State v. Shanahan

• Decision Date: 07 April 2006
• Docket Number: No. 04-0855.,04-0855.
• Citation: State v. Shanahan, 712 N.W.2d 121 (Iowa 2006)
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Dixie Lynn SHANAHAN, Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

712 N.W.2d 121

STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Dixie Lynn SHANAHAN, Appellant.

No. 04-0855.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

April 7, 2006.

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Linda Del Gallo, State Appellate Defender, and Stephan J. Japuntich, Assistant State Appellant Defender, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Mary E. Tabor and Charles N. Thoman, Assistant Attorneys General, for appellee.

WIGGINS, Justice.

A jury convicted Dixie Shanahan of second-degree murder for killing her husband. Dixie claims the trial court erred in overruling her motion to suppress and her motions for judgment of acquittal and for new trial. She also asserts her trial counsel was ineffective. Although we find no basis to reverse her conviction, we preserve some of Dixie's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel for postconviction relief. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

Dixie and Scott Shanahan were married in 1995, and they lived in Defiance, Iowa in a house Scott inherited from his parents. Scott did not work. Dixie worked at various jobs. They had two children during Scott's lifetime, Zachary and Ashley. A third child, Brittany, was born after Scott's death.

Dixie and Scott's relationship was characterized by both physical and mental abuse. Dixie testified Scott "could flip on a nickel," threatened her life, and often threatened to take their children away from her. There were many instances of abuse, which Dixie often attempted to cover up. Three of the incidents led to the prosecution of Scott for domestic abuse.

On July 21, 2003, the Shelby County sheriff's office received a call from a concerned citizen who advised law enforcement that Scott had not been seen in or around Defiance for a considerable amount of time, which the caller considered out of the ordinary. Sheriff Gene Cavenaugh first tried to locate Scott in Atlantic, Iowa because the officers had heard he might be there. Cavenaugh was unable to do so.

Deputy John Kelly visited Dixie the following day. They talked on the sidewalk outside her residence. Dixie told Kelly that Scott had left their residence in August 2002 and she did not know where he was, but she thought he might be living in Atlantic. She stated she had not seen Scott since that time, but said he called her around February 2003 in regards to the birth of their third child. She also told Kelly she believed Scott made hang-up calls to her residence periodically. Dixie stated her sister in Texas was making the house payments along with the insurance and tax payments. She also denied selling Scott's tools but acknowledged she was involved in a romantic relationship with Jeffrey Duty of Ida Grove, Iowa.

On July 23, 2003, Dixie went to the sheriff's office and spoke to Cavenaugh, wanting to know why the sheriff's office was checking on Scott. She also asked if she was being accused of doing something to Scott, which Cavenaugh denied. At that time, she gave Cavenaugh the name of an individual who claimed to have seen Scott in Harlan, Iowa in April 2003.

The next day, Cavenaugh and Dixie spoke in the driveway of her residence. She told Cavenaugh that Scott left in August 2002 after he became angry with her over her pregnancy. She also told Cavenaugh before Scott left, he beat her up when she refused to have an abortion. She further stated she was not home when Scott left but he took his clothes, some other possessions, and withdrew all of the funds he had in some mutual funds. She also stated he did not take a vehicle with him.

On October 17, 2003, law enforcement officers from the Shelby County sheriff's office and the Iowa division of criminal investigation made an application for a search warrant to search Scott and Dixie's residence, property, and vehicles for any blood, bodily fluids, hair, fibers, or DNA samples of Scott, as well as any computer hardware, printers, dangerous weapons, or Scott's body or body parts. The application stated such items were used or possessed with the intent to be used as the means of committing a public offense or concealed to prevent an offense from being discovered, and were relevant and material as evidence in a criminal prosecution.

The affidavit in support of the application for the search warrant, made by the same law enforcement officers, recited most of the above facts, stated the Defiance post office did not have a forwarding address for Scott and Dixie picks up his mail, listed Cavenaugh's contacts with Scott's friends and relatives, and set forth the law enforcement officers' various attempts to locate Scott. The affidavit included a statement from one of Scott's friends stating he heard from a meter reader in Defiance that a bedroom window was open in the Shanahan house all of the previous winter. The affidavit also stated Scott's mutual fund account was depleted in August 2002 and numerous insufficient-funds checks were drawn on it in August and September 2002 bearing Scott's signature, although a note attached to the file indicated the checks may have been signed by Dixie.

