Weaver v. State

• Decision Date: 29 April 1996
• Docket Number: No. CR,CR
• Parties: Georgia Louise WEAVER, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 95-1205.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Page 491

920 S.W.2d 491

324 Ark. 290

Georgia Louise WEAVER, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.

No. CR 95-1205.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

April 29, 1996.

William R. Simpson, Jr., Public Defender, Llewellyn J. Marczuk, Deputy Public Defender, C. Joseph Cordi, Jr., Little Rock, for Appellant.

Vada Berger, Asst. Attorney General, Little Rock, for Appellee.

BROWN, Justice.

Appellant Georgia Louise Weaver appeals her capital murder conviction for the murder of her sister, Jeannie Allen, and her first-degree battery conviction regarding her great-niece, Theresa Allen Tessman. Weaver raises four points on appeal concerning sufficiency of the evidence and trial error. We hold that the evidence supporting conviction was substantial and that there was no reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm.

The victim in this case--Jennie Lee Allen, who went by Jeannie Allen--was age 66 at the time of her death. On December 19, 1992, she was admitted to Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock with fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, near unconsciousness, weakness, and blurred vision. Her symptoms suggested a gastrointestinal illness. Neurological problems developed, and she was placed on a ventilator. Heavy metal screening and urine sampling revealed high levels of arsenic poisoning--1,237 micrograms of arsenic as compared to an acceptable range of less than 200 micrograms. Treatment for arsenic poisoning was not implemented in time, and she died of cardiac arrest on January 17, 1993.

Following Jeannie Allen's demise, members of her family were tested for arsenic poisoning. Her granddaughter, Theresa Allen, who was age 24, had an elevated microgram level of arsenic of 1,024, which was about five times above the acceptable level. It was also discovered that Theresa Allen was seven weeks pregnant. Because of the risk of fetal damage caused by arsenic poisoning, she voluntarily terminated her pregnancy. She was hospitalized for arsenic treatment for four days--from January 30, 1993, to February 2, 1993.

The death of Jeannie Allen and the arsenic poisoning of Theresa Allen led to charges of capital murder and first-degree battery against Weaver. The State's theory of the case was that Weaver, motivated by greed and revenge, poisoned her sister by placing arsenic in her food, drink, and medication. Following a jury trial and verdict of guilty, Weaver was sentenced to life without parole for murder and to thirty years imprisonment for first-degree battery.

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

For her first issue, Weaver contends that the trial court erred in refusing to direct a verdict in her favor based on insufficient evidence against her. She urges that this was a case of circumstantial evidence and that another reasonable hypothesis existed for who murdered Jeannie Allen. The hypothesis she posits is that Jimmie Allen, Jeannie Allen's husband, murdered his wife because (1) he had the opportunity to do so; (2) he tested negative for arsenic poisoning himself; and (3) he had threatened to kill Weaver and complained about her efforts to move into his house. We do not agree that Weaver's hypothesis is reasonable.

A motion for directed verdict is a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. Littlepage v. State, 314 Ark. 361, 863 S.W.2d 276 (1993). In determining the sufficiency of the evidence, we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the State and sustain the judgment of conviction if there is substantial evidence to support it. Mills v. State, 322 Ark. 647, 910 S.W.2d 682 (1995). Evidence is substantial if it is of sufficient force and character to compel reasonable minds to reach a conclusion and pass beyond suspicion and conjecture. Id. Only the evidence supporting the conviction need be considered. Id. In order for circumstantial evidence to be sufficient, it must exclude every other reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence. Walker v. State, 324 Ark. 106, 918 S.W.2d 172 (1996); Nance v. State, 323 Ark. 583, 918 S.W.2d 114 (1996). Such a determination is a question of fact for the fact finder to determine. Huggins v. State, 322 Ark. 70, 907 S.W.2d 697 (1995); Sheridan v. State, 313 Ark. 23, 852 S.W.2d 772 (1993).

A person is guilty of capital murder if "[w]ith the premeditated and deliberated purpose of causing the death of another person, he causes the death of any person." Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-101(a)(4) (Repl.1993 & Supp.1995). We have held that premeditation and deliberation may be inferred from circumstantial evidence. Shaw v. State, 299 Ark. 474, 773 S.W.2d 827 (1989). We have further emphasized that intent and state of mind are rarely capable of proof by direct evidence and must usually be inferred from the circumstances of the case. Davis v. State, 317 Ark. 592, 879 S.W.2d 439 (1994).

