State v. Northup

• Decision Date: 05 April 1974
• Citation: 318 A.2d 489
• Parties: STATE of Maine v. Lloyd Wayne NORTHUP.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

Page 489

318 A.2d 489

STATE of Maine v. Lloyd Wayne NORTHUP.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

April 5, 1974.

John R. Atwood, Charles K. Leadbetter, Asst. Attys. Gen., Augusta, for plaintiff.

Wathen/Wathen by Daniel E. Wathen, Augusta, for defendant.

Before DUFRESNE, C. J., and WEATHERBEE, POMEROY, WERNICK, ARCHIBALD and DELAHANTY, JJ.

WEATHERBEE, Justice.

While at her South Gardiner home on the night of August 18, 1972, Mrs. Gloria Gough received a phone call at 10:00 p. m. She immediately put on her rain gear and drove off in her green Volkswagen car.

Sometime after 9:00 p. m. that night the Defendant escaped from the Kennebec County jail.

In the early evening of August 22, 1972, two officers from the Gardiner Police Department found the partially decomposed body of a woman lying in a wooded area of South Gardiner. The body was later authoritatively identified as that of Gloria Gough, who had been missing since that night of August 18.

An autopsy performed soon afterward revealed a chest wound about one half inch wide extending directly through the victim's heart. A wire had been tied around the neck of the victim. Death was caused by the stab wound and resultant bleeding of the heart.

Also on the night of August 22, the Defendant Northup was arrested in Portland on a federal fugitive from justice warrant which had issued as a result of an alleged murder in South Carolina. He later was charged with the murder of Gloria Gough. Northup was indicted by the Kennebec County grand jury and on December 9, 1972 was convicted by a jury of murder.

The Defendant has appealed his conviction to this Court. We deny his appeal. The Defendant asserts several grounds for reversal, and we will review each one in turn.

1. The Trial Justice's denial of the Defendant's motion for a change of venue

Prior to trial the Defendant moved for a change of venue based on his claim that pre-trial publicity was prejudicial to his case. This motion was denied by the Trial Justice. The Defendant now claims that this denial was an abuse of discretion. We do not agree.

In support of his contention, the Defendant offered an affidavit and exhibits consisting of three copies of the Daily Kennebec Journal, a mass circulation paper published in Augusta. Each copy contains a front page story dealing with the case at bar.

The first issue, dated August 24, 1972, exhibits the following headline: 'Local man hospitalized, linked with murders in two states.' A picture of the Defendant and an identifying caption appear next to the headline. The news story states that Northup was arrested for a murder in South Carolina and was wanted for questioning in regard to the murder of Gloria Gough. The article relates Northup's prior convictions for rape and sodomy, his escape from the county jail, and his reputation as a model prisoner while serving as cook at that jail. The sotry also mentions some details of the Gough murder and speculation about Northup's alleged connection with it. Continued to page two of the paper, the article follows a headline on that page stating: 'Northup linked with two murders.'

The second edition of the paper, dated September 6, 1972, contains three stories, all dealing with the possible lack of security at the county jail. Two of the three mention the escape from jail of Northup and his suspected involvement in the Gough murder. The thrust of the articles is directed to the condition of the jail and not the murder of Mrs. Gough.

The third copy from September 7, 1972, focuses on the local sheriff's plea for an investigation of any wrong-doing at the jail. Northup is again mentioned as the recent escapee from the jail who was charged with one murder and was questioned about the Gough case.

A portion of the record of voir dire is before us on appeal. The Defendant does not contend that the record discloses any prejudice on the part of the jurors who participated in the Defendant's trial and we ourselves find none. The Justice raised the issue of publicity before the prospective jurors and asked if any had heard or read any reports dealing with the incident. Sixteen answered that they had heard or read about the case. The Justice asked these sixteen if this familiarity with the news coverage of the case would influence their judgments if they were chosen as jurors. Three prospective jurors answered that they would be influenced by the information they had gained through the news media and the Justice ruled that they could not sit as jurors.

All in all, the record shows that the Justice acted carefully and competently to insure that no biased juror would sit.

