State v. Wahlberg

• Decision Date: 08 August 1980
• Docket Number: No. 48104.,48104.
• Citation: 296 NW 2d 408
• Parties: STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Roy Eric WAHLBERG, Appellant.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

296 N.W.2d 408 (1980)

STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Roy Eric WAHLBERG, Appellant.

No. 48104.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

August 8, 1980.

C. Paul Jones, Public Defender, and Robert E. Oliphant and Allen Christy, Asst. Public Defender, Minneapolis, for appellant.

Warren Spannaus, Atty. Gen., St. Paul, Alan L. Mitchell, County Atty., and John E. DeSanto, Asst. County Atty., Duluth, Mark S. Rubin, Asst. County Atty., Virginia, for respondent.

Heard before OTIS, ROGOSHESKE and WAHL, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc.

WAHL, Justice.

Defendant was convicted, after a jury trial, in St. Louis County District Court of the first-degree murder of Jeffrey Goedderz and was sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, the refusal of the trial court to submit the lesser included offense of murder in the third degree, the trial court's instruction on voluntary intoxication, the requirement that he present evidence of voluntary intoxication that negates the existence of a necessary mental state, improper comments of the prosecutor, the admission of impeachment evidence without a limiting instruction, and the refusal of the trial court to grant a mistrial due to mid-trial newspaper publicity. We affirm.

1. The first and crucial issue for our consideration is whether to sustain defendant's conviction. The State was required to prove that the defendant killed Jeffrey Goedderz with premeditation and intent. Minn.Stat. § 609.185 (1978). In a case such as this one, based on circumstantial evidence, the conviction may stand only where the facts and circumstances disclosed by the circumstantial evidence form a complete chain which, in the light of the evidence as a whole, leads so directly to the guilt of the accused as to exclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, any reasonable inference other than that of guilt. State v. DeZeler, 230 Minn. 39, 52, 41 N.W.2d 313, 322 (1950). This court's scope of review on appeal is limited to considering the evidence and determining whether the jury could reasonably find the accused guilty of first-degree murder. We must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State and must assume that the jury believed the State's witnesses and disbelieved everything which contradicted their testimony. State v. Thompson, 273 Minn. 1, 36, 139 N.W.2d 490, 515 (1966), cert. denied, 385 U.S. 817, 87 S.Ct. 39, 17 L.Ed.2d 56 (1966).

Because the case rests on circumstantial evidence, it is necessary to set forth the facts in some detail.

On the afternoon of March 14, 1975, the body of Jeffrey Goedderz, 19, was found locked in the trunk of his car. The car, a Plymouth Gold Duster, was in the parking lot of the "co-op" store in Ely, Minnesota. It had apparently been in the same spot in the parking lot since at least 10:00 or 10:30 a. m. on March 9, 1975. All of the car's doors were locked. Goedderz's wallet was not missing.

The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was blood loss from multiple wounds. There was a wound 2¾ inches long on each side of the head which fractured the skull and bruised the brain. A massive, gaping wound, which went from the back of the neck around to the right side, cut the muscles of the neck down to the backbone, cut the mastoid bone and the skull, and penetrated the brain. The pathologist believed these wounds were caused by a sharp weapon used with considerable force. There were also large cuts on the left side of the face and neck, one of which broke the jawbone and two teeth. In the opinion of the pathologist, these wounds were probably caused by a double-edged knife applied with great force. In addition, various lacerations, bruises, and cuts were found which, according to the pathologist's testimony, were incurred when Goedderz was trying to defend himself from attack.

Based on analysis of stomach contents, the pathologist testified that Goedderz could have died any time between 4 a. m. and 10 a. m. on March 9, 1975, but that there was an 85% probability that he died before 8 a. m. that day. The pathologist concluded that two weapons were probably used, a double-edged knife and an instrument with a broad, flat blade.

Defendant, who was 23 years old at the time of the offense, lived with his parents in Ely. His parents owned the Ely Dairy, which defendant had been managing for about a year. Defendant's friends described him an an "average guy," a peaceful person who avoided fights. Roxanne Ahlstrand, defendant's girlfriend, testified that when he was not on drugs he was peaceful and easy to talk to, but that he was an altogether different person when he was on acid.

