Commonwealth v. Murchinson

899 A.2d 1159, 2006 Pa. Super. 104, 2006 Pa. Super. LEXIS 794, 2006 WL 1215777
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 8, 2006
DocketNo. 2344 EDA 2004
StatusPublished
Cited by46 cases

This text of 899 A.2d 1159 (Commonwealth v. Murchinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Murchinson, 899 A.2d 1159, 2006 Pa. Super. 104, 2006 Pa. Super. LEXIS 794, 2006 WL 1215777 (Pa. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION BY

STEVENS, J.:

¶ 1 This is an appeal from the judgment of sentence entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County after a jury convicted Appellant of first degree murder, possession of' an instrument of crime (“PIC”) and escape. Sentenced to life in prison without parole on the charge of murder,1 Appellant raises challenges to the sufficiency of evidence to all charges and to a jury instruction. We affirm.

¶ 2 The trial court opinion pursuant to Pa.R.A.P.1925(a) provides a detailed factual and procedural history of the present case such that we incorporate it by reference.2 We summarize the case, however, by noting that Appellant was arrested and charged with the October 4, 2001 murder of a female acquaintance (“the victim”), who was found lying dead in her home. Testimony established that Appellant was a friend and frequent visitor of the victim at the time and shared a crack cocaine habit with her. The two also collaborated in purchasing crack cocaine, whereby Appellant would smuggle clothing items from [1161]*1161his place of employment and give them to the victim, who would sell them on the street for money and/or drugs.

¶ 3 One of the victim’s tenants at the time in question testified that on October 4, 2001 at about 11:00 p.m. he was lying in his upstairs bedroom when he heard the victim twice call him from her living room, but the roommate assumed it was to ask him for money to buy crack, so he did not respond. The next day, the tenant twice walked by the victim’s body as it lay on the couch, as he thought the victim was merely sleeping, but he learned the truth upon a closer look later that evening and phoned authorities.

¶ 4 An autopsy revealed that the victim died of manual strangulation inflicted over several minutes. Her face and body also bore scratches, abrasions, bruises, and blunt force trauma to the head consistent with her having been struck by the blood-covered wood board recovered from alongside the victim’s body. Forensic tests returned a high statistical probability that the blood on the board belonged to the victim.

¶ 5 Also testifying at trial was Carolyn Hunt, mother to two of Appellant’s children and the woman who introduced Appellant to the victim sometime between 1998 and 1999 when she was one of the victim’s tenants. Hunt testified that Appellant came to her home sometime in January of 2002 to talk, and she escorted him away from their children and to her car because he appeared high on crack. According to Hunt, Appellant asked her what she knew of the victim’s murder and then admitted that he had knocked the victim unconscious with a punch to the face on the night in question because she could not account for a shortage in either crack or money from one of their sales. When the victim regained consciousness, Appellant said, he strangled her and hit her in the head with a stick before leaving the house covered in blood. Hearing Appellant’s story, Hunt demanded that Appellant leave her car, contacted a friend, and called police.

¶ 6 Another witness placed Appellant near the victim’s house at about 2:00 a.m. of the night in question. Karen Thomas encountered Appellant carrying a tote bag bearing his employer’s trademark, whereupon he admitted coming from “that bitch’s,” meaning the victim’s, house, and asked Ms. Thomas if she knew where the victim sold the clothing. Ms. Thomas declined to answer him.

¶ 7 Appellant’s roommate at the time testified that Appellant had not come home to their apartment during the weekend of October 4, 2001 and, when he did return, he had a black eye, fat lip, and scratches on his neck. When she asked how he was hurt, Appellant responded that he had fought with a man and a woman, and that he had hit the woman with a stick.

¶ 8 After his August 2, 2002 arrest, Appellant was placed in a police station interview room pending an interview with authorities when he removed several ceiling blocks, climbed into the framework, and replaced the ceiling blocks. Another detainee notified an officer of Appellant’s actions, and Appellant was discovered crawling across the framework some 10 to 12 feet beyond the interview room. He agreed to come down only when officers threatened to shoot him with a Tazer gun.

¶ 9 Appellant was charged with criminal homicide comprising either first degree murder, third degree murder, or voluntary manslaughter, PIC, and escape. At the conclusion of evidence and over defense objection issued at side bar, the court indicated its intention to instruct the jury on voluntary intoxication and how such a condition may reduce a murder from first degree to third degree. The court so instructed the jury on voluntary intoxication. [1162]*1162The jury, however, returned a guilty verdict on first degree murder as well as on PIC and escape.

¶ 10 Appellant filed timely notice of appeal and, after this Court granted counsel’s motion for reinstatement of the opportunity to file one, a timely Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) Concise Statement of Matters Complained of on Appeal which raised three issues for review. The trial court filed both a Rule 1925(a) opinion dated 9/80/04 and a supplemental opinion dated 2/3/05 responding to the issues.

¶ 11 Of the three issues raised in Appellant’s Pa.R.A.P.1925(b) statement, only two are presented in the “Statement of Questions Involved” portion of Appellant’s brief. They are:

I. WHETHER THE APPELLANT IS ENTITLED TO AN ARREST OF JUDGMENT SINCE THE COMMONWEALTH FAILED TO SUSTAIN ITS BURDEN OF PROVING THE APPELLANT’S GUILT OF THE CRIMES BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT.
II. WHETHER THE APPELLANT IS ENTITLED TO A NEW TRIAL AS A RESULT OF THE TRIAL COURT’S INSTRUCING THE JURY AS TO VOLUNTARY INTOXICATION, DRUGGED CONDITION, OR DIMINISHED CAPACITY OVER THE APPELLANT’S OBJECTION.

Brief for Appellant at 4.

¶ 12 Initially, we note that the absence of the complete set of trial transcripts from June 9, 2004 through June 16, 2004 impedes our ability to review Appellant’s claims. A review of both the certified record and docket sheet, moreover, yields that Appellant never filed an order or request for any notes of testimony to be transcribed and transmitted to this Court for his appeal in conformity with Pa.R.A.P. 1922. As Appellant has failed his appellate obligation of providing this Court with trial transcripts necessary to review his claims, we find his claims to be waived. See Commonwealth v. Gillen, 798 A.2d 225 (Pa.Super.2002); Commonwealth v. Steward, 775 A.2d 819 (Pa.Super.2001) (holding that an appellant is responsible to order all transcripts necessary for review).

¶ 13 Even if Appellant met his Rule 1922 obligation to provide us with necessary transcripts, we would apply Pa. R.A.P. 2119(a) to find waiver for Appellant’s failure to develop meaningful argument with specific reference to the record in support of his claims. See Commonwealth v. Heilman, 867 A.2d 542, 546 (Pa.Super.2005) (recognizing that failure to provide “such discussion and citation of authorities as are deemed pertinent” may result in waiver); Commonwealth v. Cornelius, 856 A.2d 62

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
899 A.2d 1159, 2006 Pa. Super. 104, 2006 Pa. Super. LEXIS 794, 2006 WL 1215777, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-murchinson-pasuperct-2006.