Contrary to Weaver's assertions, there was testimony to show that it was not reasonable to hypothecate that Jimmie Allen poisoned his wife and granddaughter. First, there was no testimony that he ever prepared meals for them. Secondly, he did not eat the same food as his wife and granddaughter which made his negative testing for arsenic not surprising. His children testified that his diet was restricted to baloney sandwiches and sandwiches from various fast food restaurants. They also testified that he drank only tap water or canned beverages. Witnesses further stated that he had limited ambulatory ability and a deteriorating mental condition. And he was never connected at trial in any way to arsenic. Finally, Weaver, the subject of Jimmie Allen's malevolence, was not poisoned--his wife was. In sum, Weaver's theory of the case was clearly a matter for the jury to weigh and resolve, and the jury rejected Weaver's hypothesis, no doubt because it was implausible.

The circumstantial evidence supporting the jury verdict follows. Gary Lawrence, a chemist with the State Crime Laboratory, testified that the medication, Vick's Nyquil, taken from the decedent's home and a fruit punch taken from her freezer both tested positive for arsenic. Other testimony established a motive for murder. According to Jerry Allen, the son of the deceased, the sisters, Jeannie Allen and Georgia Weaver, became estranged in 1990, due to a dispute over funds of the guardianship estate of their mother, Birdie Fewell. Jeanette "Rusty" Rohlman, a neighbor of Jeannie and Jimmie Allen, testified that she had been close friends with the Allens since 1981. She was also knowledgeable about the dispute between the sisters over funds of the Birdie Fewell guardianship. Rohlman stated that Weaver wanted to divide the proceeds between them while Jeannie Allen wanted to put the money in an account for their mother. The dispute blossomed into a lawsuit filed by Allen against Weaver over missing funds, and Weaver afterwards vowed revenge. The estrangement ended in May or June of 1992, according to Jerry Allen, when Jeannie Allen assisted Weaver in resolving some "trouble with the law." Jerry Allen also testified that after the apparent reconciliation, it seemed as if Weaver was trying to take over every aspect of Allen's life and business. Rohlman testified that the dispute over the guardianship funds was still in litigation as late as November or December of 1992.

Rohlman added that she observed Weaver and Jeannie Allen spending nearly every day together during the summer of 1992. She testified that she had a key to Allen's home but that the locks were changed in the fall of 1992. In October of 1992, Allen brought her the keys to her freezer, where her cash was kept, and to her top dresser drawer, where her jewelry was stored, for Rohlman to keep. Rohlman further told the jury that Jeannie Allen received a J.C. Penney's bill on an account which she no longer had at the store and that an expensive ring had been charged to that account. On December 16, 1992, she accompanied Allen to J.C. Penney's to resolve the charge on the credit card. When they returned, Weaver was not there but arrived shortly afterwards. Rohlman testified:

Georgia came into the house, and she said, "I have all my stuff in the car. What should I do with it? Where can I put it?" Georgia said--Jean told Georgia, "I told you not to bring anything over here. You are not moving in. You're not putting it anywhere. Leave it in the car. You have a place to live."

About thirty minutes later, Allen went to the bathroom and became violently ill. According to Rohlman, she blamed the illness on her "nerves" from Weaver "driving [her] crazy." Rohlman added that Weaver did not seem concerned about Jeannie Allen's illness.

Barbara Conneely, the daughter of Jimmie and Jeannie Allen, who lived in Chicago in 1992, and Nora Swain, another neighbor, confirmed that Weaver was always at Allen's home during the summer and fall of 1992 and that she was reluctant to let them speak to Allen on the telephone. Viola Lenard, another neighbor, testified that Weaver was always around the victim and that it affected her relationship with others. Lenard further stated that Weaver had "seen to" Allen's turning everything over to her in her will.

Marian White, the owner of the Cimarron Inn in Little Rock, testified that she found a bottle of rat poison at her inn where Weaver had worked as a desk clerk, beginning on December 11, 1992, and terminating on January 10, 1993. White testified that Weaver showed her where she hid her sister's purse in a linen storage room at the inn because she did not want the police to find it. Ultimately, the purse disappeared. On March 2, 1993, White found a bottle of rat poison hidden between a blanket and bedspread in the storage area adjacent to the linen storage room. According to White, that type of rat poison was never used at the inn. Danny Naegle, the manager of Farmer's Association, testified that the price sticker on the bottle of liquid rat poison showed that it was sold at his store. The bottle was placed on his store shelf in October of 1992, and, Naegle stated, it...