State v. Staab

• Decision Date: 23 October 1981
• Docket Number: No. 52926,52926
• Citation: 635 P.2d 257,230 Kan. 329
• Parties: STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Darrell J. STAAB, Appellant.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

Page 257

635 P.2d 257

230 Kan. 329

STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Darrell J. STAAB, Appellant.

No. 52926.

Supreme Court of Kansas.

Oct. 23, 1981.

Syllabus by the Court

In an appeal from a conviction of murder in the second degree, the record is examined and it is held : The trial court did not err 1) in admitting the unsigned and unread deposition of a witness unavailable through illness where the witness was afforded an opportunity for the reading thereof; 2) in refusing to admit into evidence the extrajudicial statements of the defendant before defendant actually took the stand and waived his constitutional right against self-incrimination; 3) in refusing defendant's request for an instruction on the lesser included offense of involuntary manslaughter where it is not supported by substantial evidence.

Richard D. Coffelt, of Martin & Coffelt, Hays, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellant.

John C. Herman, County Atty., argued the cause, and Robert T. Stephan, Atty. Gen., was with him on the brief for appellee.

HERD, Justice:

Darrell J. Staab was convicted by a jury of murder in the second degree (K.S.A. 21-3402) on December 19, 1980, for the shooting death of Gary Mayfield on August 8, 1980, in Hays. Staab moved for a new trial which was denied.

This is a case of a rejected lover. It all began in February of 1979 with Darrell Staab going to the Hays American Legion Club. Marjorie Turley was the bartender. They struck up a friendship which ripened into a closer relationship as time went by. At the time, Staab worked as a mechanic for Urban Motors. Later he operated a repair shop in partnership with his brother, Lambert Staab, in Hays. Ms. Turley was estranged from her husband, Gary Turley, at the time and was later divorced from him. She had been previously married to Jim Simons by whom she had five children. She had two stepchildren by Gary Turley. Ms. Turley commenced stopping by the repair shop two or three times a week under various pretenses but for the actual purpose of seeing Darrell Staab. On the days she did not come to see Staab, she called him. There was evidence Staab stayed overnight with Ms. Turley at her rural residence located north of Yocemento and that Marjorie occasionally stayed overnight with Darrell at his residence in Hays. They discussed marriage but nothing came of it at first, because Ms. Turley was already married and later because of the intervention of a new lover.

In late October, 1979, Marjorie Turley met Gary Mayfield. They began dating, and at Thanksgiving time Marjorie moved into his house at 1504 Fort Street, Hays, to live with him, after Gary persuaded his previous girlfriend to move out. Marjorie obtained a divorce from Turley in January of 1980.

Mayfield worked the 3:00 p. m. to 11:00 p. m. shift on an oil rig. There was evidence Marjorie Turley had dates with Darrell Staab in the early evening while Mayfield was at work. Staab accepted Marjorie's life style, but with some reluctance. He told her if Mayfield did not treat her right he would blow him away. He repeated the threat two or three times.

In July of 1980, Gary Mayfield and Marjorie Turley decided they would get married. They set the wedding date for August 8, 1980, at 4:00 p. m., at the Methodist Church. Marjorie kept seeing Darrell Staab but at less frequent intervals. She also called him on occasion. As the time for the wedding approached, Staab became more and more disturbed about it. He would go to the American Legion and VFW clubs and see the people he knew, including Mayfield, and pretend to be happy and carefree, but his friends detected a bitterness about him. He pretended to like Mayfield, congratulated him and said the "best man won," but the next time he saw Mayfield, he insulted him with a sarcastic remark. His deep resentment showed through. At one time Mayfield responded to a friendly gesture from Staab by telling him he was always welcome at Mayfield's house. Staab was to use that as an excuse later. Staab's mother, brother and friends became concerned about his attitude and worried about him harming himself.

August 8, 1980, was a tough day for Darrell Staab. He tried to work but nothing went right. Lambert Staab and his wife, Rita, noticed his problem. At 5:00 p. m. Lambert suggested they close the shop early and have a beer and talk awhile. This they did. Rita brought them a case of beer and the two sat in the office until 9:00 p. m., drinking beer and a small amount of tequila. When Norman Kinderknecht and Kenneth Meier came by for Darrell, Lambert went home. Kinderknecht, Meier and Darrell Staab had previously planned to go to the Ellis County fair and enter the pig wrestling contest. They gave up that plan because of Darrell's depression. While in the Staab Repair Shop, Darrell asked Kinderknecht to speak to someone on the phone; Staab had dialed a number and Kinderknecht expected a man to answer, but the answering voice was that of Marjorie Mayfield. They exchanged pleasantries during which Marjorie invited Norman to a wedding beer party at the park. He then hung up. Staab immediately rang Marjorie's number again and spoke to her briefly.

