Gruzen v. State

634 S.W.2d 92, 276 Ark. 149, 1982 Ark. LEXIS 1392
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMay 24, 1982
DocketCR 81-84
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 634 S.W.2d 92 (Gruzen v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gruzen v. State, 634 S.W.2d 92, 276 Ark. 149, 1982 Ark. LEXIS 1392 (Ark. 1982).

Opinion

Richard B. Adkisson, Chief Justice.

Appellant, John Elliott Gruzen, was convicted of capital felony murder in connection with the kidnapping and death of 12-year-old Dana Mize of Vilonia, Arkansas. Appellant’s original conviction on this charge was reversed in Gruzen v. State, 267 Ark. 380, 591 S.W.2d 342 (1979). On retrial, after the State waived the death penalty, appellant was given the same sentence, life imprisonment without parole. On appeal, we affirm.

The evidence at trial established that appellant, who lived in New Jersey, flew to Little Rock on April 8, 1976. That same day he rented a silver Chevelle, license number CWB 507, from Hertz Rent A Car. He then checked into the Alamo Plaza Motel in Little Rock, where he stayed several days. During this time he obtained a gun from the Square Deal Pawn Shop in North Little Rock.

On April 12 he drove to Conway and checked into the Kings Inn. The next day, as he was checking out, he asked the motel clerk where Vilonia was. The clerk gave him directions. This occurred between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m. Between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m., Randy Shannon, who lived on the Vilonia highway, saw appellant in a gray Chevrolet in front of his house, talking to the victim. She was standing beside the car. Shannon thought she was giving him directions because he noticed her pointing toward her house.

Ravel Lloyd, another Vilonia resident, testified that she also saw a man driving a gray car talking to the victim close to the Shannon residence at approximately the same time. She then saw the man open the car door, pull the victim into the car, and take off at a high speed. About 7:00 p.m. that evening the victim’s family realized she was missing and began an unsuccessful search for her.

At about 2:00 p.m. on April 14 Gruzen bought a ticket for Newark, New Jersey from an Oklahoma City Amtrak ticket agent. He then turned in the rented car at the airport and returned to the train station barely in time to catch a 6:10 p.m. train.

At about 10:00 a.m. on April 16 the victim’s body was discovered in a small pond outside of Vilonia. The body was taken out of the pond around 2:00 p.m. and an autopsy was performed that afternoon at 4:30 p.m. Pathologists testified that drowning was the cause of death, although the body was bruised and scratched. They both testified that it was impossible to pinpoint the exact time of death. One estimated that she had been dead 24 hours, plus or minus eight to ten hours, and the other estimated that she had been dead 36 hours, a little more or a little less.

Various items were confiscated in a search of appellant’s home in New Jersey including receipts from the trip to Arkansas, the gun which had been bought in North Little Rock and three rolls of film. The film was developed and one of the pictures was of a “Toad Suck Ferry” sign, a sign located about a mile and a half from the pond where the victim was found.

Appellant’s rented car was swept and vacuumed by a criminal investigator, who found several hairs. An FBI special agent compared these hairs to a hair taken from the victim and testified that the hairs matched in all 15 of the characteristics used in comparing hair.

After viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we conclude that there was substantial evidence to support the jury’s finding of guilt.

I

Appellant first argues that the charge of capital felony murder should have been reduced to murder in the first degree because in the first trial the jury determined that no aggravating circumstances existed. This issue was considered and rejected in Wilson v. State, 271 Ark. 682, 611 S.W.2d 739 (1981). There, we stated:

Aggravating circumstances are not an element of capital murder as defined in Ark. Stat. Ann. § 41-1501, and the presence of aggravating circumstances is not necessary to support a conviction under that section.

We see no reason to depart from this ruling. Aggravating circumstances are not even to be considered where, as here, the State has waived the death penalty. Ark. Stat. Ann. § 41-1301 (3) (Repl. 1977).

II

By pretrial motion, which was denied, appellant asked that he be granted a bifurcated trial on the issue of guilt as to commission of the acts alleged and the issue of guilt by reason of mental disease or defect (insanity). Appellant wanted a jury determination of guilt of commission, first, and then, if he was found guilty, wanted the jury to determine his guilt based on his affirmative defense of mental disease or defect pursuant to Ark. Stat. Ann. § 41-601 (1) (Repl. 1977), which provides:

(1) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution that at the time the defendant engaged in the conduct charged, he lacked capacity, as a result of mental disease or defect, to conform his conduct to the requirements of law or to appreciate the criminality of his conduct.

Appellant argues that raising the defense of insanity forces him to admit his guilt of commission of the acts alleged and, thereby, violates the privilege against self-incrimination.

The State is not relieved of the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the offense charged merely because a defendant has raised the affirmative defense of mental disease or defect under Ark. Stat. Ann. § 41-601 (1). To this extent this statute does not presuppose an admission of the act in question. See Westbrook v. State, 265 Ark. 736, 580 S.W.2d 702 (1979); Andrews v. State, 265 Ark. 390, 578 S.W.2d 585 (1979). For this reason appellant’s privilege against self-incrimination has not been violated.

Appellant is not entitled to a bifurcated trial on the issues of guilt as to commission and guilt by reason of insanity because our Rules of Criminal Procedure do not provide for such a trial. Absent a constitutional infirmity in our procedure, appellant is not entitled to have these issues determined separately.

In any event, appellant is unable to show prejudice from the ruling of the trial court on this issue because appellant never raised the affirmative defense of mental disease or defect as permitted by statute. Appellant waived the adverse ruling on his motion for a bifurcated trial by failing to raise this defense.

Ill

Appellant argues that the trial court erred in allowing a State policeman to give his opinion as a lay person as to when the victim died. The policeman testified that he had been in criminal investigation work for eleven and a half years and had observed bodies that had been in the water for short periods of time as well as for a few days.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Devon Romick v. State of Arkansas
2025 Ark. 57 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2025)
Jacovan Bush v. State of Arkansas
2024 Ark. 77 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2024)
Arkansas Department of Correction v. Bailey
247 S.W.3d 851 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2007)
Lytle v. State
209 S.W.3d 421 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2005)
Robinson v. State
108 S.W.3d 622 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2003)
New Prospect Drilling Co. v. First Commercial Trust, N.A.
966 S.W.2d 233 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1998)
Moore v. State
947 S.W.2d 395 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1997)
Morris v. State
792 S.W.2d 288 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1990)
Allen v. State
751 S.W.2d 347 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1988)
Biniores v. State
701 S.W.2d 385 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1985)
Horne v. State
677 S.W.2d 856 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1984)
Smith v. State
669 S.W.2d 201 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1984)
Jones v. State
668 S.W.2d 30 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1984)
Smith v. State
664 S.W.2d 505 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1984)
Smith v. Davis
663 S.W.2d 165 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1983)
Ruiz v. State
655 S.W.2d 441 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1983)
Floyd v. State
643 S.W.2d 555 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1982)
Perry v. State
642 S.W.2d 865 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1982)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
634 S.W.2d 92, 276 Ark. 149, 1982 Ark. LEXIS 1392, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gruzen-v-state-ark-1982.