Roxanne Ahlstrand testified that she and her sister, Brenda, were driving around Ely drinking beer on the evening of March 8, when they saw defendant and picked him up. He told them that he had "dropped two hits of acid" before leaving home. Roxanne testified that he was giggling and "acting a little funny." He said he wanted to "drop two more hits" of acid. Roxanne saw him take a small bottle out of his pocket and put something in his mouth. Another friend who was in the car testified that she saw defendant put acid into his mouth at this time. The three of them then went to a party at 7:30 p. m., where the defendant drank mixed drinks for approximately three hours.

Brenda Ahlstrand testified that she and defendant left the party together. At approximately 11:45 p. m., Brenda sent defendant into the "Legion" bar to look for her boyfriend. He was in the "Legion" for about 10 or 15 minutes, and when he returned he said he could not find her boyfriend and that he had been in a fight in the bar. She did not observe any cuts on him, but it was dark in the car. During the six hours she was with him, Brenda testified, defendant never became loud or boisterous, never lost his temper, and never stumbled or slurred his speech.

The owner of the "Legion" bar testified that defendant came into the bar around 12:40 p. m. but that no fight ensued. The bartender testified that defendant did not appear noticeably intoxicated while he was in the "Legion."

Roy Tuomala, defendant's third cousin, was sleeping in the apartment of Cynthia Leppanan Teller on the evening of March 8. At approximately 5 a. m. on March 9, Tuomala and Teller heard people running up the stairs and pounding on the apartment door. Tuomala answered the door and saw Red Nelson, Richard Murto, defendant, and Goedderz. He testified that they were drunk and told him they were looking for a party. He told them there was no party at the apartment and went back to bed. He heard the group open the refrigerator in the kitchen, looking for beer, and then leave five or ten minutes later.

Terry Gfeller testified that he was living at the Wolf Lake Resort 10 miles west of Ely on March 9 and that when he went out to warm up his truck between 6:15 and 6:30 a. m. he saw a Gold Duster drive very slowly down the loop road and stop. He saw the driver, whom he later identified as Red Nelson. He could not see if others were in the car. He drove up behind the Duster and followed it for a while as both vehicles headed east toward Ely. Gfeller drove into the Holiday Station in Ely about 7:10 a. m. and bought a pie, and when he went back out to his truck he saw the same Duster in the pump area of the station. He saw the driver standing by the car but was unable to see if anyone was inside the car. Just as Gfeller left, he saw the Duster head east outside the city limits of Ely at about 7:15 a. m.

Robert Owens, manager of the Holiday station, who knew the defendant because he delivered dairy products to his store regularly, testified that shortly after 7 a. m. on March 9, the defendant arrived at the Holiday station in a Gold Duster. The manager thought that two others got out of the car, but he remembered that defendant got out from the passenger's side. Defendant came in and conversed with the manager for a while. The manager did not notice any cuts or bruises on him. The car in which defendant had arrived was filled with approximately one dollar's worth of gas at the Holiday station.

Roxanne Ahlstrand testified that the defendant came to her apartment about 9:20 a. m. on March 9. She said he appeared tired, shaky, nervous, and hung over. She noticed a tiny bruise on the bridge of his nose and a tiny cut or crack on his lip. There were two small cuts or scratches on his left hand. She noticed that his appearance had changed from the night before, when she and her sister were with him at the party. He now had on his dress jeans instead of his work jeans, and he was no longer wearing the flowered shirt he had worn the previous night.

Defendant came in and lay his head on Ms. Ahlstrand's lap for a while. He then went into the bedroom, took his clothes off, and went to bed. She noticed that his long underwear was damp from the knees down and that there was a hole in the knee. Defendant told her he got wet wading through the snow. He also told her he thought he had been in a fight at the "Legion" and that Red Nelson had been with him. It was not until just before Ms. Ahlstrand's first interview with the police that defendant called her and told her he was with Goedderz the night Goedderz died but that he had nothing to do with the crime.

Defendant testified that on the evening of March 8 he took a couple of "hits" of LSD before going to a party with Roxanne and Brenda Ahlstrand. At the party he drank strong mixed drinks, one after the other. He testified he was really "loaded" when he left the party and had trouble maneuvering the steps. After spending several hours with Brenda Ahlstrand, he and "Red" Nelson and Rich Murto drove around together, drinking beer. While they were driving, a car flashed its lights at them, so defendant pulled over, got out, and talked to the driver of the car. The driver smiled at him, showed him a bottle of banana liqueur, and asked defendant if he wanted to get into his...