Van Kleeck v. State

Decision Date08 February 1983
Docket NumberNo. 39418,39418
Citation250 Ga. 551,299 S.E.2d 735
PartiesVAN KLEECK v. The STATE.
CourtGeorgia Supreme Court

Kermit N. McManus, Roberts & McManus, Dalton, for Mary Margaret Van kleeck.

Stephen A. Williams, Dist. Atty., Dalton, Michael J. Bowers, Atty. Gen., Janice G. Hildenbrand, Staff Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, for State.

MARSHALL, Presiding Justice.

Mary Margaret Van Kleeck appeals from her convictions of the murder of and theft by taking from Doc Hicks, for which offenses she was sentenced to life imprisonment and a concurrent five-years' imprisonment, respectively.

1. The appellant's first enumeration of error is the denial of her motion for mistrial on the ground that the testimony of Detective Swinney, regarding the substance of the appellant's in-custody oral statement, was admitted in contravention of OCGA § 17-7-210 (Code Ann. § 27-1302), because the witness' version was allegedly more incriminating than the written summary furnished to the defense before trial.

OCGA § 17-7-210 (Code Ann. § 27-1302) provides in pertinent part: "(b) If the defendant's statement is oral or partially oral, the prosecution shall furnish, in writing, all relevant and material portions of the defendant's statement ... (d) If the defendant's statement is oral, no relevant and material (incriminating or inculpatory) portion of the statement of the defendant may be used against the defendant unless it has been previously furnished to the defendant, if a timely written request for a copy of the statement has been made by the defendant."

The summary of the appellant's oral statement furnished to the defense prior to trial contained these statements: "The vase is the object Ms. Van Kleeck had told authorities she used to kill Mr. Hicks ... After I had hit Dock [sic] in the head and dragged him into the bathroom, she stated, she went to Calhoun to get Bruce [her husband] ... She said that when she dragged Dock [sic] into the bathroom, she had placed towels around his head, neck, and shoulders to keep the blood from running down on him."

At trial, Detective Swinney related the appellant's oral statement as follows: "She stated that they argued for awhile. Doc started walking towards her; she was standing at the corner of the kitchen table; she picked up a cutglass vase that was on the kitchen table; she struck Doc in the head with this vase knocking him to his knees. She told me that she--that Doc tried to pull himself back up by the kitchen chair, and that she struck him repeatedly in the head with this vase, until the vase broke. She then advised she dragged the body into the bathroom area of the residence and that she had placed towels around his neck to keep the blood that was flowing from his head from flowing on down onto his body and onto the floor."

We find that the written summary (which need not be a verbatim account) furnished "all relevant and material portions of the defendant's statement" regarding the complained of testimony, with the possible exception of the statement that the appellant had struck the victim in the head repeatedly, until the vase broke. While this statement was...

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17 cases
  • McTaggart v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • 11 Marzo 1997
    ...v. State, 183 Ga.App. 41, 357 S.E.2d 862 (1987); Johnson v. State, 177 Ga.App. 705, 340 S.E.2d 662 (1986); see also Van Kleeck v. State, 250 Ga. 551(1), 299 S.E.2d 735 (1983). Such written summary must fairly cover all "relevant and material portions of defendant's statement" both as to inc......
  • White v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • 19 Junio 1984
    ...to him in writing all relevant and material portions of any oral statement he gave while in police custody. See Van Kleeck v. State, 250 Ga. 551(1), 299 S.E.2d 735 (1983); Reed v. State, 163 Ga.App. 364, 365, 295 S.E.2d 108 (1982). If the state fails to comply with such a timely request, th......
  • Cook v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • 20 Febrero 1991
    ...if a timely written request for a copy of the statement has been made by the defendant.' " (Emphasis supplied.) Van Kleeck v. State, 250 Ga. 551(1), 299 S.E.2d 735. In the case sub judice, defendant argues that the trial court should not have allowed the statement because "it introduces an ......
  • Bowe v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • 6 Septiembre 1991
    ...a reversal based on the State's failure to provide a written statement, harm, as well as error, must be shown. Van Kleeck v. State, 250 Ga. 551(1), 299 S.E.2d 735 (1983). The statements on the videotape were merely cumulative of other previously rendered testimony to which appellants interp......
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