. Radische testified that in her opinion, Psoma Wine Baggett died from the trauma to her head as well as drowning and, like her mother, she was still alive when she entered the water.

Detective Phillip Little of the Bladen County Sheriff's Department testified that on 9 May 1984, Eddie C. Robinson gave him a statement, in which he admitted that he had driven Denise Worley's car but that his involvement began only after Denise's body had been placed in the trunk. On 10 May 1984, Robinson made a second statement, in which he described how he had hit Denise Worley with the pipe and how defendant had held her head under water until she ceased struggling. Also on 10 May 1984, defendant himself made a statement to Detective Little. Defendant acknowledged that he had agreed to help Denise Worley by killing her husband and that he had gone to the Worley home where he had shot James Worley twice. He further stated that Denise Worley had died at defendant's trailer after she and defendant had argued and fought with the iron pipe. Although Robinson was not present during the argument, he had helped defendant to dispose of Denise Worley's body. Defendant stated that he had struck the first blow to Psoma Wine Baggett and Robinson had hit her twice more.

Defendant took the stand on his own behalf. He testified that although Denise Worley had approached him about killing her husband for money, he had refused the offer, but had arranged to meet her at Worley's home. When he entered the home by the back door with Robinson, defendant could see Denise Worley and could tell from her actions that something was wrong. He then saw James Worley moving in the bedroom, so he snatched the rifle from Robinson and shot Worley twice to protect himself, even though he saw no weapon on Worley. After dressing the corpse, Robinson drove Worley's Volkswagon and defendant drove his own car to the field where Robinson poured gasoline onto the Volkswagon and ignited it.

Defendant further testified that on the day Denise Worley was killed, she had visited defendant at his trailer and had become upset because she suspected defendant of having another woman there. She left the trailer, but later returned with her two children. She and defendant argued. Denise Worley pulled the iron pipe from the trunk of her car and hit defendant's arm with it, whereupon defendant became angry, took the pipe from Denise and hit her with it. Defendant took the pipe into his trailer, but Denise followed him and when she grasped defendant around the waist, he used the pipe to hit her again. While defendant treated his arm wound, Robinson took the pipe and hit Denise as she was rising from a chair. After she fell to the floor, Robinson hit her a second time. As Denise lay bleeding, defendant put a rag into her mouth to stop her screaming. Defendant and Robinson removed the children from Denise's car and put them in the trailer while they moved Denise to the trunk of her car. After cleaning up the blood, the men put the children back into the passenger compartment of Denise's car. Defendant drove his own car, with Robinson following in Denise's car, to a field. Defendant testified that as the men were moving Denise's body from the trunk, Psoma awoke. Defendant was holding the pipe, but he was trying to protect Psoma from Robinson. The pipe slipped and fell, hitting the child. Defendant put the child and the pipe in the car, and when Psoma started screaming, Robinson hit her twice on the head with the pipe. Defendant and Robinson then drove the cars to the creek, where Denise's vehicle was rolled into the water.

On cross-examination of defendant, it was established that defendant had previously been convicted of involuntary manslaughter, possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence, auto...