State v. Vargas, 970024.

• Decision Date: 26 January 2001
• Docket Number: No. 970024.,970024.
• Citation: 2001 UT 5,20 P.3d 271
• Parties: STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Steven E. VARGAS, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

20 P.3d 271

2001 UT 5

STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Steven E. VARGAS, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 970024.

Supreme Court of Utah.

January 26, 2001.

Mark L. Shurtleff, Att'y Gen., Jeffrey S. Gray, Asst. Att'y Gen., Salt Lake City, William F. Daines, Sandra L. Sjogren, Ogden, for plaintiff.

John T. Caine, Ogden, for defendant.

DURRANT, Justice:

¶ 1 A jury convicted Steven Vargas of murder, a first-degree felony under Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-203, for the death of his wife, Rebecca Vargas. Vargas appeals his conviction, alleging numerous errors at trial. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 "We relate the facts in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict." State v. Litherland, 12 P.3d 92, 2000 UT 76, ¶ 2, 405 Utah Adv. Rep. 14. In January 1994, Steven and Rebecca Vargas married each other for the second time. Less than a month into the second marriage, Vargas was eating lunch at an Ogden restaurant with his aunt, Vicki Pubela. Pubela noted her pleasure at seeing the couple back together and asked him what he would do if his marriage failed again. Vargas told her he "would kill Rebecca first." Pubela then replied that he did not really mean that, to which he responded, "Oh, yes, I do."

¶ 3 Similarly, about eight months later, the Vargases had a fight at the North East Flagging Company, where the couple worked. Immediately afterward, Steven Vargas told several witnesses, "If she ever leaves me again, I'll kill her." Finally, in October of 1995, Steven Vargas and Gary Heward, a deputy Weber county attorney were discussing the O.J. Simpson murder trial, when Vargas stated, "If a black man can do that and get away with it, so can a Mexican."

¶ 4 A month before Vargas's conversation with Heward, Rebecca Vargas told Melinda McClain, Steven Vargas's youngest sister, that she was considering leaving her husband. Two months later, in November 1995, the couple told the Vargas family that they were divorcing.

¶ 5 On December 22, 1995, Robert Escobel, Steven Vargas's half-brother, called Steven Vargas to arrange a visit. During the conversation, "out of the blue," Vargas asked Escobel if he would kill his wife: "All you gotta do is, I'll fly you down here, you can hit her over the head with a bat a couple of times. She's so small, she'll die. I'll fly you right back. You'll be in and out in a few hours." Escobel refused, and his brother responded, "If you don't do it, I've got something else in the works." ¶ 6 Rebecca Vargas met with McClain three days later, on Christmas, at a local bowling alley and bar, Ben Lomond Lanes, for drinks. The two were joined by Monty Vorwaller, a police officer whom Rebecca Vargas was dating. Rebecca Vargas told McClain that in three days (December 28) she would be moving out of the trailer house in which she was then living with her husband and Mike Reid, his nephew, and into an apartment.

¶ 7 On December 27, Rebecca Vargas called Vorwaller and told him she was moving that day. Around noon, Reid helped her load some cleaning supplies into her Jeep. She then drove to her new apartment, which was one of three apartments she and her husband maintained and managed. After cleaning there for several hours, she returned to the trailer house, and Reid drove the Jeep to work.

¶ 8 After working until about 5:00 p.m. on that same day, Steven Vargas went to the Sand Trap, a private club, and then to Ben Lomond Lanes, where he talked with Garrett Bell and told him he was breaking up with his wife. At about 6:15, Steven Vargas went home. Before leaving, he told Bell he would be back at around 7:30 that evening to meet a woman; however, he did not return.

¶ 9 At about 6:30 p.m., the Vargases and their two children ate dinner at a buffet restaurant in Ogden. From this point until about 10:30 that evening, there are two versions of events.¹ According to Steven Vargas, after eating dinner, the family went to a theater and watched the movie "Toy Story." At 9:00 p.m., they went to another restaurant to get drinks and returned home at about 9:30 p.m. At this time, Rebecca Vargas left to go check on her apartment.

¶ 10 However, the State contends that between 6:30 and 7:00 that evening, Steven Vargas's nephew, Ryan Hawley, arrived at the trailer house to babysit the couple's two children so that they could go out for the evening.² Because Reid had driven the Jeep to work, the Vargases left in their other vehicle, an Oldsmobile. At trial, the State theorized that sometime that evening between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., Steven Vargas attacked and seriously wounded his wife outside her new apartment, then left her for dead. Afterward, he returned to the trailer house alone, arriving at about 10:00 p.m. He told Hawley that his wife had gone to make some minor repairs at her apartment. Hawley left shortly afterward.

