State v. St. Pierre

• Decision Date: 14 July 1988
• Docket Number: Nos. 51690-1,s. 51690-1
• Citation: 759 P.2d 383,111 Wn.2d 105
• Parties: The STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Christopher ST. PIERRE, Appellant.
• Court: Washington Supreme Court

Page 105

111 Wn.2d 105

759 P.2d 383

The STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Christopher ST. PIERRE, Appellant.

Nos. 51690-1.

Supreme Court of Washington En Banc.

July 14, 1988.

As Changed July 20, 1988.

Reconsideration Denied Nov. 4, 1988.

Bertha B. Fitzer, Tacoma, for appellant.

John W. Ladenburg, Pierce County Prosecutor, Deborah J. Phillips, Sp. Deputy, Tacoma, for respondent.

UTTER, Justice.

Christopher St. Pierre seeks reversal of his convictions for first degree felony murder of Damon Wells and aggravated first degree murder of John Achord. The central issue in both convictions is whether the trial court denied St. Pierre's right of confrontation under the sixth amendment to the United States Constitution by admitting the out-of-court statements made by codefendants, Andrew Webb and the defendant's brother, Paul. Finding the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights to have been violated in one case but not the other, we affirm the conviction for the first degree felony murder of Damon Wells but reverse the conviction for the aggravated first degree murder of John Achord.

Damon Wells and John Achord were murdered in early 1984. Paul and Christopher St. Pierre and Andrew Webb, a friend living at the house and who was present on both occasions, later confessed to some involvement in the events surrounding both killings, although their accounts of Achord's death vary in significant details. Of the three defendants, only Christopher testified during trial.

The events leading to the murder of Damon Wells began at the St. Pierre house the night of February 24, 1984 where Wells was attending a party. Andrew Webb and the St. Pierre brothers severely beat Wells following a fight in which a friend of Wells apparently got the better of Andrew Webb. Paul then suggested that they take Wells out somewhere and "teach him a lesson." Paul, Christopher, and Webb put Wells in Paul's car and began driving around. During their ride, Christopher punched Wells repeatedly.

At Webb's suggestion, they drove to Salmon Beach to leave Wells there. Once they got to the beach, Paul pushed Wells down and took his shoes. Wells defiantly told Paul that he would get back at him. Paul responded by telling Webb that they were going to have to "waste" Wells. Wells immediately got up and began running away and yelled for help. The three other men chased him, caught him, and tackled him to the ground. Christopher kicked him in the head, rendering him unconscious. Paul handed a knife to Webb who then cut Wells' throat several times. Paul and Christopher also stabbed Wells, who died as a result of his wounds. Upon returning to St. Pierre's house, the three men washed their clothes and took showers. Christopher burned his bloodied boots in the fireplace.

The three men returned to Salmon Beach the next day, picked up Wells' body and placed it in a sleeping bag. They drove to a camping area near Elbe, where they buried the body and covered the grave with grass.

Three months later, John Achord was murdered at the St. Pierre house. Achord had met Paul and Webb after a concert and joined them at St. Pierre's house later that evening. At a time when neither Christopher nor Webb was in the house, Paul shot Achord in the head. Christopher and Webb returned to the house and found Achord lying face down in a pool of blood. Paul claimed to have fired the shot in self-defense.

At this point the accounts of the three men differ somewhat.

Statement of Andrew Webb: Webb suggested that if Paul shot Achord in self-defense they should simply call the police and report the fact. Christopher responded that it would not be a good idea to have the police come to the house since Paul was high on acid and the police would not believe his story. Christopher also expressed concern that the police might find out about the Damon Wells murder. He suggested that they bury Achord's body. Webb stated that he tried to persuade the St. Pierre's not to bury Achord because he was still alive and making a horrible breathing sound. Webb suggested that they had time to save him if they called an ambulance. At that point, Paul pulled out his knife and repeatedly stabbed Achord.

Statement and Testimony of Christopher St. Pierre: Although Christopher's account is consistent with Webb's as to most details, it diverged in three significant respects. First, he denied that Achord was alive when he entered the room. Second, he denied that he was present when the stabbing took place. Finally, he denied there was any discussion of whether to call the police.

