State v. Whiteley
| Decision Date | 15 April 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 24745,24745 |
| Parties | STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Noel Jay WHITELEY, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Idaho Court of Appeals |
Rehearing Denied May 17, 1999.
Alan E. Trimming, Ada County Public Defender; D.C. Carr, Deputy Public Defender, Boise, for appellant.
Hon. Alan G. Lance, Attorney General; Myrna A.I. Stahman, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent.
In this case we are asked to review a sentence imposed for second degree murder. I.C. §§ 18-4001, -2002, and -4003. We affirm.
After pleading guilty to second degree murder, Noel Jay Whiteley was sentenced to an indeterminate life term of incarceration, with a minimum period of confinement of twenty-four years. Whiteley appeals, claiming that the district court abused its discretion in arriving at the sentence imposed.
An appellate review of a sentence is based on an abuse of discretion standard. State v. Wolfe, 99 Idaho 382, 582 P.2d 728 (1978). Where a sentence is not illegal, the appellant has the burden to show that it is unreasonable, and thus a clear abuse of discretion. State v. Brown, 121 Idaho 385, 393, 825 P.2d 482, 490 (1992). A sentence may represent such an abuse if it is shown to be unreasonable upon the facts of the case. State v. Nice, 103 Idaho 89, 645 P.2d 323 (1982). A sentence of confinement is reasonable if it appears at the time of sentencing that confinement is necessary "to accomplish the primary objective of protecting society and to achieve any or all of the related goals of deterrence, rehabilitation or retribution applicable to a given case." State v. Toohill, 103 Idaho 565, 568, 650 P.2d 707, 710 (Ct.App.1982). Where an appellant contends that the sentencing court imposed an excessively harsh sentence, we conduct an independent examination of the record, having regard for the nature of the offense, the character of the offender and the protection of the public interest. State v. Reinke, 103 Idaho 771, 653 P.2d 1183 (Ct.App.1982).
As punishment for second degree murder, the accused may be sentenced to a life term in the custody of the Board of Correction. At a minimum, however, the district court must impose at least an indeterminate term of ten years. I.C. § 18-4004; State v. Paul, 118 Idaho 717, 720, 800 P.2d 113, 116 (Ct.App.1990). The decision as to whether the sentence will be some indeterminate term with the possibility of parole after ten years, or will be some longer period of incarceration without the possibility of parole extending to life, is a matter within the trial court's discretion. Id.
This case presents the brutal and senseless murder of Angela Michelle Eggers. The evidence before the district court established that the victim and Whiteley had dated for a time in the early 1990s, but were, at the time of the murder, just friends. The victim had come to Whiteley's house to talk. While their conversation began outside the residence, the victim eventually requested that Whiteley give her a back rub, whereupon they entered the residence and proceeded to Whiteley's bedroom. Whiteley gave the victim a sweatshirt to wear. Whiteley testified that he "started massaging her neck, because she asked me to, and then I just started strangling her." Whiteley indicated that he strangled Eggers both with his bare hands and a canvas strap. During the strangulation, Eggers fought to free herself for approximately five minutes. Although Whiteley testified that, at one point, he unsuccessfully attempted to remove strap from the victim's neck, he also stated that he did not utilize scissors or a knife because "it might have cut the victim." After the murder, Whiteley took a screwdriver and a pair of gloves out to the victim's pickup and removed the CD player.
According to the presentence investigation report, Whiteley stated that after removing the CD player, he and another individual carried Eggers' body to her pickup, put the body behind the seat, and Whiteley drove the pickup to a secluded desert location. After he arrived at the location where the victim was eventually found, Whiteley removed the canvas strap from the victim's neck, and also removed his sweatshirt from the victim. Whiteley then discarded the canvas strap,...
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