State v. Sims
| Decision Date | 27 February 2019 |
| Docket Number | Appellate Case No. 2016-001385,Opinion No. 5631 |
| Citation | 426 S.C. 115,825 S.E.2d 731 |
| Parties | The STATE, Respondent, v. Heather Elizabeth SIMS, Appellant. |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
L. Morgan Martin, of Law Offices of L. Morgan Martin, P.A., and Benjamin Alexander Hyman, of The Hyman Law Group, P.A., both of Conway; and Blake A. Hewitt, of Bluestein Thompson Sullivan, LLC, of Columbia, for Appellant.
Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson and Assistant Attorney General William Frederick Schumacher, IV, both of Columbia; and Solicitor Jimmy A. Richardson, II, of Conway, for Respondent.
Heather Sims appeals her conviction of voluntary manslaughter for which she was sentenced to twenty-five years' imprisonment, suspended to ten years' imprisonment and five years' probation. Sims argues the circuit court erred in instructing the jury on voluntary manslaughter. We reverse.
The facts of the instant case are tragic for the individuals and the families involved. At 6:16 p.m. on August 11, 2013, authorities in Conway responded to a 911 call from Heather Sims, who claimed to have shot her husband, David, after he charged at her with a knife. First responders arrived on scene at 6:36 p.m.1 Upon entering the house, first responders found Sims in the bathroom performing CPR on David, but David was already deceased. Sims was taken to the hospital for her injuries, which included three lacerations on her arm
and a puncture wound to her stomach. In the bathroom, Officers found a 9mm Ruger handgun on the vanity and a paring knife in David's right hand. Officers also determined that David had suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest. Sims was indicted for murder on August 22, 2013.
From the beginning, the State's case centered on the theory that the killing was a premeditated murder motivated by financial gain. First, the State presented evidence to show that Sims gave inconsistent accounts of what happened.
To show Sims had a financial motive for killing David, the State offered evidence that David had been issued a life insurance policy on July 23, 2013. David's policy was valued at $750,000 and listed Sims as the beneficiary. Additionally, the State offered into evidence text messages between Sims and David from May 2013 in which Sims asked David to look into getting a life insurance policy.
The State theorized that Sims had taken steps to cover up a premeditated murder. First, the State alleged that Sims altered the scene of the crime. The State offered evidence that some of the blood on the floor had been wiped. Officer Cestare testified that while listening to the 911 call he heard Sims's father telling her to both "stop wiping" and to "wipe the blood from the door." The State also alleged that Sims placed the knife in David's hand after she shot him. The State offered evidence that David was holding the knife "upside down"2 and the crime scene investigator testified that when a light was shined obliquely on the blade, there appeared to be a latent fingerprint.3 Additionally, the State had an expert in blood spatter analysis testify that if David had been holding the knife, the motion of reaching for his gunshot wound
would have left more blood on his palm or the tops of his fingers.
Consistent with its cover-up theory, the State alleged that Sims hid David's phone and later wiped the memory. Officers testified that they only removed one cell phone from the residence and that David's phone could not be found.4 The State then offered evidence that Sims called AT&T asking how to bypass David's lock code and access his phone. Sims eventually restored the phone to factory settings, erasing the memory. Sims's father ultimately turned the phone over to police on August 15, 2013, claiming the phone had been in a drawer at Sims's residence. This drawer was the same drawer police searched on the night of the shooting.
The State also presented evidence suggesting Sims's wounds
were self-inflicted. The State offered Dr. Werner Spitz as an expert in forensic pathology. Dr. Spitz testified that the wounds on Sims's arm were superficial and "meticulously drawn very carefully, very slowly on her skin." Dr. Spitz also indicated the positions of the wounds were inconsistent with defensive wounds and that Sims's arm exhibited a faint hesitation mark. Dr. Spitz testified that the puncture wound was also self-inflicted, claiming it was deliberately superficial so as not to penetrate the interior of her body. Dr. Spitz opined that the puncture wound was produced with the tip of the knife, claiming the hospital described the wound as being "less than a quarter of an inch." However, on cross examination, Dr. Spitz indicated he did not need to read Sims's CT scan because he "took for granted that what they told [him] in the medical record was correct," but conceded the depth of the wound was not indicated in the medical records. Additionally, the State presented testimony indicating Sims did not have any bruising on her arms on the night of the incident.
