State v. Morris

• Decision Date: 15 May 2020
• Docket Number: No. 119,911,119,911
• Citation: 463 P.3d 417
• Parties: STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Willie E. MORRIS, Appellant.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

463 P.3d 417

STATE of Kansas, Appellee,

v.Willie E. MORRIS, Appellant.

No. 119,911

Supreme Court of Kansas.

Opinion filed May 15, 2020

Kristen B. Patty, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, was on the brief for appellant.

Lance J. Gillett, assistant district attorney, Marc Bennett, district attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, were on the brief for appellee.

The opinion of the court was delivered by Rosen, J.:

Willie Earl Morris was one of several codefendants involved in the kidnapping and murder of Scott Goodpaster Jr., after a drug deal gone awry. A jury convicted Morris of both first-degree premeditated murder and the alternative charge of first-degree felony murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, and conspiracy to commit distribution of a controlled substance. Morris appeals his convictions alleging three trial errors: (1) the district court erred in denying his request for a jury instruction on voluntary intoxication; (2) the court erred in admitting gruesome photographs of Goodpaster's body; and (3) cumulative error denied him a fair trial. We find no error and affirm Morris' convictions.

FACTS

Morris, Goodpaster, Brian Bussart, Heidi Hillard, and Heidi's husband, Jeff Hillard, all became acquainted through using and dealing methamphetamine. Shortly before Goodpaster's murder, Heidi had given Goodpaster $600 to buy an ounce of methamphetamine. Heidi was arrested and jailed before the deal was completed. After bonding out of jail, she wanted either her money or the methamphetamine from Goodpaster. She did not receive either.

Despite the tension that arose as result of the previous failed drug buy, the Hillards arranged another deal with Goodpaster and his girlfriend, Samantha Sperber. On the morning of Saturday, November 5, 2016, the Hillards gave Goodpaster about $180. Bussart then dropped Goodpaster off at a hotel.

Goodpaster used some of the money to rent a room for himself and Sperber. He gave the rest of the money to Sperber's brother, who was supposed to go trade a gun, along with the money, for an ounce of methamphetamine.

The Hillards called Goodpaster several times during the day, but he told them he had not heard from Sperber's brother yet. Later that night, Heidi and Jeff met Bussart and Morris, and they went to Goodpaster's hotel room to check on the deal. When they arrived, both Goodpaster and Sperber were asleep. After gaining access to the room, they woke up the sleeping couple and questioned them for nearly an hour. Morris stood in front of the door during the questioning.

Someone eventually got in touch with Sperber's brother, and he reported he had been arrested. Heidi became angry, believing Goodpaster and Sperber had stolen her money. The Hillards then decided everyone should go back to their house. Goodpaster left with Bussart and Morris in a truck. Sperber left with Heidi and Jeff in another car.

Bussart, Morris, and Goodpaster arrived at the Hillards' house around 4 a.m. They all smoked methamphetamine in the truck. They then went inside the house and waited for the Hillards and Sperber. The Hillards, on the other hand, spent the next couple of hours driving around and questioning Sperber. Sperber eventually made up a story about Goodpaster planning to get the Hillards arrested or robbed. Heidi became concerned she might lose custody of her two young daughters if she were arrested again.

The Hillards and Sperber arrived at the house around 6:30 a.m. The Hillards took Sperber into a shed on their property. Bussart went out to the shed, and Heidi told him that Goodpaster and Sperber had a plan to get her in trouble with the police and DCF (Kansas Department for Children and Families). Bussart went back into the house to get Goodpaster. Morris followed the two of them back out to the shed.

Over the next several hours, Heidi, with the help of Jeff and Morris, interrogated and tortured Goodpaster, apparently seeking information about the alleged set up. During the interrogation, Morris and Jeff struck Goodpaster in the head with their hands or fists. Heidi tased Goodpaster and hit his knee with a baseball bat. She stuck wooden cuticle sticks into his ears and cut one of his ears with a knife. She cut open his shorts and underwear, threatening to cut his testicles. At one point, Jeff and Morris held Goodpaster down while Heidi tried to staple his eyes and mouth shut. Sperber testified she saw Morris hit Goodpaster's knee with the spray gun and the flat end of an ax during the interrogation in the shed. She also saw Jeff and Morris each holding one end of an extension cord and using it to choke Goodpaster.

