State v. Shanahan

• Decision Date: 09 August 1979
• Parties: STATE of Maine v. Edward J. SHANAHAN.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

Page 975

404 A.2d 975

STATE of Maine v. Edward J. SHANAHAN.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Aug. 9, 1979.

Michael D. Seitzinger (orally), Charles K. Leadbetter, Janet T. Mills, Asst. Attys. Gen., Augusta, for plaintiff.

Grover G. Alexander (orally), Gray, Lloyd P. LaFountain, Biddeford, for defendant.

Before McKUSICK, C. J., and POMEROY, ARCHIBALD, GODFREY and NICHOLS, JJ.

WERNICK, Justice.

Defendant Edward J. Shanahan was indicted, under 17-A M.R.S.A. § 201(1)(A), ¹ for the murder of his wife, Teresa Shanahan. Tried before a jury in the Superior Court (Cumberland County) defendant was found guilty of manslaughter, 17-A M.R.S.A. § 203(1)(A). ² Defendant has appealed from the judgment of conviction, asserting many claims of reversible error. We have considered all of defendant's points, and, denying the appeal, we deem it of benefit to give extended discussion to three of the issues raised: (1) whether certain extra-judicial inculpatory statements made by defendant were erroneously admitted in evidence because they had been received in violation of his Miranda rights; (2) whether these statements were wrongly admitted in evidence because, independently of them, the Corpus delicti of the crime charged was not adequately shown; and (3) whether the jury's verdict was supportable on all the evidence.

The prosecution's theory at trial was that defendant had "intentionally or knowingly" killed his wife by shooting her, with the muzzle of a pistol placed against her head. The verdict finding defendant guilty of manslaughter, instead of murder, signifies that the jury concluded defendant had killed his wife "recklessly" or "with criminal negligence", rather than "intentionally" or "knowingly."

The evidence showed these circumstances. At 10:30 a. m. on March 2, 1978 defendant drove his peach colored Ford Mustang on Quaker Ridge Road in South Casco, Maine, proceeding in the direction away from Raymond towards Lewiston. Suddenly making a u-turn in the middle of the road, he reversed direction and drove towards his home. ³

Having returned to his home, defendant heard the telephone ringing. His brother Frank Shanahan was calling from New York City. Defendant spoke with his brother. He told him, repeatedly, that his wife had been badly hurt, but he made no response to his brother's questions asking how she had sustained injury. At one point in the conversation defendant said that he thought his wife was dead. When his brother asked him whether he had called a doctor, defendant replied that he had not. Defendant's brother told defendant that he was going to call the Maine State Police, and defendant encouraged him to do so. Frank Shanahan thereupon called the Maine State Police Barracks in Scarborough, Maine, and informed them of what he had learned on the telephone. While his brother was calling the State Police, defendant made a telephone call to Dr. John Painter at his office in Raymond, Maine. He asked Dr. Painter to come to his house at once, saying his wife had been shot but giving no explanation of what had happened. Dr. Painter agreed to come right away.

State Police Trooper Wayne Denbow was directed by a radio message to go to defendant's home in Raymond. He arrived at 10:52 a. m. He saw no one outside the house, and following his radio instructions he waited until more police arrived. Meanwhile, at 10:55 a. m. State Police Lieutenant LaMontagne telephoned the Shanahan residence. Defendant answered, and after a brief conversation with him, which he taped, Lieutenant LaMontagne instructed defendant to go outside and to wait for the police to arrive.

In the meantime, Corporal Gabrielski, Corporal Savage and Sergeant Smith had arrived on the scene to reinforce Officer Denbow, and with him they stayed outside the house. Very soon thereafter, defendant emerged from the house. He had his hands in the air and said: "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Sergeant Smith immediately placed defendant under arrest. Denbow, Gabrielski and Savage went into the house. The body of Teresa Shanahan was found on the floor in an upstairs bedroom. A pistol was on the bed. Blood stains were seen on the walls of the bedroom, and in an adjoining bathroom blood stains were found on the washbasin and on a washcloth and towelling. Subsequent medical examination revealed that Mrs. Shanahan was dead when her body had been discovered. She had been killed by a bullet which had entered at her right temple, passed through her brain and emerged through the left temple area, near the bottom of the ear.

