State v. Morales

Citation32 Ohio St.3d 252,513 N.E.2d 267
Decision Date02 September 1987
Docket NumberNo. 86-1927,86-1927
PartiesThe STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. MORALES, Appellant.
CourtOhio Supreme Court

Syllabus by the Court

The kidnapping of a child under the age of thirteen, in violation of R.C. 2905.01, by any means including deception, for the purpose of committing any felony or inflicting serious physical harm on the victim, is sufficient to satisfy the specification and aggravating circumstance of kidnapping for aggravated murder pursuant to R.C. 2903.01(B) and 2929.04(A)(7).

On the evening of March 2, 1985, Mario L. Trevino, age twelve, was killed in Cleveland, Ohio. The victim, five feet, two inches tall, and weighing ninety-three pounds, had been savagely beaten to death. 1 The record reveals the following sequence of events which preceded this tragic conclusion.

Appellant, Alfred J. Morales, stands five feet, eight inches tall, weights two hundred twenty pounds, and is an expert in the martial arts. The Trevino family, Mario being the youngest male member, had known appellant for many years prior to the evening of March 2, 1985. Through their acquaintanceship with appellant, the Trevinos were well aware of appellant's skill in the martial arts and of his ability to use a variety of weapons for their intended purposes.

For a time, Jesse Trevino, the victim's older brother, and appellant had been friends. This friendship ended at a previous time when Jesse refused to commit perjury for appellant, thereby depriving appellant of an alibi regarding the theft of a taxicab. As a result of Jesse's refusal, appellant pled guilty to the theft offense and was returned 2 to the Mansfield Reformatory.

While in the Mansfield Reformatory, appellant wrote threatening letters to Toby Trevino, brother of both Jesse and Mario. The letters suggested revenge upon the whole Trevino family, including Yolanda Trevino, sister of Jesse, Toby and Mario, who had previously refused to become appellant's girlfriend. The envelope of one letter contained both a drawing and the letters "D.W.C.S.," "B.W." and "D.O.D." The letters were later shown to mean "Death Will Come Soon," "Beware" and "Demon of Darkness," a name appellant used for himself. The drawing on this envelope depicts a heart pierced by a sword. Toby Trevino's name is printed on the heart and blood is dripping from the tip of the sword. The envelope of the second letter likewise contained a drawing. The second drawing depicts a skull, dripping blood, with a sword passing through it. Beneath the skull is printed the word "DANGER."

On February 19, 1985, appellant was released from the Mansfield Reformatory. During the three-week period between appellant's release and Mario's murder, appellant was observed watching the Trevino home while hiding in the bushes of a house near the Trevinos' residence. During this same time period, appellant stated to a variety of witnesses that he was "going to kill Toby's ass," that "he had some killing to do and that he knew he was going back to where he came from," and that "he had * * * a killing to do, and [that] he knew he was going back * * * [a]nd he didn't care."

On the evening of his death, Mario left home some time after 6:00 p.m. to play video games at a nearby store. After leaving the store, Mario was confronted by appellant who told Mario that he wanted to talk with him regarding the problems between appellant and the Trevino family. Mario accompanied appellant from the store to a secretive location, approximately one and one-half to two miles from the store. It was at this location that appellant murdered Mario.

Following the murder, appellant went to the nearby home of an acquaintance to wash the blood from his hands and apply ice to his knuckles to control the swelling. When appellant left that location, he left behind the towel containing the ice for his knuckles and his blood-stained white shirt. Soon after appellant's departure, the towel and blood-stained shirt were turned over to the authorities.

Later the same evening, appellant was confronted by Jesse and Toby Trevino who, having learned that Mario had been seen in the company of appellant, questioned appellant as to Mario's whereabouts. Appellant responded: "I haven't seen Mario," "I'm not taking the rap for nothing I didn't do, man," and "[y]ou know, the next time I go into jail, it's going to be for murder."

Early the next morning, March 3, 1985, Mario's body was discovered. While notifying the Trevinos of Mario's death, the authorities were informed of the threatening letters sent by appellant. Appellant was subsequently arrested and his home searched. The search produced a jacket and shoes which were still wet from having recently been washed.

