State v. Williams

• Decision Date: 08 January 2016
• Docket Number: No. 109,353.,109,353.
• Citation: 363 P.3d 1101
• Parties: STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Michael R. WILLIAMS, Appellant.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

363 P.3d 1101

STATE of Kansas, Appellee,

v.Michael R. WILLIAMS, Appellant.

No. 109,353.

Supreme Court of Kansas.

Jan. 8, 2016.

Michelle A. Davis, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, argued the cause, and Deborah Hughes, of the same office, was on the brief for appellant.

Matt J. Maloney, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Marc Bennett, district attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, were with him on the brief for appellee.

The opinion of the court was delivered by STEGALL, J.:

A jury convicted Michael R. Williams of first-degree premeditated murder in the shooting death of his housemate, Sean Christopher Putnam. The district court imposed a hard 25 sentence.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 2010, Williams lived in the same house with Deborah Weiss—who Williams described as his common-law wife—and with Putnam. On the evening of December 21, Williams called the police in an attempt to have Putnam evicted from the home, but the police refused. Later that evening, Williams shot Putnam in the head, killing him. A few days after that, Williams buried Putnam's body in a shallow grave. These facts were undisputed at trial; however, key details were contested.

The State's Version of Events

The State admitted into evidence a letter written by Troy Walker—Williams' friend—to the mother of Walker's children. In the letter, Walker describes a conversation in which Williams told Walker that he was going to kill Putnam because Putnam had informed Williams' boss that Williams was selling drugs at work. Detective Rick Craig interviewed Walker concerning the conversation described in the letter. According to Walker, Williams was angry at Putnam regarding a job he had received from Williams' employer. Williams was further angered because Putnam had told Williams' boss that Williams was selling "dope" out of the company truck. Because of this, Walker alleged that Williams said of Putnam, "I'm going to fuck that dude up" and "I'm going to kill that pussy."

Justin Rose—Williams' neighbor—testified that in early December, Rose had seen a person offer to sell Williams a gun. In mid-December, Williams showed Rose the gun he had purchased and told Rose to keep it quiet because he did not want Putnam to know. Rose testified that at some point after Christmas, Williams came over to his house and described the shooting. Williams first told Rose, "I got rid of him." Rose asked what Williams meant by that, and Williams responded, "I shot him."

Rose did not immediately believe Williams. However, when Putnam's car (which was parked in Rose's driveway) did not move for several days—and especially after Rose observed Williams attempting to sell the car—Rose came to believe that Williams had in fact shot and killed Putnam. Eventually, Rose visited Williams' home and saw the carpet had been removed from Putnam's bedroom and the walls and floor were painted white. Rose noted "the strongest smell of bleach ever." At that point, Williams provided Rose with a more complete account of the shooting:

"He said that they had gotten into a alt—a little argument. And that, I believe he said that [Putnam] was sitting on the edge of his bed. And when he looked down the hallway, ... he seen [Putnam] flipping him off. And that's when he grabbed the gun and shot him."

Williams then told Rose that after he shot Putnam, Putnam "slunched over at the end of the bed and was making noises. And, at that point, [Weiss] went in there and tied a bungee cord around his neck." Williams told Rose he had buried Putnam in a tarp with the help of an "ex-con friend" at a house belonging to that friend's mother.

Edward Woods—Williams' coworker—testified that Weiss came to his home on the first or second of February 2011 and described the shooting. Weiss told Woods she had seen Williams and Putnam arguing and Williams shot him. She stated the argument was "over a drug deal." According to Woods, Weiss said, "I walked around the corner, and [Williams] come around the corner and shot the guy." Weiss claimed Putnam and Williams "had been arguing, or had an argument about something. And it was over, I guess, some type of a drug deal. And that I guess that wasn't the first time that they had been arguing." Weiss told Woods that after Putnam was shot she became upset and put a cord around his neck. According to Weiss, Putnam was "gurgling blood" at the time. Weiss told Woods they then wrapped the body in a tarp where it sat in a back room for a few days.

In addition to the pre-shooting conversation, the Walker letter also described a conversation between Williams and Walker that occurred after the shooting. In the letter, Walker tells his wife how a few weeks after Putnam's death, Walker observed Williams trying to sell Putnam's car to a third party. Walker asked Williams if the car was stolen, and Williams replied that it was not and it would never be reported stolen. Walker inquired further, and Williams said the car would not be reported stolen because Williams had "[s]hot [the owner] in his house and rolled the body up in carpet and got rid of it."