After he was arrested, defendant was placed in a police cruiser vehicle. State Police Officer James Pinette, who arrived at the Shanahan residence at 11:17 a. m., informed defendant of his Miranda rights and asked him whether he understood them. Defendant gave an affirmative reply. Pinette then asked whether defendant wished to waive his rights and make a statement. Without responding to the question, defendant began talking about the events of that morning. He said first, referring to his wife, "I want her back." Defendant then discussed the shooting incident at some length with Pinette. (At trial, defendant testified that he had no recollection of his conversation with Pinette, and that he did not know what, if anything, he said to the officer.)

After he had finished talking with Pinette, defendant was taken in an automobile by Officer Martin Greeley and Sergeant Bradford Smith to the detention facility at the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office in Portland, Maine. During the ride to Portland, defendant was given a second set of Miranda warnings by Officer Greeley. He agreed to waive his Miranda rights and had a conversation with Officer Greeley concerning the death of his wife.

At the Sheriff's Office defendant was booked by Deputy Sheriff James Langello, who testified that defendant took "a great deal of time" answering "common questions" relating to his name, date of birth, etc. Defendant was then interviewed by Dr. Roger Zimmerman, a clinical psychologist who worked as Director of Health Services at the Sheriff's Department.

Dr. Zimmerman formed the opinion that defendant was suffering from an "agitated depression of psychotic proportion" and that he might attempt to commit suicide. He asked Dr. Stephen Soreff of the Maine Medical Center to examine Shanahan and render a second opinion. Dr. Soreff agreed. At 4:00 p. m. that afternoon Dr. Soreff examined Shanahan in the emergency room of the Maine Medical Center and concluded that Shanahan was suffering from both psychotic depression and organic brain syndrome partially caused by alcohol consumption. Dr. Soreff believed that for Shanahan's own safety he should be committed to the Augusta Mental Health Institute for observation and treatment.

At some point later in the evening of March 2, 1978, defendant was transported to the Augusta Mental Health Institute where he was examined by Dr. Ulrich Jacobsohn, the clinical director of the Institute. Dr. Jacobsohn concluded that defendant was not suffering from any psychosis, and he was released from the Institute that evening.

1. The Claimed Miranda Violations.

On June 27, 1978 counsel for defendant filed two motions to suppress extra-judicial inculpatory statements he had made as evidence against him. One motion was directed to defendant's telephone conversation with Lt. LaMontagne and the other to his conversation with Officer Pinette.

As to his inculpatory statements to LaMontagne, defendant maintained that he gave them without the benefit of the Miranda warnings of his constitutional rights. ⁴ With respect to his conversation with Officer Pinette, defendant maintained that while he had been advised of his Miranda rights before he made any statements, he had not in fact purported to waive them and, in any event, his mental condition at the time was such that he could not make an effective waiver of them.

On June 29, 1978, the two motions for suppression were consolidated for hearing with a pre-trial motion that defendant be admitted to bail, and a Justice of the Superior Court heard all three motions together. The State presented testimony by the State's Medical Examiner, Dr. Henry Ryan, and various police officers. At the close of the State's evidence, without hearing testimony from the witnesses defendant wanted to call, the Justice stated that he would deny the two suppression motions. Over defense counsel's objection that the Justice should not rule until defendant had presented his evidence, the Justice terminated the hearing.

On July 21, 1978 counsel for defendant filed a motion to reconsider the denial of defendant's motions to suppress. This motion was denied a week later, without a hearing. Subsequently, on September 5, 1978, the Justice reversed himself and held a hearing on the motion to reconsider. He decided to set aside his previous orders denying the suppression motions, and he set a date for further hearing on these motions.

On October 12, 1978, the Justice undertook the further hearing on the two suppression motions. He said that hearing would be resumed with defendant having opportunity to present such evidence as he wished. The Justice made plain that he would not permit the re-examination of witnesses who had previously been examined at the June 29, 1978 suppression hearing. Believing this ruling unfair, defendant personally addressed the presiding Justice and demanded that the hearing on the suppression motions should start entirely anew, as if the June 29th hearing had never been held. The Justice overruled this personal demand of defendant. Thereupon, and acting contrary to the advice of his attorney that he should go forward with the hearing, defendant made his own personal determination to withdraw both of his motions to suppress. Stating that he could not prevent defendant from withdrawing his motions, the presiding Justice authorized defendant to withdraw them, observing on the record that he believed that ...