After being informed of his constitutional rights, appellant therein provided police with both oral and written statements concerning the death of Mario. In both the oral and written statements, appellant admitted that he had confronted the boy at the beverage store, led him to the secluded location and then brutally beat the child, leaving Mario to die.

Appellant was subsequently indicted for kidnapping in violation of R.C. 2905.01, aggravated murder with prior calculation and design in violation of R.C. 2903.02(A), 3 and aggravated murder in violation of R.C 2903.02(B) 4 with the specification that the crime was committed while appellant was committing or attempting to commit the offense of kidnapping in violation of R.C. 2905.01. At his arraignment, appellant entered pleas of not guilty to all the offenses charged. These pleas were all subsequently changed to pleas of not guilty by reason of insanity.

The indictments were consolidated for trial which commenced on December 2, 1985. On December 18, 1985, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictments. The subsequent penalty hearing resulted in a recommendation by the jury that the appellant be sentenced to death upon the jury's determination that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial court, upon completion of its required independent weighing of the mitigating factors against the aggravating circumstances, adopted the recommendation of the jury and imposed the penalty of death. Additionally, the trial court sentenced appellant to a term of confinement of ten to twenty-five years for the crime of kidnapping and life imprisonment for the crime of aggravated murder with prior calculation and design.

The court of appeals affirmed the convictions and sentences in all respects.

The cause is now before this court upon an appeal as of right.

John T. Corrigan, Prosecuting Atty., and Michael S. Nolan, Cleveland, for appellee.

Charles R. Laurie, Jr., Cleveland, for appellant.

DOUGLAS, Justice.

The instant appeal presents this court with numerous issues concerning appellant's convictions and the penalty of death which was subsequently imposed. For the reasons discussed infra, we affirm the judgment of the court of appeals in all respects and uphold appellant's death sentence.

Appellant's first proposition of law challenges the trial court's refusal to grant a mistrial following an emotional outburst by the victim's brother during the trial. Appellant argues that the emotional outburst 5 by Jesse Trevino which occurred during cross-examination of appellant's father, was inflammatory, prejudicial and deprived him of a fair trial. We disagree.

This court has previously discussed the standard for determining whether an emotional outburst during a murder trial by a spectator related to the victim improperly influences the jury. In State v. Bradley (1965), 3 Ohio St.2d 38, 32 O.O.2d 21, 209 N.E.2d 215, this court stated as part of the syllabus:

"Whether an emotional demonstration in the courtroom during the course of a murder trial by a spectator related to the victim improperly influences the jury against the accused[,] * * * constitute[s] misconduct so as to deprive the accused of a fair trial * * * [is a question] of fact to be resolved by the trial court, whose determination thereon will not be disturbed on review in the absence of evidence contrary to that determination clearly and affirmatively appearing on the face of the record."

In reaching this conclusion, we stated that " * * * the trial judge had the occasion, which is given neither to * * * [this court] nor to the Court of Appeals, to gauge the totality of the impact upon the jury of the spectator's demonstration." Id. at 40, 32 O.O.2d at 22, 209 N.E.2d at 216. Absent clear evidence in the record that the outburst improperly affected the jury, only the trial judge can authoritatively determine whether the jury was disturbed, alarmed, shocked or moved by the demonstration or whether the incident was of such a nature that it necessarily influenced the ultimate verdict of conviction. Id. The answer to those questions invariably depends upon facts and circumstances which a reviewing court cannot ordinarily glean from the record.

Thus, the trial court determines, as a question of fact, whether the demonstration deprived the defendant of a fair trial by improperly influencing the jury. In the absence of clear, affirmative evidence to the contrary, the trial court's determination will not be disturbed. State v. Bradley, supra. Here, the judge admonished the jury to disregard the occurrence and, in addition, found that Jesse Trevino's outburst was not prejudicial. There being no clear, affirmative evidence to the contrary, that determination will not be disturbed. Accordingly, appellant's first proposition is without merit.

In propositions of law numbers two and seven, appellant attacks the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction of kidnapping and the corresponding specification. Appellant contends that the trial court erred in failing to grant his motion for judgment of acquittal at the close of the state's evidence. In support of this contention, appellan...

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