State v. Sharp, 98,389.
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Kansas |
| Writing for the Court | Nuss |
| Citation | 210 P.3d 590 |
| Parties | STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Kimberly Danielle SHARP, Appellant. |
| Docket Number | No. 98,389.,98,389. |
| Decision Date | 19 June 2009 |
v.
Kimberly Danielle SHARP, Appellant.
[210 P.3d 594]
Debra J. Wilson, of the Capital Appeals and Conflicts Office, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellant.
Robert D. Hecht, district attorney, argued the cause, and Jamie L. Karasek, assistant district attorney, and Steve Six, attorney general, were with him on the brief for appellee.
The opinion of the court was delivered by NUSS, J.:
Kimberly Sharp was convicted of felony murder and kidnapping and received concurrent sentences of life without the possibility of parole for 20 years for the murder and 61 months for the kidnapping. She now directly appeals her convictions. Our jurisdiction is under K.S.A. 22-3601(b)(1) (conviction of an off-grid crime). The convictions and sentences of one of her codefendants, Carl Lee Baker, who was tried separately, were affirmed by this court in State v. Baker, 287 Kan. 345, 197 P.3d 421 (2008).
The issues on appeal, and our accompanying holdings, are as follows:
1. Did the trial court err in denying Sharp's motion to suppress her confession? No.
2. Did the trial court err in limiting the defense's cross-examination of an accomplice witness? No.
3. Did the trial court err in admitting into evidence statements from two codefendants under the coconspirator exception to the hearsay rule? No.
4. Did cumulative error deny Sharp a fair trial? No.
Accordingly, we affirm Sharp's convictions.
As an advocate for the homeless, David Owen used unconventional methods. These methods included offering the use of his phone cards and cell phones for them to call their loved ones. Owen also tried to force them to return to their families by destroying their camps and taking their equipment and supplies. He often photographed the destroyed camps and carried the pictures while visiting other camps.
Owen had been reported missing for several weeks when on July 2, 2006, a canine search team found his body in a heavily wooded area on the bank of the Kansas River in Topeka. No personal property, including identification, shoes, socks, or eyeglasses, was located on or around Owen's body. The officers recovered an axe and some pieces of rope when they searched the surrounding area. The coroner opined that Owen had been dead for several weeks or months, and he listed the manner of death as homicide. Approximately 10 days after discovery of Owen's body, defendant Kimberly Sharp and three other homeless people—her boyfriend Charles Hollingsworth, Carl Lee Baker, and John Cornell—were arrested and subsequently charged with kidnapping and felony murder.
Sharp and Hollingsworth were seated on a bench near the river when detectives first encountered them. Detective Bryan Wheeles noticed that Sharp was scared, so he walked her further down the street, away from Detective Mike Barron and Hollingsworth. Wheeles explained that they needed to talk to her about their investigation into Owen's death. Wheeles and Barron then separately transported Sharp and Hollingsworth to the Topeka Police Department to be interviewed.
Wheeles was informed on the way to the station that there was an outstanding warrant for Sharp out of Emporia, Kansas. When they reached the station, Sharp was put in an interview room where Wheeles Mirandized her after telling her that she was under arrest. Wheeles did not tell her specifically why she had been placed under arrest.
Wheeles then conducted a fully recorded interview with Sharp. The interview contained three basic parts: (1) an initial interview lasting 20 or 30 minutes in which Sharp described most of the events surrounding Owen's kidnapping; (2) a re-enactment of the crimes with Wheeles at the homeless camp; and (3) a final interview at the station.
During Sharp's initial interview, she told Wheeles that on Thursday, June 15, 2006, she was sitting around a campfire with Hollingsworth, Baker, and Cornell. Around 7 p.m., Owen walked into the camp and told these homeless people that they should not camp and should call their families. Everyone was upset by his remarks, especially when he said he would have burned their camp if they had not been there.
Sharp told Wheeles that Baker began arguing with Owen, who then said he was going to call the police. When Owen reached for his phone, Baker and Hollingsworth knocked him to the ground. Hollingsworth then struck Owen and dragged him into the woods.
According to Sharp, she also headed into the woods to see what was going on. There she saw Owen on his knees and Hollingsworth with "an axe that he was going to [use to] kill him like that." Sharp told Hollingsworth, "[N]o, don't do that, don't do that. I can't be an accessory to this shit, you know. I can't do that. I got two kids...." She said Cornell then brought Hollingsworth a rope which was used to tie up Owen. Baker stuffed a rag in Owen's mouth, and the two men continued to beat him. Sharp told Wheeles that Cornell then burned all of Owen's possessions, including his pictures, notebooks, shoes, and socks. Hollingsworth and Baker then dragged Owen into the woods, and Sharp never saw Owen again.
After additional discussion during which Sharp continued to deny any participation, Wheeles specifically asked if she helped burn Owen's possessions. She denied helping burn or having Owen's phone or bag at any point. Sharp eventually admitted that she helped burn. When Sharp then asked if she was going to jail, Wheeles responded, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You are a witness to this thing as long as you do not do something dumb and jam yourself." He further explained that if she had been scared she should tell him and, "Just don't tell me no if I ask you something." Sharp then detailed her role in burning Owen's phones and notebooks.
After Sharp informed Wheeles that her two kids were with Baker at another homeless camp, he left the interview. Upon his return he told her they were going to work together to get her kids "out of harm's way." He advised that Baker was a registered sex offender and had an outstanding arrest warrant for a parole violation. They then left together, retrieved the kids, and brought them back to the station within the hour to be with Sharp.