The Defendant contends, however, that the extent and nature of the pretrial publicity was such as to instill in the minds of the jurors, subconsciously, at least, an inclination toward belief in the Defendant's guilt, which would harden into prejudice as some of the unusual details of the case unfolded. He urges us that the fact that although only sixteen out of the 'less than 100' prospective jurors admitted having heard or read about the case, it is probable that others had recalled the publicity relating to the escape or murder upon hearing the testimony during trial.

We are not satisfied that such a danger was present. The news stories appear to be factual and somewhat restrained accounts of the escape and of Mrs. Gough's death. They did not constitute such inflammatory or slanted reporting as might infest the community with a belief in the Defendant's guilt and make impossible the selection of an impartial jury in Kennebec County. The record does not suggest that the newspaper's vague reference to another murder in another state made a prejudicial impression upon the jurors. We believe that the careful voir dire and the Justice's clear instructions as to the necessity that their verdict be based on legal evidence presented to them, free from preconceived ideas as to the facts or law, was adequate to assure that the jury was impartial.

This Court extensively discussed the question of pretrial publicity in State v. Coty, Me., 229 A.2d 205 (1967) and affirmed those principles generally in State v. Berube, Me., 297 A.2d 884 (1972), State v. Collins, Me., 297 A.2d 620 (1972), and State v. Stoddard, Me., 289 A.2d 33 (1972). In viewing the quality and quantity of news stories and the subsequent safeguards employed by the Justice, we cannot say that the Justice abused his discretion or that the selected jury was partial so as to preclude a fair trial.

2. The admission into evidence of two statements made by the Defendant in conversations with the sheriff and a detective

The Defendant claims error because the Trial Justice admitted into evidence two similar statements spoken by the Defendant while he was in the Portland jail on August 25, 1972. At that time the Defendant had been arrested on the federal fugitive from justice warrant as a result of the South Carolina death and was not charged with the Gough murder. However, Sheriff Jordan from Augusta and a state police officer were anxious to talk to Northup about his break from jail a week earlier and his possible involvement in the murder of Mrs. Gough.

In the early afternoon of August 25, Sheriff Jordan spoke with the Defendant in a room at the jail. The sheriff fully advised Northup of his rights and Northup indicated he wished to talk. The sheriff asked two questions concerning Northup's escape and theft of the sheriff's gun from the sheriff's home, to which Northup responded. Then, according to Sheriff Jordan, Northup volunteered a statement:

'Well, as I got ready to leave, he stated that he would probably plead to Gloria's rather than going back down south, or returning to the south, something to that effect.'

About 6:00 p. m. the same day, State Police Detective Greeley talked to the Defendant at the jail pursuant to the Defendant's request. Greeley warned Northup of his Miranda rights, and Northup proceeded to ask the detective a few questions. Greeley testified that '(h)e asked me if he admitted to the murder in Gardiner would the authorities in South Carolina be still looking for him.'

The Defendant asserts that the admission into evidence of these two statements was incorrect because the material was 1) irrelevant and 2) highly prejudicial and suggestive of his involvement in another crime.

We disagree. Relevancy is a threshold test of evidence admissibility in our legal system. We stated in State v. Graves, Me., 224 A.2d 57, 60 (1966) that relevant evidence is that which relates logically to the issue. Evidence is relevant if it has probative value in establishing or negating a fact or issue at hand. See State v. Eaton, Me., 309 A.2d 334 (1973); Rules of Evidence for United States Courts and Magistrates, Rule 401 (effective date deferred). This Court has recognized that the determination of evidence relevancy is within the discretionary power of the trial Justice and will not be overturned absent an abuse of this discretion. Torrey v. Congress Square Hotel Co., 145 Me. 234, 75 A.2d 451 (1950).

The two statements under consideration are admissible to show knowledge by Northup of the death of Gloria Gough, indicating his possible involvement in the murder. The evidentiary value of the statements rests solely on the fact they were said and not on the truth of their contents; thus, they are not hearsay. ¹ The statements were volunteered by the Defendant at two times on August 25, and were unrelated to the conversations taking place each time. Evidence showed that Northup had returned from the South by bus on the 22nd and was arrested that night by the F.B.I. and Portland police soon after he left the bus. Gloria Gough's body was discovered on the evening of August 22. Since that time the Defendant had been in custody either in a hospital or in jail in Portland. He did talk to his attorney and made an appearance before a federal magistrate on the 24th.

We do not require the prosecution to...