State v. Merrill
| Citation | 274 NW 2d 99 |
| Decision Date | 01 December 1978 |
| Docket Number | No. 47960.,47960. |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Larry Gene MERRILL, Appellant. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Minnesota (US) |
C. Paul Jones, Public Defender, Kathleen A. King, Asst. Public Defender, Minneapolis, for appellant.
Warren Spannaus, Atty. Gen., St. Paul, Gary W. Flakne, County Atty., Vernon E. Bergstrom, David W. Larson and Lee Barry, Asst. County Attys., Minneapolis, for respondent.
Heard before ROGOSHESKE, PETERSON, and YETKA, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc.
Defendant Larry Gene Merrill appeals his conviction of murder in the first degree. The case was tried before a jury in Hennepin County District Court, and defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment at the St. Cloud Reformatory. He requests a new trial or, in the alternative, a modification of the verdict to murder in the second degree. We affirm.
At about noon on December 22, 1976, the body of Mrs. Abbie Miesler was discovered by her brother-in-law in the fruit cellar of her home in St. Bonifacius. Detectives Kenneth Bray and John Hartsfield of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department arrived at the scene about an hour later. After a discussion with officers already at the scene, the detectives visited the neighbors directly across the street from Mrs. Miesler's house. They learned from these neighbors, the Wartmans, that defendant rented the upstairs portion of the Miesler residence and that he worked at Technical Ordnance Company. They also learned that during the past few days the Wartmans had not seen any strangers in the neighborhood, that they had seen only defendant during that period, and that he had had some problems with his car and had asked them for help with the repairs.
They then returned to the Miesler residence to investigate the scene. Detective Hartsfield observed the exterior of the house and found no signs of a possible break-in, except a broken screen. Inside the house on the ground floor, the detectives observed what appeared to be blood in the kitchen, on the carpet adjacent to the bedroom, on the bed, and on the bedroom wall. The blood markings in the kitchen were streaked, as if someone had attempted "to clean up something." Pieces of glass were found in the bedroom area as well as in the bed itself, and the remains of a glass candy dish were found on a dresser just outside the bedroom door. In the basement, two blood-soaked mops were found; a large puddle of blood was found at the bottom of the stairs, and there were blood streakings leading to the body. Numerous stab wounds were observed in the chest and abdomen of the body.
Later that afternoon, the detectives went on separate assignments. At approximately 3 p. m., Bray dictated the probable cause portion of an application for a warrant to search defendant's upstairs apartment. Bray had the warrant signed by a judge in Hennepin County District Court and returned to St. Bonifacius with the warrant some time after 5 p. m.
Hartsfield went to Technical Ordnance where he learned that defendant had terminated his employment that morning. He was told that defendant was going to work at a foundry in St. Bonifacius with his uncle and obtained a pair of company work boots that had been turned in by defendant.
At about 4 p. m., Hartsfield returned to the Wartman residence. While he was there, defendant and his brother appeared outside the door of the Wartman home. Hartsfield arrested both men for "probable cause homicide." The men were advised of their rights, searched, and placed in separate squad cars. When defendant was asked if he understood his rights, he said that he did and also said,
Hartsfield then went to the Miesler residence and made a cursory search of defendant's apartment. A more thorough search of the apartment was made after Bray arrived with the search warrant.
At 6:45 p. m., Captain Charles Ostlund and Bray transported defendant to the Hennepin County Jail. Ostlund informed defendant of his Miranda rights and asked defendant if he understood them. Defendant indicated that he did understand and, in addition, said that he did not know anything about the crime. Ostlund and Bray told defendant they had developed probable cause to believe he was the person who had committed the crime, that that was why he was being transported to the county jail, that during the search of his apartment several pieces of incriminating evidence had been found, and that, the way things looked, they would go for a first degree homicide complaint. Again, defendant indicated that he knew nothing about the crime.
Bray informed defendant that there were different degrees of murder and that under certain circumstances a first degree murder charge "could be reduced all the way down to manslaughter." Bray told defendant that he had personally worked on an incident involving an argument in which the individual responsible for the killing was charged with manslaughter. Defendant was further told by Ostlund that in his opinion, based on 20 years experience as a police officer, Mrs. Miesler had not been murdered by professionals. Defendant then said that he would give a confession downtown.
The detectives continued their questioning, and defendant told them the following story: On the night of December 16, 1976, he drank 12 beers and three-fourths of a pint of brandy. On his way home, some time after 1:30 a. m., his car skidded off the road and hit a tree. He stopped at a gas station to get some water for his radiator. When he arrived at home, he slammed the door, and Mrs. Miesler yelled out, "Who's there?" Defendant then talked to her about the rent that was due, asking for a postponement so that he could buy Christmas presents. Mrs. Miesler said no, that she needed the money. There was further conversation and she started to scream. Defendant hit her over the head with a candy dish until the dish broke. When she started to choke, he panicked. He went into the kitchen and obtained a knife with which he stabbed her several times. He then changed his clothes, picked up the glass, dragged the body to the basement doorway, and pushed it down the stairs. He then went upstairs and "passed out" on the floor. When the detectives asked defendant where the knife was, he told them where in his apartment they could find it.
Later that same evening, defendant essentially retold this story in the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. After making this statement, defendant spoke with his mother by telephone and told her he was being held in jail "for manslaughter."
An omnibus hearing was held on March 4, 1977, in Hennepin County District Court. The court ruled that the arrest and the search, insofar as the items seized were specified in the warrant, were lawful. It also ruled that the defendant's statements were legally obtained and that all the evidence was constitutionally admissible. The statements and evidence were admitted at trial.
Defendant raises the following issues on appeal:
1. Did the trial court's denial of defendant's request for jury instructions on lesser included charges result in prejudicial error to defendant?
2. Were defendant's waiver of his right to remain silent and his statements to the police involuntarily given in response to improper police inducement and the statements therefore improperly admitted?
3. Were statements made by defendant subsequent to his warrantless arrest obtained as the result of an illegal arrest and therefore inadmissible?
4. Did the search of defendant's apartment prior to obtaining a search warrant violate defendant's right against unreasonable search?
5. Did the facts stated in the affidavit accompanying the application for a search warrant sufficiently establish probable cause for a warrant to issue?
6. Was the evidence presented at trial sufficient, as a matter of law, to justify a verdict of murder in the first degree?
Defense counsel moved for inclusion of lesser included charges in the jury instructions prior to the omnibus hearing. At the time of that hearing, the matter was reserved until the time of trial. The motion was renewed at the time of trial, and the trial court denied the motion. The jury was instructed only on murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree. Defendant argues on appeal that the failure to instruct the jury in the lesser included charges of murder in the third degree and manslaughter in the first degree was prejudicial error.
In State v. Leinweber, 303 Minn. 414, 422, 228 N.W.2d 120, 125 (1975), we enunciated the following two-part test for determining when lesser degrees of an offense must be submitted to the jury: (1) the evidence would reasonably support a conviction of the lesser degree, and (2) the evidence would justify a finding of not guilty of the greater offense. When this two-part test is satisfied, the trial court must submit to the jury such lesser degrees as are warranted by the evidence. Failure to submit such lesser degrees is not reversible error if no prejudice to defendant results or if defendant waives that submission.
Both of these offenses require that the killing be done without...
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