Approximately 1 hour later Wheeles escorted Sharp to the camp where she re-enacted the events surrounding Owen's kidnapping and murder. During the re-enactment, Sharp told Wheeles that when Hollingsworth was standing over Owen with an axe, she had said to him, "No, don't kill him." Wheeles requested clarification, "Did you say `No, don't kill him,' or did you say, `No, don't kill him here?'" Sharp responded, "Don't kill him here." (Emphasis added.) Sharp also admitted that Hollingsworth had then asked her to bring him some rope, and she told Cornell to go get it. She further admitted that it was her idea to burn Owen's things so there would not be any evidence to tie her to the events. "I said we have to burn it `cause I don't need the evidence. I don't want to be tied to this."
Following the re-enactment, Wheeles brought Sharp back to the station. He asked her a few more questions and then left her alone in the interview room with her children. Approximately 1 hour after returning to the station, Wheeles was notified that the district attorney's office had decided to charge Sharp. When Wheeles told her that she was going to be placed under arrest, she became angry and upset. Sharp accused Wheeles of lying to her and said that he had tricked her, telling him: "This is bullshit."
Sharp later moved to suppress her statements. After a hearing, the trial court denied her motion. Her recorded statements were subsequently played to the jury.
Sharp testified at trial. Consistent with her initial interview and re-enactment, she admitted to burning two of Owen's phones, his picture album, and some loose papers. Also consistent with her re-enactment, she admitted that Hollingsworth asked her to bring some rope, and she told Cornell to go get some. However, while during the re-enactment she had admitted telling Hollingsworth, "[D]on't kill him here," she testified to simply saying, "Don't kill him." (Emphasis added.)
Pursuant to a plea bargain, codefendant Cornell also testified at trial, painting a slightly different picture of Sharp. According to Cornell, Sharp got angry when she opened Owen's bag and saw the pictures Owen had taken of other destroyed camps. She then grabbed the phone and threw it in the incinerator. Sharp got madder and madder, and then threw Owen's entire bag in the fire.
Cornell admitted that he took the rope from Baker and gave it to Hollingsworth. He testified that Sharp had followed Hollingsworth into the woods with Owen, and she stood by as Cornell handed over the rope. At that time Sharp told Cornell that they were going to make Owen sleep outside with the mosquitoes. According to him, Sharp said, "We're not gonna kill him, we're just gonna tie him up to a tree, have him spend the night outside." Consistent with Sharp's statement about her belief that when she saw Owen on his knees and Hollingsworth with "an axe, that he was going to kill him like that," Cornell testified that Sharp said she thought Hollingsworth "was gonna chop [Owen] up."
Cornell further testified that Owen was brought back to the camp briefly before Hollingsworth
and Baker dragged him out of sight to the levee. He said that after they left, Sharp asked him to dump the incinerator in the next camp because it was smoldering and smelled bad. Cornell and Sharp remained in the camp burning Owen's items while the others were gone.
According to Cornell, when Hollingsworth and Baker returned to the camp without Owen, Sharp asked them how Owen was doing. Hollingsworth responded by saying, "[P]robably dead by now" and "He was turning blue when we left." Later that night while hunting for firewood, Baker told...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Guein, 115,426
...13, 21, 237 P.3d 1229 (2010) (quoting State v. Johnson , 286 Kan. 824, 836, 190 P.3d 207 [ (2008) ] ).In State v. Sharp , 289 Kan. 72, 81, 210 P.3d 590 (2009), this court described the weight a court should give these six factors:" ‘[T]hese factors are not to be weighed against one another ......
-
State v. Gonzalez, 119,492
...about the unlawful purpose, which can be inferred from sufficiently significant circumstances. State v. Sharp , 289 Kan. 72, 104, 210 P.3d 590 (2009). While the commission of a conspiracy requires such person or a coconspirator's overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, Gonzalez does not......
-
State v. Sanders, 118,640
...and which furnishes a substantial basis in fact from which the issues can reasonably be resolved." State v. Sharp , 289 Kan. 72, 88, 210 P.3d 590 (2009). In reviewing a district court's factual findings for substantial competent evidence, "[a]n appellate court does not ‘reweigh evidence, pa......
-
State v. Hillard, 121,715
...the jury from effectively gauging Bussart's credibility. Hillard acknowledges contrary rulings in State v. Sharp , 289 Kan. 72, 97-100, 210 P.3d 590 (2009), and State v. Davis , 237 Kan. 155, 158, 697 P.2d 1321 (1985). She nevertheless attempts to distinguish these cases because a requested......
-
State v. Hillard, 121,715
...the jury from effectively gauging Bussart's credibility. Hillard acknowledges contrary rulings in State v. Sharp , 289 Kan. 72, 97-100, 210 P.3d 590 (2009), and State v. Davis , 237 Kan. 155, 158, 697 P.2d 1321 (1985). She nevertheless attempts to distinguish these cases because a requested......
-
State v. Gaona, 98
...prejudiced defendant and denied the defendant a fair trial." State v. McCaslin, 291 Kan. at 732 (citing State v. Sharp, 289 Kan. 72, 106, 210 P.3d 590 [2009]). Reversal for cumulative error is not required if the evidence against a defendant is overwhelming, McCaslin, 291 Kan. at 732 (citin......
-
State v. Richmond, 100,074.
...any accumulation did not deny Richmond a fair trial. In the absence of any error, none can accumulate. See State v. Sharp, ___ Kan. ___, 210 P.3d 590 (2009). The presence of one error is obviously insufficient to accumulate. See State v. Davis, 283 Kan. 569, 583, 158 P.3d 317 (2007). To the......
-
State v. Parks, 101,905.
...denied the defendant a fair trial.” State v. McCaslin, 291 Kan. 697, 732, 245 P.3d 1030 (2011) (citing State v. Sharp, 289 Kan. 72, 106, 210 P.3d 590 [2009] ). “In a cumulative error analysis, an appellate court aggregates all errors and, even though those errors would individually be consi......