Vega v. State
| Decision Date | 17 October 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 12A04-9411-CR-465,12A04-9411-CR-465 |
| Citation | 656 N.E.2d 497 |
| Parties | Anita VEGA, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Defendant-Appellant Anita Vega appeals her conviction of involuntary manslaughter. 1
We affirm.
Vega raises six issues for our review, which we restate as:
1. Whether the trial court erred in denying Vega's motion for mistrial after the State's primary witness disclosed that the witness had taken a polygraph examination.
2. Whether comments made by the trial judge served to deny Vega's right to a fair trial.
3. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to allow testimony by a proposed expert witness.
4. Whether Vega was prejudiced by alleged prosecutorial misstatements made during closing argument.
5. Whether Vega was afforded effective assistance of trial counsel.
6. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to support Vega's conviction.
At some point in 1969 or 1970, Vega instructed her nine year old daughter, Margarita, to stay home from school and check on three year old Anna Marie. Anna Marie had wet her bed on the previous evening, and as a punishment had been beaten, deprived of food, and placed in a cold room without clothing. Margarita checked on Anna Marie and found that she had wet a pair of shorts that she had managed to find. Margarita informed Vega of Anna Marie's condition; Vega responded by ordering Margarita to fill a tub with cold water. Vega then began kicking Anna Marie and beating her with her fists. When Anna Marie fell down, Vega picked her up by her hair and shook her. Vega continued beating Anna Marie for approximately five to ten minutes. By this time, Anna Marie's nose and mouth were bloodied.
Vega led Anna Marie into the bathroom and checked the water that Margarita had placed into the tub. Upon discovering that the water was warm, she smacked Margarita, and ordered her to place cold water in the tub. After Margarita did so, Vega beat Anna Marie again. During this beating, Anna Marie fell backwards into the tub. Vega pulled her out of the tub and beat her again. Before leaving the room, Vega ordered Margarita to place Anna Marie in the tub. Margarita persuaded Anna Marie to stand in the tub, but was unable to persuade her to sit down.
Vega reentered the bathroom and observed Anna Marie standing in the tub. Vega then struck Anna Marie's head with sufficient force to knock her out of the tub. Vega then picked up Anna Marie, and threw her head first into the tub. When Anna Marie gasped for air, Vega struck her again and held her head under the water. Vega then forced her weakening daughter to sit in the water. Vega then told Margarita to shower Anna Marie with cold water and "leave her there." Anna Marie was left alone in the bathroom with cold water running on her.
After watching soap operas for a number of hours, Vega asked Margarita to check on Anna Marie. Margarita entered the bathroom and observed Anna Marie floating face down in the water. Margarita placed Anna Marie on her stomach on the floor, pushed on her back, and observed water come out of her nose and throat. Margarita noted that Anna Marie was "ice cold." (R. 112).
Margarita informed Vega that she believed Anna Marie was dead. Vega responded, "She's not dead, stupid ... Bring her out here." (R. 113). Margarita wrapped a towel around Anna Marie and carried her out of the bathroom.
Anna Marie began making noises, and Vega instructed Margarita to place her on the unheated back porch. Margarita wrapped Anna Marie in a blanket and placed her on the porch. Margarita left the door open to enable heat from the house to reach the porch. When Vega discovered that the door was open, she smacked Margarita and ordered her to close it. Vega then "put her ... knuckle real hard under [Margarita's] chin" and said, "If you ever tell I'll kill you and you've seen me do it so you know I can." (R. 114).
Later that afternoon, Margarita's siblings returned from school. Vega informed one of the boys that Anna Marie was dead and that her funeral occurred while he was at school. When Vega forced Margarita to go out on the porch to get toys for one of the children, Margarita heard Anna Marie "making noises" that were "weird" and "more deep." (R. 117).
Later that evening, Vega's future husband, Luis, returned home from work. Margarita overheard Vega and Luis having a discussion in their bedroom. At one point, Margarita heard Luis say, "Well, didn't you know that could kill her?" (R. 119-120).
Margarita heard Luis exit the house. Luis then entered the house carrying a box. Margarita observed that the blanket that she used to cover Anna Marie was sticking out of the box. Margarita heard Vega tell Luis to "hurry up" because "if ... a policeman saw him walking down the street carrying a box we'd all be in trouble." (R. 121-122).
When Luis returned home, Margarita heard Vega ask him what took so long. Luis responded that "it wasn't easy to bury a body in frozen ground." (R. 123-124).
Margarita testified that she talked about Anna Marie with Vega in 1985. At that time, Vega telephoned Margarita and said that she had a surprise for her. When Margarita went to Vega's residence, Vega pointed towards a brown sack and said, "there's your surprise." (R. 139). Upon opening the sack, Margarita observed what appeared to be a bone on top of dirt. Margarita screamed and left Vega's house.
