DeYoung v. State

493 S.E.2d 157, 268 Ga. 780, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 4248, 1997 Ga. LEXIS 748
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedNovember 24, 1997
DocketS97P0875
StatusPublished
Cited by174 cases

This text of 493 S.E.2d 157 (DeYoung v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
DeYoung v. State, 493 S.E.2d 157, 268 Ga. 780, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 4248, 1997 Ga. LEXIS 748 (Ga. 1997).

Opinions

Thompson, Justice.

Andrew Grant DeYoung was convicted of the malice murders of his parents, Kathryn and Gary DeYoung, and his 14-year-old sister Sarah.* 1 The jury recommended the death penalty, finding that as to each of the three counts of the indictment, the offense of murder was committed while the offender was engaged in the commission of another capital felony, to wit: murder; the offender committed the offense of murder for the purpose of receiving money or any other [781]*781thing of monetary value; the offense of murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman in that it involved depravity of mind of the defendant and aggravated battery of the victims prior to their deaths. OCGA § 17-10-30 (b) (2), (4), (7). The trial court sentenced DeYoung to death. Finding no error, we affirm.

During the months preceding the crime, DeYoung told his accomplice David Michael Hagerty2 that he wanted to start a business and hoped to find investors to finance the project. He later confided in Hagerty that he had been unsuccessful in finding financial backing, but that he had another solution. He estimated his parents’ estate to be worth $480,000, and, as Hagerty testified, “he felt that the only means to acquire the money was take his family’s life.” Subsequently, DeYoung told Hagerty that “the murders were going to have to take place,” and the two met to discuss preparations.

DeYoung formulated the plan to murder his parents and two siblings by slashing their throats, and then setting fire to the house. Several days before the planned event, DeYoung drove Hagerty to the DeYoung family’s church in Dunwoody. There they buried two containers — a footlocker and another box — which contained what DeYoung described to Hagerty as evidence which would incriminate him. In preparation for the murders, DeYoung and Hagerty purchased clothing and supplies, including an eleven-inch filet knife and two gasoline containers.

According to the plan, DeYoung and Hagerty traveled on foot to the DeYoung home at 2:00 a.m. on the designated day. On the way, they retrieved boots, gloves and knives from a duffle bag which DeYoung had left in the woods earlier that evening. Both men were armed with knives. They approached the DeYoung home from the rear of the property where they retrieved two containers of gasoline they had left there earlier. When they reached the house, DeYoung took a handgun from his duffle bag and tucked it into his waistband. After he cut the telephone wires, he and Hagerty entered the house. DeYoung went upstairs where his parents and sister were asleep. He instructed Hagerty to go to a downstairs bedroom where his 16-year-old brother Nathan was asleep, and to cut his throat with the filet knife.

DeYoung stabbed his mother repeatedly while she was sleeping in her bedroom upstairs; her screams awakened his father. As he struggled with his father, DeYoung’s sister Sarah came to the doorway of their parents’ bedroom. DeYoung slashed his father to death, and then stabbed and killed Sarah in the hallway. Hagerty heard a [782]*782commotion upstairs, and changed his mind about killing Nathan.

Nathan testified that he heard stomping and banging noises coming from upstairs, and he heard his sister cry out and call his name. Upon finding that the phone was dead, Nathan escaped through his bedroom window and ran to a neighbor’s house for assistance. Instead of setting fire to the house as they had planned, DeYoung and Hagerty searched the area for Nathan. Nathan returned with a neighbor who was armed with a gun. The neighbor noticed movement in the driveway, and observed a figure clad in black. As the neighbor was about to shoot at the man, he observed that it was Andrew DeYoung, and he called out, “Andy, what did you do?” The neighbor testified that he had no doubt the man he saw was the defendant. Nathan did not see the suspect’s face, but he testified that his “movements and his body size resembled Andy, my brother.”

DeYoung and Hagerty fled from the house in separate directions. Both had discarded their clothing, boots, and weapons along the way. They eventually met up later that morning at Hagerty’s home, where they concocted an alibi. Hagerty observed that DeYoung had injuries to his neck and forehead.

DeYoung drove back to his home at 10:30 a.m., seven hours after the murders. He told police that he had spent most of the night at Hagerty’s home, and he denied any involvement in the crimes. Authorities noted that he was calm and showed no grief over the deaths of his family members. There were scratches and abrasions present on his face, neck, hands and right arm.

Hagerty was interviewed by police and gave several statements in which he admitted his participation in the crimes. He also led authorities to the clothing worn by him during the killings, and to the footlocker and box which had been concealed on the church property. These contained DeYoung’s shoulder holster and ammunition pouch and a hand-drawn map depicting the route to the DeYoung home. An arrow on the map pointed to a cul-de-sac where the house was located and was accompanied by the words “Just Do It.” Hagerty also led police to a gun that fit the holster recovered in the footlocker, and a Glock Model 81 military survival knife, which he identified as similar to the knife DeYoung used on the night of the crime. The victims’ wounds were consistent with that knife. DeYoung and Hagerty were arrested on the same day, and charged with the three murders.

1. The evidence was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the malice murders of his parents and sister. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).

2. DeYoung contends that the trial court erred in excusing prospective jurors Standifer and Huff for bias against the death penalty. In order to justify disqualification under Wainwright v. Witt, 469 [783]*783U. S. 412, 424-426 (105 SC 844, 83 LE2d 841) (1985), it must be shown that the venireperson’s views would prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror. A juror who merely expresses “qualms” about capital punishment is not subject to being struck for cause. Jarrell v. State, 261 Ga. 880 (1) (413 SE2d 710) (1992); Alderman v. State, 254 Ga. 206 (4) (327 SE2d 168) (1985). In determining whether the Witt standard has been met, a prospective juror’s voir dire must be considered in its entirety. Crowe v. State, 265 Ga. 582 (10) (458 SE2d 799) (1995). And a trial court’s determination that a juror should be disqualified is entitled to deference. Diaz v. State, 262 Ga. 750 (2) (b) (425 SE2d 869) (1993).

(a) Venireperson Standifer’s voir dire responses as to whether he could vote for the death penalty were often equivocal and he initially appeared to be uncertain of his position on this issue. However, after extensive questioning by the trial court, Standifer’s unwillingness to impose the death penalty became more clear. Although Standifer stated he would vote for a life sentence nine times out of ten, indicating the death penalty might be a viable option, he later explained that he would vote for death only if the crime were committed against his family or himself.

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Bluebook (online)
493 S.E.2d 157, 268 Ga. 780, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 4248, 1997 Ga. LEXIS 748, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deyoung-v-state-ga-1997.