The affidavit further stated Dixie had sold one of Scott's vehicles and perhaps the contents of his shop building. It detailed how Scott's bank account was frequently overdrawn in the summer of 2002 but had been inactive for nearly a year. The affidavit also stated Dixie was receiving public assistance based on an application she filed on September 11, 2002. In addition, the affidavit referred to the bank's mortgage records, which included an October 2002 letter supposedly signed by Scott requesting the bank to add Dixie's name to the account. Finally, the affidavit confirmed Dixie sold Scott's tractor and told the buyer Scott would never be back.

In the affidavit, the applicants stated the above facts indicated Scott "likely met with some type of foul play" at his home, concluding there was probable cause that a crime had been committed and that evidence of that crime would be found in the places requested to be searched. In addition as part of the application for the search warrant, there were seven informant's attachments and other documentation related to the investigation.

A magistrate issued the search warrant, and law enforcement officers executed the warrant. The officers who processed the residence found the northeast bedroom of Dixie's residence blocked off with various items in the hallway. A rolled-up towel was placed at the base of the bedroom door alongside two air fresheners. In the bedroom, the officers found human remains on the bed, under the covers, in the position of lying on the right side and stomach area. The body was clothed only in briefs and a television remote control was at the end of the left foot. The body had its head on a pillow, with a second pillow placed between its legs, and a third pillow tucked within its left arm. An officer at the crime scene described this position as "typical of someone ... lying in bed, resting or sleeping, just lying on your side, with your head on a pillow and a pillow between your legs and one under your left arm."

The remains were later identified as the body of Scott. Although the body was markedly decomposed, partially skeletonized, and partially mummified, it was determined he died from a shotgun wound to the back of the head. The officers did not find the shotgun that killed Scott during the search of the residence, but located it later in the children's bedroom closet.

During the search, Dixie was at the home of Kathy Meyers. Meyers testified Dixie became hysterical and admitted to shooting Scott. Meyers stated Dixie said "she didn't know if it was right or wrong but she just couldn't take it no more" and couldn't justify what she did. Meyers stated Dixie hid from the officers but was eventually arrested, and Dixie had told her "she wanted [Scott] out for fear of Brittany's life."

At trial, Dixie explained her relationship with Scott at the end of August 2002 was "[v]ery, very rocky" and she was being "[v]ery badly" abused by him three to four times a week. She said when she found out she was pregnant with Brittany, Scott "went ballistic" and told her to have an abortion. She refused. She testified they fought for several days, with Scott beating Dixie. During the beatings, Scott would tell her he would make sure she would not have the baby and there was nothing she could do about it.

She went on to testify that on August 30, 2002, Dixie woke up around 6:30 a.m. and woke her children. She sent Zachary to school before Scott awoke. When Scott woke up, he became enraged because Dixie did not wake him before Zachary left. She stated he then pulled Dixie by the hair and beat her in the stomach, hollering he was going to kill the unborn baby one way or another. At this point, Dixie sent Ashley to a friend's house nearby. Dixie testified as she tried to leave, Scott followed her, took the car keys from her, and prevented her from leaving. He then knocked her on the ground, dragged her by her hair back into the house, and punched her in the stomach saying, "I'm gonna kill this baby. You're not having this baby."

Dixie said while she laid there crying, Scott went into the other room and came back with the shotgun. She said he was in a rage, physically shaking, and calling her names. He put two different shells in the gun and pointed the gun at her. He threatened her by saying, "This day is not over yet. I will kill you." He then walked away. As she sat in the living room chair, he came back in a rage and beat her again, threatening her and the unborn baby's lives.

Scott took all of the telephones out of the telephone jacks except the one in the bedroom. He took the telephones with him into the bedroom, where he laid down. Dixie thought the telephone in the bedroom was still working. Despite being dressed and sitting in a chair right by...