Bunting v. Commonwealth

157 S.E.2d 204, 208 Va. 309, 1967 Va. LEXIS 217
CourtSupreme Court of Virginia
DecidedOctober 9, 1967
DocketRecord 6567
StatusPublished
Cited by74 cases

This text of 157 S.E.2d 204 (Bunting v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bunting v. Commonwealth, 157 S.E.2d 204, 208 Va. 309, 1967 Va. LEXIS 217 (Va. 1967).

Opinion

I'Anson, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

Defendant, Dwight Arlyn Bunting, was convicted of rape by a jury and on February 20, 1961, was sentenced in accordance with the jury’s verdict to life imprisonment in the State penitentiary.

In a later proceeding, praying for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus, the trial court held that defendant had been denied his right to perfect an appeal from the judgment and verbally directed de *310 fendant’s court-appointed attorney to work with the Commonwealth’s attorney of the City of Alexandria in preparing a narrative statement of the evidence introduced at defendant’s trial in 1961 in order that he might apply for a writ of error to this court. The court further directed that the statement be submitted for approval and certification by the trial judge within sixty days from the date of its ruling, July 29, 1966, and stated that if these procedures could not be complied with defendant should be granted a new trial. No judgment order granting the writ of habeas corpus and embodying the verbal ruling of the court was entered at that time.

A satisfactory narrative of the evidence was not submitted within the sixty-day period, and on October 11, 1966, the court entered an order overruling defendant’s motion for a new trial and allowed an additional ten days for the preparation of the statement. An acceptable narrative was then prepared within the time prescribed, certified by the trial judge, and defendant is here on a writ of error to the judgment of February 20, 1961.

Defendant contends that the court erred: (1) In admitting in evidence defendant’s oral confession made two days after his written confession which the court held inadmissible because it was not made voluntarily; (2) In admitting certain photographs in evidence; (3) In not setting aside the verdict of the jury for failure of the Commonwealth to prove the corpus delicti; and (4) In refusing to grant a new trial since the narrative statement of the evidence was not submitted within sixty days from July 29, 1966.

The narrative of the evidence shows that when the prosecutrix, Maura K. Seymour, retired for the night in the bedroom of her home in Alexandria, Virginia, on May 7, 1960, she left the light burning in the room. Approximately two hours later she was awakened by the presence of a man in her bed, and the light had been turned off. Her assailant, whom she was unable to identify because the room was dark, had sexual relations with her by force and immediately left the premises. After discovering that the light bulb was loose in the socket, she tightened the bulb and the light came on. She then telephoned the police. Prosecutrix noticed that her assailant had removed the screen from her bedroom window and that he had left the front door of the premises open when he departed.

Detectives Allen and Keadle interrogated the defendant when he voluntarily came to police headquarters around 3 p.m. on the afternoon of October 3, 1960. Allen testified that defendant “had signed *311 certain statements or confessions,” and further questioning of the witness as to whether the confessions were voluntarily made was conducted out of the presence of the jury. He said that the defendant was interrogated for approximately eight hours, during which time he confessed to a charge of housebreaking with intent to rape Gloria Stevens, but he denied that he was in any way implicated in the Seymour rape. The next morning he and Detective Keadle, accompanied by the defendant, searched defendant’s home, without a warrant, and found some “girlie magazines” and photographs of a “scantily clothed female.” In the afternoon of the same day a lie detector test was given defendant at his request. Allen further testified that during the interrogations of the defendant relative to the charge of rape of the prosecutrix, he told defendant that he could not get in any more trouble than he was already in and that he might as well tell all; that he (defendant) would feel better if he told everything; that the prosecutrix was pregnant as a result of the assault; that the court would see to it that he got help; and that it would be better to get both charges out of the way at the same time. Defendant finally stated that he had broken into prosecutrix’s home and his statements were reduced to writing.

Defendant, also testifying out of the presence of the jury, said that during the course of the interrogation, Allen repeatedly told him that he needed medical attention; that they would see to it that he got the needed attention; and Allen assured him that he would not have to serve any time in the penitentiary.

At the conclusion of the above testimony the trial court ruled that the written statements made by the defendant to Allen were not made voluntarily and were thus inadmissible. However, the photographs taken from defendant’s home were admitted in evidence.

The testimony of detective Fitzsimons relative to defendant’s oral confession to him and detective Reid (now deceased) two days later was also heard out of the presence of the jury. After the trial court ruled that the statements of defendant to the detectives were made voluntarily, Fitzsimons testified before the jury as follows: That on October 6 he took defendant out of his cell to a room at police headquarters for the purpose of interrogating him relative to other unsolved “molesting cases.” He was aware of the statements made by defendant to detectives Allen and Keadle. He told defendant, at the time of the interrogation, that he would “appreciate [his] cooperation and pointed out that things could not be .worse than they are now.” *312 After questioning defendant about other similar crimes, he asked defendant “whether he had in fact committed rape on Mrs. Seymour.” Defendant’s reply to the question was that he removed the screen from the bedroom window of the Seymour home; that he entered the building through the open window; and that he turned out the light by unscrewing the bulb.

Defendant, testifying in his own behalf before the jury, denied any implication in the Seymour case. He said that he made statements to Fitzsimons relative to the charge because the detective had told him he “was in so much trouble it would not make any difference.” He was able to recite some of the details of the charge against him because he had been given copies of the police report and the facts had been related to him several times during prior interrogations. The photographs taken from his home were under lock and key and were pictures of his wife which were taken by him in the privacy of his home.

Defendant contends that the oral confession given to Fitzsimons was involuntary and inadmissible because the same influences causing him to make the original confession in writing, which was held by the trial court to be involuntary and inadmissible, continued to exist when the second confession was made.

[1] The burden of proving that a confession was voluntary rests upon the Commonwealth. Jackson v. Commonwealth, 193 Va. 664, 674, 70 S. E. 2d 322, 328 (1952); Campbell v. Commonwealth, 194 Va. 825, 830, 75 S. E. 2d 468, 471 (1953).

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Bluebook (online)
157 S.E.2d 204, 208 Va. 309, 1967 Va. LEXIS 217, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bunting-v-commonwealth-va-1967.