¶ 11 Both sides agree that at about 10:30 p.m., Steven Vargas telephoned Melinda McClain, asking if Rebecca Vargas was with her. On learning that she was not there, Vargas asked McClain to check on her at the apartment, explaining he was unable to do so himself because Reid had taken the Jeep to work and his wife had taken the Oldsmobile to the apartment. McClain agreed to go to the apartment.

¶ 12 At about 11:00 p.m., Melinda McClain and her husband David arrived at the Vargases' trailer house. Reid had just returned with the Jeep, as well. The McClains told Steven Vargas that they had driven by the apartment and had seen the Oldsmobile parked out front. After talking for about forty-five minutes, the McClains prepared to leave, telling Steven Vargas they would drive by Ben Lomond Lanes to see if Rebecca Vargas had gone there, and, if they did not see her car there, they would again drive by the apartment.

¶ 13 Not finding the Oldsmobile at the bowling alley, Melinda and David McClain returned to the apartment. They parked behind the Oldsmobile, which was still there, and knocked on the apartment door. When nobody answered, Melinda McClain began to walk around the building. Before getting all the way around the building, however, she heard moaning. She brought her husband to the northeast corner of the porch to listen. In addition to the moaning, they also heard a low, calm, indiscernible, masculine voice.³ Melinda McClain also thought she saw somebody crouched over in the bushes; however, her husband believed she was simply imagining things. Based on what they heard, the McClains concluded Rebecca Vargas was having sexual relations with someone. It was now about 12:30 a.m. The McClains left, went to a nearby convenience store, and called Steven Vargas, telling him his wife was at the apartment and "it sounded like she was having sex with someone." Vargas told them to "let her have her fun" and go home.

¶ 14 Instead of going home, the McClains returned to the apartment for the third time that night. This time they heard nothing. They went to Ben Lomond Lanes and then returned, once more, to the apartment. It was now about 1:00 a.m. As the McClains approached the apartment, they discovered the Vargases' Jeep parked next to the Oldsmobile. They drove to an adjacent street and waited. Shortly afterward, Steven Vargas walked out from the east side of the apartment building wearing his robe and shaking his head. As he approached the Jeep, he ducked down and appeared to wipe something off himself. The McClains drove away without confronting him, but he saw the couple stopped at a nearby intersection. Vargas pulled over in the Jeep, and the McClains got out of their car to speak with him. He stated that he did not want his wife to think he was spying on her and asked them to not "tell anybody I was here." As they parted, he reiterated, "Don't tell anybody I was here, and whatever happens, don't tell anybody I was here." The McClains again returned to the apartment, for the fifth time that night, but heard nothing and went home.

¶ 15 At about 6:00 that morning, Vargas called the McClains and once more asked them to check on his wife. Melinda McClain told him to call the police and ask them to go to the apartment. He did so, but the police refused to send anyone over because Vargas said he had no reason to believe Rebecca was in danger. He again called the McClains and they went to the apartment.

¶ 16 Melinda McClain knocked on the door and, after getting no response, entered the apartment. She did not find Rebecca Vargas inside. She then began searching outside the building. As she came around the east side of the building, she found Rebecca Vargas's body lying on the ground. Rebecca Vargas was lying on her back. Her sweatshirt and bra had both been pulled up to her chin, exposing her chest and abdomen. The temperature that morning was about 20 degrees, and Rebecca Vargas's hair, face, and clothes were covered with frozen blood. There was a pool of blood by her head and a larger pool at her feet. Nearby was a battery-operated lantern, a set of keys, and a cigarette lighter. The lantern was covered in her blood and a clump of her hair. Later investigation revealed that Steven Vargas owned a similar lantern; however, it could not be found at his trailer house after the murder. Steven Vargas's fingerprints were identified on the lantern's battery.

¶ 17 Rebecca Vargas died from repeated blows to the top of her head, which extensively fractured her skull and resulted in swelling of the brain and loss of blood, as well as hypothermia. Some of the blows were inflicted while she was either standing or sitting upright. These injuries were located toward the back half of the top of the skull, and the weapon that inflicted these injuries was not found. The more serious injuries, however, were located toward the front of the skull and were inflicted while she was lying on the ground or pressed against a stationary object, such as a wall. Dr. Maureen Frikke, a forensic pathologist and the State's expert witness, testified that these injuries could have come from the lantern found at the scene. Dr....