Brown v. State

481 So. 2d 1191, 1985 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 5956
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided December 10, 1985·No. 6 Div. 470·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

TYSON, Judge.

Willie George Brown was indicted for the murder of Silvia Jewel Jones in violation of § 13A-6-2, Code of Alabama 1975. The jury found the appellant “guilty as charged” in the indictment. The trial judge set sentence at life imprisonment in the penitentiary.

Ida Jones, the victim’s mother, testified that the appellant and the victim had lived together off and on for a period of time but that the victim, Silvia Jewel Jones, was living with her prior to the victim’s death on April 30, 1983. At the time of her death, the victim had two children and the appellant was the father of the youngest child.

On the evening of April 30, 1983, the victim left Jones’ house around 6:30 with her son and her sister.

Anita Willingham, the victim’s sister and the appellant’s cousin, stated that on the night in question, she had a birthday party for her daughter at her house. At 6:30 p.m., the victim arrived at the party. A short while later, the appellant, Brown, came to the party. Brown called the victim out of the kitchen and the two went into one of the bedrooms to talk.

At some point, the appellant left the house. When Brown returned, he told Willingham that Yolanda Tueker, Willing-ham’s neighbor, wanted to see her. Will-ingham went over to Tucker’s house and returned home shortly. She went to the bathroom, knocked on the door and said, “George, Bernice wants to use the bathroom.” (R. 24). The appellant replied “Okay, in a minute.” (R. 24).

Willingham then went into her bedroom. While she was there she heard something that sounded like balloons bursting. She then saw the appellant leave the bathroom. He had a brown paper sack in his hand and something brown was protruding from the bag. When Willingham looked in the bathroom, she saw the victim, Silvia Jones, lying on the floor. She left the house and didn’t return until the next day.

Willingham testified that she did not own a fingernail file at the time of the victim’s death.

Bernice Henderson was at the party at Willingham’s on the night in question. Soon after the appellant, Brown, got to the party Henderson heard him tell the victim that he wanted to take his baby home. The victim asked how the baby would get back and the appellant told Jones to pick the baby up.

The appellant, Brown, then walked away and the victim told Henderson that the appellant was “up to a lot of mess” and she (the victim) would be glad when she left. (R. 59).

A while later, Henderson again saw the appellant talking to the victim. The appellant told the victim that he wanted to talk about the baby. The victim replied, “all babies fall.” (R. 59). Henderson then heard the bathroom door close.

A few minutes later, Henderson told Willingham she wanted to use the bathroom. Willingham knocked on the door [1193]*1193and told the appellant this information and he replied, “Okay”.

Minutes later Henderson heard noises from the bathroom which sounded like gunshots. When the appellant, Brown, came out of the bathroom, Viola Annette Smelley asked him why he shot the victim. He replied, “I loved that girl, she shouldn’t have did me like she did.” (R. 63). He then left the house.

After Henderson looked in the bathroom and saw the victim, Silvia Jones, she called the police. She did not see a nail file in the bathroom.

Smelley testified that, as she was leaving the party, she heard shots which she thought were balloons popping. She asked Henderson what the noises were and Henderson said it was the appellant. Smelley asked the appellant, Brown, as he was leaving, why he shot the victim and the appellant replied that he loved her.

Smelley looked in the bathroom after the shooting and did not see a nail file.

Richard Hunter, one of Willingham’s neighbors, was standing in his yard on the evening of April 30, 1983. He saw the appellant drive by his house that night. A few minutes later, somebody yelled that someone had been shot. Hunter then went to Willingham’s house and tried to administer first aid to the victim. He remained in the bathroom with the victim until the paramedics and police arrived.

Hunter testified that the victim did not have anything in her hands when he arrived. He did not see a nail file in the bathroom.

Yolanda Tucker testified that the appellant, Brown, came over to her house in the late afternoon of April 30, 1983 and brought some fish. When she left to go to the Willingham’s house for the party, the appellant remained at her house. A while later, the appellant came to the party. When Tucker left the party, both the appellant and the victim were there.

At approximately 7:15 p.m., Tucker was standing outside her house. The appellant came out of Willingham’s house with his baby in his arms. He asked Tucker if she would keep the baby for a few minutes and she said yes. The appellant then left.

A few minutes later Tucker heard screams coming from the Willingham house.

Dr. Joseph Embry, a forensic pathologist with the Department of Forensic Sciences, performed the autopsy on the victim. He stated that the victim died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. The bullets he removed from the body were given to Law-den Yates. Embry found two hairs in the victim’s right palm and gave them to Wayne Burroughs along with samples of the victim’s head and pubic hair. He checked the victim’s fingernails and did not find anything that warranted taking fingernail scrapings.

George Grubbs, a detective with the Birmingham Police Department, stated that he met with the appellant at 1:10 on the afternoon of May 1, 1983. After being advised of his Miranda rights, the appellant stated he understood them and, nevertheless, wished to make a statement. Grubbs recorded the statement which was played to the jury.

Grubbs testified that the appellant showed him a place on his arm where he had allegedly been stuck by a fingernail file. Grubbs stated that he did not notice any wounds on the appellant’s arm and that he took photographs of the appellant’s arm, which were shown to the jury.

Grubbs stated that Annie Pearl Willing-ham gave him a gun which was found under the front seat of the appellant’s car. The gun had five live rounds and one empty chamber. He gave the gun to Lawden Yates.

Donald Reynolds, an evidence technician with the Birmingham Police Department, went to the scene on the evening in question. He collected two spent projectiles from the bathroom and turned them over to the Department of Forensic Sciences. Reynolds also photographed the scene. He doesn’t recall finding a nail file in the bathroom that night. Reynolds submitted sam-[1194]*1194pies of the appellant’s head and moustache hair to Wayne Burroughs.

Burroughs, a criminalist with the Department of Forensic Sciences, testified that the two hairs found in the victim’s hand were inconsistent with the appellant’s and the victim’s hair. In his opinion, the hair came from a third party.

Lawden Yates, a firearms and toolmarks examiner with the Department of Forensic Sciences, stated he received an Armeni-us .38 special caliber revolver from Grubbs. After test firing the gun, he determined that the three bullets removed from the victim’s body and the two projectiles found in the bathroom had been fired from this particular gun. Yates stated that it was necessary to squeeze the trigger each time the gun was fired.

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Brown v. State, 481 So. 2d 1191, 1985 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 5956 (Ala. Ct. App. 1985).

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