Meier, Kinderknecht and Staab then left the shop and drove two vehicles to the Dillon's store where Darrell purchased groceries. Upon leaving Dillon's, they put the groceries in Staab's pickup and all three got in. Darrell drove to the park, searching for the wedding party. He found it on the west side but drove on by, stopping only momentarily to talk to some acquaintances. The three then proceeded to Staab's house. It was approximately 10:30 p. m. Kinderknecht and Meier did not go inside the house; they sat on the front porch. Staab came out of the house carrying a shotgun and a rifle. On the way out, Darrell hit the action and a shell fell out of one of the guns. Darrell pushed the shell back in the magazine, pumped another one in and fired the gun into the air. He placed the shotgun and rifle in the pickup, then went back in the house for more guns. He then came out with the second bunch of guns which he threw in the pickup. Darrell then asked his companions if they were ready to go. Norman refused to leave with the arsenal. All three of them then removed the guns from the pickup and returned them to the house. While in the house Darrell showed them his guns, including a rifle, shotgun and a .44 caliber Ruger pistol. The guns were all loaded, and Darrell's loose handling of them made Norman and Kenneth nervous. Staab then asked Kinderknecht if he had ever fired a Ruger and said that he should try his. After that Staab walked to his front door and fired a round into the darkness. Soon a neighbor called and asked what the shooting was about. Darrell said he was shooting some firecrackers.

Staab, Meier and Kinderknecht then left the house. The pistol was left lying on top of the couch in the living room. The rest of the guns were stashed in various corners of the room. It was now about 11:00 p. m. They got in Staab's pickup and he drove them back to the park. This time they stopped at the party. Darrell went to the party; the other two stayed close by the pickup. As Darrell walked in, Marjorie's sister stopped him and asked him what he was doing there and demanded he leave. Staab then went back to the pickup and they left. They drove back to Dillon's to get Meier's vehicle, transferred Staab's groceries to it and talked for about ten minutes. Meier and Kinderknecht got in Meier's car with the impression Darrell would follow them to Norman's house for supper. Instead of following, Darrell drove off in the opposite direction. Staab's behavior disturbed Meier and Kinderknecht so much they drove to Lambert Staab's house, awakened him and discussed Darrell's moodiness with him and his wife Rita. When Norman and Kenneth again started for Norman's house, they saw the sheriff's car going toward Darrell's house and an ambulance going toward Fort Street. It was between 11:30 and 12:00 midnight.

After Darrell Staab left the other two men, he claims he drove directly to the park again and asked for Gary Mayfield. He was told the Mayfields had gone home. The other version, testified to by Rae Ann Power in her deposition, was that Staab showed up at the park, this time with a pistol stuffed in the front of his trousers. Marjorie and Gary Mayfield saw Staab approaching and left for home prior to his arrival at the party in order to avoid a confrontation. Mrs. Power told her husband about the gun, after which they also hurriedly left the party area in the park. Staab then either went home for his gun or went with his gun directly to Gary Mayfield's house. He parked in front, walked up and banged a number of times on the unlocked front door. Marjorie and Gary were in the bathroom and heard the banging on the door. They did not want a disturbance so they decided to awaken Marjorie's mother, who was asleep nearby, and have her answer the door. They didn't have time to carry out their plan; Staab opened the front door and marched in without ceremony. He claimed Mayfield's previous invitation to stop by anytime still stood. Gary heard him come in the front room, came out of the bedroom and angrily admonished Darrell for walking in uninvited and showed him the door. Darrell Staab retreated slowly through the front door to the porch, then down a step or two. Marjorie had followed both of them to the front door; then she turned back into the house. Gary was dressed in cut-off blue jeans with no shirt, obviously unarmed. As Darrell Staab stepped backward down the steps, he pulled out his .44 Ruger and fired three shots at Gary Mayfield. Two of the shots hit Mayfield one at an upward angle. The other entered Mayfield's back from above as if fired after he was down. Mayfield died within a few minutes.

After the shooting, which was observed by a neighbor across the street, Staab walked slowly to his pickup, got in and drove calmly away. When Staab...