Goodpaster tried to escape from his tormentors several times. The first time he tried to escape, Bussart caught him before he made it out of the shed. The second time he made it just outside the door before Bussart, Morris, and Jeff caught him and brought him back inside. Goodpaster was then ziptied to a chair.

Later, Bussart left to change clothes and then returned to the shed during Goodpaster's interrogation. Around 10 a.m. he left again to go get cigarettes. While Bussart was gone, Goodpaster made another escape attempt. He jumped through a closed window, shattering glass and cutting himself before being pulled back into the shed. Goodpaster made a final escape attempt shortly before Bussart returned, but Jeff and Morris tackled and restrained him.

When Bussart pulled into the driveway on his return, everybody was outside. Jeff and Morris were holding Goodpaster down on the ground. Morris brought some tape outside, and they taped Goodpaster's mouth shut. Jeff got a rope, and Bussart put it around Goodpaster's feet. Morris, Bussart, and Jeff then used the rope to pull Goodpaster into the backseat of the truck. Goodpaster tried to use his feet to resist being pulled in the truck but was unsuccessful. Jeff then got in the driver's seat, Bussart got in the passenger seat, and Morris got in the backseat with Goodpaster.

When Goodpaster made his final escape attempt, it caught the attention of Jeff's mother, who lived next door. She saw Jeff holding someone down on the ground. She also saw a man come from the Hillards' shed. A truck then pulled up, a man got out, and three men appeared to load someone into the truck. After the truck left, she called 911 because she thought someone was getting hurt.

After leaving the house, Jeff first drove to the home of his former brother-in-law, Craig Bright. Jeff asked to stash something at Bright's house and said Bright did not need to know what it was. Jeff's arms were covered in blood. Bright asked what was going on, and Jeff said, "It's for the girls." Bright saw someone or something slumped in the truck's backseat. Bright said Jeff could not stash anything there, and he needed to leave. Bright also gave them some paper towels and cleaner, hoping it would speed up their departure. After Jeff left, Bright called 911 because he thought there might be a body in the truck.

Jeff then drove Bussart, Morris, and Goodpaster to the town of Sedgwick. They stopped to get gas and some drinks before driving out to the country to find a place to dispose of Goodpaster. They eventually found an open gate and drove through a field until they reached the tree line. Jeff, Bussart, and Morris used the rope to drag Goodpaster to a creek area. Jeff told Bussart to tie the rope around Goodpaster's neck. Jeff then tossed the rope over a tree and pulled Goodpaster's body up. Morris was already back at the truck by the time Jeff finished hanging Goodpaster's body.

Jeff, Bussart, and Morris cleaned themselves off with the cleaner and paper towels Bright had given them. They went to a car wash to wash out the truck. Finally, they stopped at Wal-Mart to get some new clothes.

Law enforcement was dispatched to the Hillards' home in response to the 911 calls. There, they found Heidi, Sperber, and Heidi's two daughters inside the house. They also found the bloody scene in and around the shed on the Hillards' property. Later that evening, Jeff returned while law enforcement was still at his home. Morris was arrested several days later, still wearing the new jeans he had bought at Wal-Mart.

Law enforcement discovered Goodpaster's body on Saturday, November 12, 2016. He was hanging from a tree in a creek ravine in Harvey County. His body was covered in superficial skin injuries, including abrasions, contusions, lacerations, and puncture wounds. After an autopsy, a forensic pathologist ruled Goodpaster's death was due to asphyxiation by hanging. The pathologist later testified Goodpaster could have possibly died of positional asphyxiation while he was in the back of the truck. Goodpaster also had a potentially toxic amount of methamphetamine in his system, but the pathologist did not believe this was the cause of Goodpaster's death given all the circumstances.

The State ultimately charged Morris with first-degree premeditated murder or, in the alternative, first-degree felony murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. In addition, it also prosecuted Morris under an aiding and abetting theory of criminal responsibility.

At trial, Bussart, Sperber, and other witnesses testified consistent with the previous recitation of facts. Bussart also testified he spent most of the day on November 5, 2016, with Morris, and Morris was aware of the drug deal with Goodpaster. Bussart believed Goodpaster died in the truck shortly after they left the Hillards' because he did not hear any sounds from Goodpaster after that.

In addition to witness testimony, video footage from the Hillards' security surveillance system, and numerous photographs, the State also introduced several recordings Heidi had made with a cell phone. These recordings included an 82-minute audio recording of the interrogation and torture of Goodpaster. On that recording, Morris could be heard occasionally asking Goodpaster questions or ordering Goodpaster to provide...