Ultimately, the State alleged that no altercation took place in the bathroom and that Sims was not acting in self-defense. Rather, the State alleged that Sims had been planning to murder David and calmly and coolly made the decision to accelerate her plan on the night in question. The State offered testimony from several witnesses indicating the house was "pristine" and contained no evidence of an altercation other than David's body. Dr. Spitz testified that the lack of gunshot residue on David's shirt indicated that Sims shot him from over two feet away. Additionally, the State introduced evidence of irregularities surrounding the gun. First, the gun was registered to a man named Michael White.5 Second, the gun was loaded with only two rounds. Third, Sims claimed to have moved the gun to the bathroom in her attempts to child proof the house, but a .38 revolver was found in David's nightstand.6 Finally, Sims claimed she drew the gun from the bathroom vanity, but Officer Cestare testified that the gun case was located in Sims's nightstand with the clasps unfastened. In its closing argument, the State argued Sims left the bathroom, walked around the bed to her nightstand, and returned with the gun to trap an unarmed David in the bathroom. At no point did the State offer any evidence to suggest Sims lost control or was overcome with an uncontrollable impulse to do violence when she shot David.
The Defense argued that Sims shot David in self-defense. Sims testified about her history with David and how the marriage eventually deteriorated. The defense also presented evidence of incidents in which David frightened Sims. Sims's friend, Lisa, testified that during a phone conversation Sims abruptly ceased communicating. When communication was reestablished, Sims explained that David had jerked the phone out of her hand because he wanted to see who she was talking to. Sims indicated David had been eavesdropping around the corner and she kept trying to recall whether she had said something that would have made him mad. Sims's friend testified that this was the first time she realized Sims was afraid of David. Sims also testified concerning two incidents. During one incident, David lost his temper after playing with their puppy. Sims indicated that the puppy scratched David and David's demeanor changed from playful to "I'm about to hurt this dog." Sims testified that the puppy hid behind her as David angrily demanded that she hand the puppy to him. Sims later texted David indicating her concerns about the incident, to which David replied, "So are you saying that the next time he needs discipline, that I should instead just punch you in the face?" Sims also described an incident in which David got physical with her. Sims, a nurse anesthetist, explained that in July 2012, she had been on call when David took her phone to the other side of the house to go through it. Sims told David she needed her phone because she was on call, and David responded by stating that her job was "so important" and "so much more important than his," but he did not return the phone. As a result, Sims took the house phone to the bathroom to let the hospital know to call her at that number. Sims testified that David followed her into the bathroom and put his arms around her. Sims said she thought David was going to hug her, but instead he began to beat on her back with a closed fist. Sims indicated that she tried to push away from David but he grabbed her arms so tightly that it hurt. She continued to struggle with David and ultimately bloodied his lip. At that point, Sims, who was pregnant and in her first trimester at the time, testified that David wrapped his hands around her throat and slammed her into the wall. She indicated that David let go of her throat after she asked him what he was doing, and she then called 911.7
Sims then testified that on August 11, 2013—the day of the shooting—David had "woken up looking to argue." David wanted to go to Ruby Tuesdays and Bass Pro Shop, but he became frustrated with Sims as she was packing their baby's diaper bag and tidying the house. Once they were on their way, Sims indicated that David began questioning her and making snide remarks about the diet pills her OB/GYN had given her. Sims testified that David seemed frustrated throughout their outing, and that on the ride home he purposefully drove over the rumble strips on the highway in an attempt to get on her nerves. At some point on their ride home, Sims asked David if he wanted to separate. David indicated that they needed to talk and Sims said they could talk after she put their son to sleep.
Once they arrived home, David wanted to speak with Sims immediately and began calling her name louder and louder.
However, Sims indicated that she wanted to wait until the baby was...
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