Terry Ockert—the man who eventually purchased Putnam's car from Williams—described to Detective Blake Mumma what Williams had told him of the shooting. Ockert claimed he purchased the car from Williams and, at the time, Williams said its previous owner had been killed. Williams told Ockert he had buried the body once and then had to dig it up and rebury it in order to remove a tarp that had been wrapped around the body. According to Ockert, Williams explained that he was "[p]issed off" after the police had refused to evict Putnam on the evening of the killing. Williams indicated he was concerned Putnam was telling the police about crimes Williams "may or may not have been involved in."

Lee Sherard—the man who helped Williams bury Putnam—testified that he had arrived at a friend's house to find Williams and Weiss sitting together, visibly upset. Williams told Sherard that an animal had been killed and they needed help burying it. Sherard testified, "I treat my animals like my children. So I could see the distraught in both of them. So when he asked if I would help him, I said, Yes, that I would help him bury his dog." When they arrived at Williams' home, Sherard saw a large body covered with a tarp and he recognized what he believed to be a human foot sticking out from under the tarp.

At that point, Williams told Sherard that he had "shot a friend." Sherard helped Williams load Putnam's body into the back of Williams' truck, and they left to search for a burial site. After hours of unsuccessful searching, Sherard told Williams they could bury the body behind Sherard's mother's house. Sherard testified he assisted Williams because he was afraid and did not actually want Putnam's body buried behind his mother's house. When they arrived, Sherard went inside and left Williams to bury the body alone. The next day, Sherard observed part of the blue tarp protruding from the ground. He later confronted Williams with this fact. Putnam's body was eventually discovered behind Sherard's mother's house. It was buried approximately 7 inches deep and was no longer wrapped in a blue tarp.

Finally, Dr. Jaime Oeberst—the Sedgwick County district coroner—testified that Putnam's autopsy showed he had been shot in the head and had bruising to his neck. The bruising was consistent with injuries inflicted while Putnam was still alive. The gunshot wound entered through the left side of his forehead and exited the back of his scalp on the right. Putnam's blood was found in the cracks between the floorboards in Putnam's bedroom.

Williams' Version of Events

In his defense at trial, Williams presented a very different version of the events culminating in Putnam's death. Williams testified that after the police left without evicting Putnam, Williams drove around for an hour or two and then went to Rose's house. Williams attempted to sell his gun to Rose in order to get money for a hotel room, but Rose refused to buy it. Later that evening, Williams returned home and fell asleep with the gun in his easy chair in the living room.

Williams testified he woke at around 11 p.m. to the sound of Weiss and Putnam screaming. Williams said he got up and saw Putnam holding Weiss by the hair. According to Williams, Weiss was naked and "I pulled the gun from my [waist] and I tell him to let go. He didn't pay no attention to me, he's holding her, he's looking at her and he's screaming at her and he's not listening to me. And I fired a shot at him." Williams then described how Putnam fell backwards into his bedroom.

On cross-examination, Williams said that before the shooting, "I tried pulling on her. I can't get her loose." Williams described, "He won't let go. He's pulling her back. I pulled the gun out. I point it at him and say, Let go. And with the other hand, I'm trying to pull on her. About the time he lets go, I fire." Williams then acknowledged he must have let go of Weiss long enough to pull the slide back on the gun in order to chamber a round before he pointed the gun at Putnam.

After the shooting, Williams "checked my wife out. She's naked. I asked her why she's standing there naked, what the Hell happened?" Williams testified Weiss told him that she had taken a shower and forgotten a towel. When she came out of the bathroom, Putnam "had said something to her. And she had said something back or something. Then they had an argument. And that's why he grabbed her." Williams testified that at the moment he saw Putnam holding Weiss' hair, "I don't know what I thought, but I was scared. I was angry probably. I was probably—I don't know, I couldn't tell you exactly what went through my mind, you know. I just acted." Williams explained, "I thought he was going to hurt her. He told me how he was trained. He's told me how he's killed people. He's showed me pictures of being in the SWAT."

After assuring himself that Weiss was unhurt, Williams claimed he went to Rose's...