Statement of Paul St. Pierre: Paul admitted that he shot Achord when the two men were alone in the living room of St. Pierre's house. Paul did not say whether Achord was dead by the time Christopher and Webb returned or whether there had been any discussion about calling the police. Nor did Paul say anything about stabbing Achord.

Regarding subsequent details, all three statements are fairly consistent. Paul and Christopher cut the living room carpet around the body and dragged it outside to Webb's car. They drove to Wells' grave near Elbe and buried Achord in the same area.

Worried that the bullet lodged in Achord's head could be traced back to Paul's gun, Paul and Christopher drove back to the gravesite a few days later. They severed Achord's head with an axe and placed it in a bucket of cement. After the concrete set, Christopher and a friend threw it in the Puyallup River where it was discovered months later.

Shortly thereafter, Paul and Andrew Webb got into a fight during which Webb was shot. During the police investigation of this shooting, other residents of the St. Pierre house told detectives of possible killings. With this information, the police obtained a search warrant and began searching the St. Pierre house. The same day, June 19 1984, Christopher decided to confess and led the police to the gravesites, the weapons and the disposal site of the head. Christopher signed a written statement and gave it to the police. Christopher and Paul St. Pierre and Andrew Webb were arraigned for charges stemming from both murders. Paul gave a statement to police on June 29. Webb gave his statement on July 17 in the context of a plea bargain arrangement under which the State agreed not to pursue the death penalty for the Wells murder and to drop all charges against him pertaining to the Achord murder. Each of these statements appears to have been properly obtained.

Initially, Webb and the St. Pierre brothers were charged with the aggravated murder, kidnapping and assault of Damon Wells (counts 1 through 3). Only Paul was charged with the death of John Achord (count 4); Christopher and Webb were charged with rendering criminal assistance for helping dispose of the body (count 5). Trial on the Wells homicide began in September 1984 in Pacific County where the case had been moved due to extensive pretrial publicity in Pierce County. A mistrial was declared shortly thereafter when the prosecutor conceded that several jurors had been improperly excused.

On October 9, Webb pleaded guilty to the first degree felony murder of Damon Wells in fulfillment of the earlier plea bargain. The State then dropped all charges against Webb pertaining to the Achord murder. Under the terms of the agreement Webb was obliged to testify against the St. Pierre brothers.

Upon completion of an autopsy on Achord's head, which concluded that the bullet wound may not have been fatal, the state filed an amended information charging Christopher St. Pierre with the Achord murder. The state's theory of this part of the case, based upon the autopsy report and Webb's statement, was that Christopher encouraged Paul to stab Achord to death in order to conceal the earlier death of Damon Wells. The State also filed notice of intent to seek the death penalty on this count.

After several delays due to Paul's decision to fire his attorney, questions regarding Paul's competency, and Webb's illness and eventual decision not to testify, selection of the second jury to hear the Wells murder trial began on April 8, 1985. Neither defendant testified at the Wells trial, and Webb refused to testify even after being ordered to do so. All three out-of-court statements referred to above were admitted into evidence. The court instructed the jury, however, to consider the statements by the St. Pierre brothers only against the brother who made the statement. The jury found Paul guilty of aggravated first degree murder but declined to impose the death penalty. The jury also found Christopher guilty of first degree felony murder, first degree kidnapping and second degree assault. The court imposed concurrent sentences for these offenses.

The Achord murder trial followed. Again, the jury heard all three out-of-court statements and again Paul and Webb refused to testify. However, Christopher testified and stated that he did not know that Achord had been stabbed and denied that there had been any discussion in his presence about whether to call the police. He said that he simply panicked upon learning that his brother had shot Achord and that was why he helped his brother dispose of the body.

The jury found both defendants guilty of aggravated first degree murder. Following the penalty phase of the trial, the trial court sentenced Paul and Christopher to life in prison without possibility of parole. ¹

I

The central issue presented by these cases is whether Christopher St. Pierre's right to confront the witnesses against him was violated when the out-of-court statements made by co-defendants Paul St. Pierre and Andrew Webb were admitted into evidence and neither was available for cross examination. St. Pierre argues that these out-of-court statements are inadmissible hearsay and that the trial court committed reversible error by allowing them to be admitted. The State responds that both out-of-court statements have sufficient indicia of reliability to be admissible under...