State v. Vaughn

• Decision Date: 04 February 1986
• Docket Number: No. WD,WD
• Citation: 707 S.W.2d 422
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Larry Dean VAUGHN, Appellant. 36680.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 422

707 S.W.2d 422

STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Larry Dean VAUGHN, Appellant.

No. WD 36680.

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District.

Feb. 4, 1986.

Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer

to Supreme Court Overruled and Denied

March 27, 1986.

Application to Transfer Denied June 17, 1986.

Gary L. Stamper, Bear, Hines, Thomas, Dierkes & Stamper, Columbia, for appellant.

William L. Webster, Atty. Gen., John M. Morris, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.

Before SHANGLER, P.J., and TURNAGE and BERREY, JJ.

SHANGLER, Presiding Judge.

The defendant Larry Dean Vaughn was convicted by a jury of murder in the second degree and was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of thirty years. The appeal contends that the evidence was not sufficient to prove the cause of death or that the defendant was the criminal agent of the death. We affirm.

In the morning of March 2, 1984, the Vaughn family came together at the home of Bobby and Bonnie Vaughn to celebrate the birthday of a child. The adults by then already foregathered were Dorothy Vaughn [sister of host Bobby], another brother, Billy Vaughn, neighbor Sam Jackson, and brother defendant Larry Dean Vaughn. Among them also was Geneva Vaughn, the mother. The occasion was well supplied with beverages, among them beer, Peppermint Schnapps, and Wild Turkey whiskey. The defendant Larry was a very heavy drinker--an alcoholic--and by the time he arrived at the party had already consumed drinks of alcohol, and brought with him two fifths of Peppermint Schnapps. The mother, Geneva, was mentally unstable and alcoholic drink affected her physically as well as mentally. The defendant Larry, nevertheless, encouraged the mother to take alcohol several times during the morning, offered her a bottle, and the mother drank and became intoxicated.

Later that day, at about 4:30 p.m., another daughter, Frances Vaughn Edwards arrived with husband Dan. They had come, not for the party occasion, but to take Bobby and Bonnie Vaughn to dinner. Frances saw immediately that her mother, Geneva, was intoxicated, and learned that brother Larry--the defendant--had prompted the mother to consume drinks. Bonnie testified that thereupon Frances confronted Larry in the kitchen. Larry told Frances: "It's none of your business. You don't belong here anyway," and pushed her through the door into the living room. Frances testified, somewhat at variance, that she went into the kitchen, not to confront Larry, but to settle some children who were in argument. She returned to the others in the living room, talked a while about the mother and her drinking, and decided to leave. She entered the kitchen again, this time to retrieve her purse and her coat. That is when Larry grabbed her from the back by the brassiere strap, turned her around "and started cussing." The strap broke, Larry struck her in the face with his hand. The defendant Larry pushed Frances into the living room and out the front door--and as he did "grabbed up Daniel," then seated in the living room, and pushed him out with her. Larry was momentarily restrained by brother Billy and neighbor Jackson, but he broke loose and shoved the couple outside the door onto a small concrete porch and renewed the battery upon Frances. Dan, her husband, attempted to intervene and grabbed Larry's arm. Larry turned on Dan and knocked him to the ground, and kicked him as he lay there. The blows were to the back of the head--at the center--and in the mid-back of the torso. Frances attempted to shield Dan, while Dan complained he could not breath. The three became enmeshed and rolled down the hill--while Larry held Dan in a headlock. Larry was finally made to release Dan by the intervention of brother Billy and neighbor Jackson. Dan sat up for a moment, then fell back, began to shiver, while his eyes rolled back. An ambulance was called. Dan was motionless and appeared to be not breathing well. Larry, in the meanwhile, stood by with a Wild Turkey bottle in his hand, from which he drank, and remarked: "I don't care if Dan has ten seizures. I wouldn't care if he dies." He also argued with Frances about some money she owed him.

The police arrived and found Dan motionless on the ground, and Larry, whiskey bottle in hand, intoxicated and in argument with others. The paramedics arrived within minutes and found Dan without breath or pulse. They diagnosed his condition as cardiac arrest, initiated the CPR procedure, and detected no electrical activity in the heart. Daniel was taken to the hospital, but he was already dead.

Dan Edwards was a sickly person, afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis. He had a history of hospital treatment and had been discharged from employment because of his debilities. He was not able to do simple things, many times, such as tie his shoes or dress, or even pour his coffee. In the months before the death, Dan was sicker than usual and had lost a great deal of weight. The defendant Larry knew about that sickly condition, and had loaned Frances and Dan money for hospital bills.

A forensic pathologist and medical examiner for the county, Dr. Jay Dix, performed the autopsy. That examination revealed that Dan had suffered two previous heart attacks, as evidenced by scar tissue. There were also abrasions on the face and back. Dr. Dix listed the cause of death as arteriosclerotic heart disease, and the manner of death as homicide. Dr. Dix concluded that prior to death, Dan was "a sick individual." The abrasions were not so severe as to cause death. He gave opinion that the death resulted from the stress induced by the kicks and the circumstances which caused an irregular heart rhythm and sudden death. Or, in the exact terminology:

The kicking or the multiple blows a person would receive would cause the heart to beat faster because of a stressful condition. A stressful condition can lead to either heart attack or an unusual heart rhythm which then can cause a person to die suddenly. I feel that the nature of the blows and the time reference to when they occurred versus when the decedent collapsed was sufficient to join those two together and relate the cause and effect.

Dr. Greg Flaker, a cardiologist [who did not examine the body of the deceased victim], testified that while the abrasions did not cause death, a variety of stresses could precipitate arrhythmic heartbeat [ventricular fibrillation] and death. The doctor could not tell whether the emotional stress caused the heart failure and death or whether it was the "physical scuffle, putting additional stress on the heart."

The defendant Vaughn was charged under second degree murder § 565.004, RSMo 1978, then in effect. The willful, premeditated killing of a human being with malice aforethought constitutes murder in the second degree under that statute. State v. Franco, 544 S.W.2d 533 535[1-4] (Mo. banc 1976). An intent to kill or to cause serious bodily harm is an essential element of the offense. State v. Cook, 557 S.W.2d 484, 485[1-4] (Mo.App.1977). That element is proven by circumstances where the proscribed result--the death--may reasonably be expected to follow from a voluntary act, whether or not the actor actually meant to inflict death. State v. Powell, 630 S.W.2d 168, 170[5, 6] (Mo.App.1982). The defendant does not dispute these principles, but contends that the corpus delicti--the substantial fact that a crime was committed--was not proven. The corpus delicti of a homicide consists of two elements: the death of a human being and the criminal agency of another. That proof, however, does not suffice for conviction: the prosecution evidence must show yet another element--a criminal act of the defendant as the cause of death. State v. May, 689 S.W.2d 732, 736[1-6] (Mo.App.1985).

The defendant contends on appeal that causation was not proven, and hence conviction cannot stand. He argues that the medical testimony--rendered by both Dr. Dix for the prosecution and Dr. Flaker for the defense ¹--evinces that death was caused by unusual heart rhythm or attack induced by stress, but that medical opinion was unable to say whether the stress which brought on the fatal heart action was a reaction to the physical blows or merely to the circumstances of altercation. The defendant cites as conclusive on the issue the excerpt from State v. Brinkley, 354 Mo. 1051, 193...