A couple of months later, Margarita returned to Vega's house and asked her what had happened to the sack. Vega indicated that she and another person had buried the sack in a local cemetery. Vega then accompanied Margarita to a local cemetery and pointed out where she allegedly buried the sack.
In September, 1992, Margarita informed police officers of the death of Anna Marie. The police officers found a birth certificate documenting Anna Marie's birth in 1967. The officers were unable to find any other records pertaining to Anna Marie, such as a death certificate or school records.
In June, 1993, Vega gave a statement to the officers. At first, she denied having a daughter with the name "Anna Marie." When confronted with the birth certificate, she acknowledged Anna Marie's existence. She then stated that she found Anna Marie unconscious, laid her on a bed, and waited three to four hours for Luis to return home. Luis then buried Anna Marie "in a field along the railroad close to where he worked." (R. 274-275).
Vega was charged by indictment with involuntary manslaughter. Following a jury trial, she was convicted of the charged offense. She now appeals.
Vega contends that the trial court erred in denying her request for a mistrial after Margarita disclosed that she had taken a polygraph examination. On direct examination, Margarita was questioned as to how she had helped police officers with the investigation. She testified that she accompanied police officers to the cemetery and showed them where the sack was allegedly buried. She further testified that she "wore a wire" while talking about Anna Marie with her sister, Guadalupe. When questioned as to how she further helped police, Margarita responded, "I took a polygraph." In response to Vega's objection, the trial court immediately admonished the jury to disregard the statement. After hearing arguments by counsel, the trial court again admonished the jury to disregard Margarita's comment.
In her case in chief, Vega called Officer Mark James, the administrator of the polygraph examination, as a witness. Vega introduced Officer James's report, which states that when questioned, "[Were] you telling the truth when you said your Mother killed your sister?", Margarita responded, "no." The report further contained Officer James's conclusion that Margarita "[had] not been completely truthful." On cross-examination, however, Officer James testified that the polygraph examination was inconclusive as to whether Margarita had told the truth. The polygraph report allowed Vega's attorney to state during closing argument that:
[The prosecutor] asked [Margarita], not trying to elicit the information, "Did you do anything else to cooperate with the investigation?" She thought and she thought and she thought and she said, "Yeah, I took a polygraph" ... Don't you see what happened here? [The prosecutor] got trapped in the middle of prosecuting a case that he didn't even know his star witness had failed the polygraph test. He's completely painted into a corner and based on that evidence you're supposed to convict beyond a reasonable doubt when you know she failed the polygraph test.
(R. 420-421).
The results of a polygraph examination, or the offer or refusal to take an examination, are not admissible in a criminal prosecution absent a waiver or stipulation by the parties. Houchen v. State (1994), Ind.App., 632 N.E.2d 791, 793. A mistrial should be granted where the accused, under all the circumstances, has been placed in a position of grave peril to which she should not have been subjected. Conn v. State (1989), Ind., 535 N.E.2d 1176, 1180. The prejudice to the rights of the accused from such proof may be sufficiently mitigated by an admonition to the jury. Id.
The potential prejudice in the instant case was that the jury would conclude from Margarita's testimony that she passed a polygraph examination. Thus, the testimony of the primary witness against Vega would be impermissibly bolstered. However, the jury had the benefit of Officer James's report indicating that Margarita was not completely truthful. The...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Sloane v. State
...have been sustained by the trial court. Peete v. State, 678 N.E.2d 415, 418 (Ind.Ct.App.1997), trans. denied (citing Vega v. State, 656 N.E.2d 497, 504 (Ind.Ct.App.1995), reh'g denied, trans. denied (1996)). Absent such a showing, an appellant cannot prevail on an ineffective assistance of ......
-
Peete v. State
...to make a proper objection, it must be shown that a proper objection would have been sustained by the trial court. Vega v. State, 656 N.E.2d 497, 504 (Ind.Ct.App.1996), reh'g denied, trans. denied. Absent such a showing, an appellant cannot prevail on an ineffective assistance of counsel cl......
-
Impson v. State
...failing to make an objection, it must be shown that a proper objection would have been sustained by the trial court. Vega v. State, 656 N.E.2d 497, 504 (Ind.Ct.App.1995), reh'g denied, trans. denied. As we stated in Issue I, Officer Martin's testimony regarding Lori's excited utterances was......
-
Smith v. State
...must demonstrate that an objection would have been sustained if properly made in order to demonstrate prejudice, see Vega v. State (1995) Ind.App., 656 N.E.2d 497, 504, trans. denied; nonetheless, the prejudice suffered by Smith from counsel's failure to object was sufficient here. We think......