State v. Miranda
| Decision Date | 02 January 2018 |
| Docket Number | SC 19597 |
| Citation | 327 Conn. 451,174 A.3d 770 |
| Court | Connecticut Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE of Connecticut v. Pedro L. MIRANDA |
Daniel J. Foster, assigned counsel, for the appellant (defendant).
Melissa L. Streeto, senior assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Gail P. Hardy, state's attorney, and David Zagaja, senior assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (state).
Rogers, C.J., and Palmer, Eveleigh, McDonald, Robinson, D'Auria and Vertefeuille, Js.
The defendant, Pedro L. Miranda, appeals1 from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of one count of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a–54a. On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court improperly, (1) failed to strike the testimony of a witness who claimed that guidance from God, rather than his own recollection, had led him to identify the perpetrator in a photographic array, after the court ruled, in the jury's absence, that this testimony was inadmissible, and (2) permitted the victim's mother to testify that she had heard that the defendant was connected to the victim's disappearance. We conclude that the defendant waived his first claim and failed to preserve his second claim. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
The record reveals the following facts, which the jury reasonably could have found, and procedural history. On October 8, 1987, the thirteen year old victim, Mayra C., left her apartment in Hartford, where she lived with her mother, Norma C., and siblings, and began walking to school. Although the victim ordinarily walked to school with friends, that morning she had left early to work on a school project and was traveling alone. At about the same time, Jose Diaz and his brother, who were both employed as maintenance workers in a nearby building, were walking on Sigourney Street in Hartford. Diaz' brother recognized the victim because he had frequently seen her walking by on her way to school. That morning, Diaz and his brother heard a car horn sound and noticed a yellow Nissan Datsun stopped at an intersection approximately twenty feet away. Diaz and his brother saw the driver of the Datsun lower the window and speak with the victim. Diaz' brother explained that, based on the expression on the victim's face, it appeared that she knew the driver. Diaz and his brother saw only the driver's profile, but were able to describe him as a Hispanic male with light or medium complexion, brown or black curly hair, and a mustache. Diaz and his brother then saw the victim get into the Datsun, which then drove away.
Later that day, when the victim did not return home, the victim's mother became concerned and went to the victim's school. After the school informed her that the victim had never arrived at school that day, she called the police. While the victim was still missing, the defendant contacted the victim's mother and informed her that he had nothing to do with the victim's death. Although the victim's mother had known the defendant for several years, because the two lived in the same apartment building, she did not know him well.
On November 8, 1987, two hikers found the victim's body in a wooded area adjacent to Gardner's Nurseries in the town of East Windsor, where the defendant had once been employed. The victim's body had suffered from extensive decomposition. An autopsy of the victim revealed several fractures to the left side of her skull that resulted from two or more blows to her head with a blunt object. Although the victim's brain tissue was too decomposed to develop a full understanding of what had happened, bloody tissue found between her skull and her brain indicated that the blunt force trauma to her skull caused bleeding of the brain
, which resulted in her death.
Thereafter, the police interviewed employees of the nursery. Employees of the nursery testified that the defendant had been employed there and that he drove a yellow Datsun to work. Moreover, the employees reported seeing a yellow Datsun coming down a dirt road in the nursery on a Saturday in October, 1987, between 1 and 1:30 p.m. They were unable to see the driver, but they assumed it was the defendant. The Datsun disappeared over a hill near the wooded area where the victim's body was ultimately discovered. The Datsun was out of sight for about ten minutes, and then it reappeared on the dirt road and drove off the property.
After the victim's body was found, the police established surveillance of her wake to look for a vehicle matching the one described by Diaz and his brother. The police observed a yellow Datsun parked on the street near the funeral home with a Hispanic male driver, who turned out to be the defendant. Officers approached the vehicle and asked the defendant if he would be willing to accompany them to the police station for an interview. The defendant agreed. The defendant was ultimately interviewed by the police three times, on November 12, November 14, and December 3, 1987.
During those interviews, the defendant informed the police that he lived in Springfield, Massachusetts, but, at the time the victim had gone missing, he had been staying at his girlfriend's residence on Dexter Street in Hartford. He also told the police that, on October 8, 1987, he had gone to work at an insurance company in Simsbury at approximately 6 a.m. and had come home around noon. The police later learned from his employer, however, that he had not reported to work that day. The defendant later stated that he had not gone to work that day because he was feeling sick to his stomach. The defendant explained that he had been parked near the funeral home because he had given two people a ride from Massachusetts to Hartford, although he did not know their names. He further explained to the police that he had been visiting a man named Juan who lived in Hartford. Despite these interviews, the investigation into the victim's death went cold.
Twenty-one years later, the police reinitiated their investigation and, on December 5, 2008, arrested the defendant for the victim's murder. The state charged the defendant with one count of murder in violation of § 53a–54a. The case was tried to a jury, which subsequently returned a verdict of guilty. The trial court rendered a judgment of conviction in accordance with the jury's verdict and sentenced the defendant to sixty years of imprisonment to be served consecutively to a life sentence that he was already serving in connection with an unrelated case. This appeal followed. See footnote 1 of this opinion. Additional relevant facts will be set forth as necessary.
We begin with the defendant's claim that the trial court improperly failed to strike certain testimony from a witness who stated that guidance from God, rather than his own recollection, had led him to identify the perpetrator in a photographic array, after the court ruled, in the jury's absence, that this testimony was inadmissible.
The following additional facts and procedural history are relevant to our resolution of this claim. At the defendant's trial, Diaz testified about what he had seen on the morning of October 8, 1987. Diaz testified that he had not seen the face of the driver of the yellow Datsun that morning because he had observed the driver from the side only. He was, however, able to describe the driver as having a light complexion, a mustache, and curly brown or black hair. The state then showed Diaz eight photographs, which were marked as an exhibit for identification purposes, and Diaz confirmed that the police had shown him those photographs in 2008 while questioning him about what he had seen on October 8, 1987. The following colloquy then occurred:
The trial court then excused the jury, and the state sought to rehabilitate Diaz' identification as being based in part on his recollection of seeing the driver, but Diaz repeatedly stated that his identification was based on a divine message, and not his own recollection. The defendant did not ask Diaz any questions, but reiterated his objection that the testimony was improper and prejudicial. After further argument and discussion, the court ruled, in the jury's absence, as follows: The court then took a brief recess during which it requested to see both attorneys in chambers. After the recess, the jury returned, and the state finished its examination of Diaz without further discussion of the identification of the driver. The court did not inform the jury that it had sustained the defendant's objection, and the defendant did not ask the court to notify the jury or to instruct the jury to disregard Diaz' answer.
Two days later, on February 25, 2015, the trial court noted the following outside the...
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