Holliman v. State

79 So. 3d 496, 2011 Miss. LEXIS 579, 2011 WL 5985628
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 1, 2011
DocketNo. 2010-KA-00397-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 79 So. 3d 496 (Holliman v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Holliman v. State, 79 So. 3d 496, 2011 Miss. LEXIS 579, 2011 WL 5985628 (Mich. 2011).

Opinion

KING, Justice,

for the Court:

¶ 1. This is an appeal from the Circuit Court of Lowndes County, in which Brian Holliman was convicted of the murder of his wife, Laura-Lee Holliman, and sentenced to life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Aggrieved, Brian appeals to this Court. Finding that the prosecutor made an impermissible golden-rule argument to the jury and that the trial court failed to instruct the jury to disregard the argument, we reverse and remand for a new trial consistent with this opinion.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. Brian and Laura were married in December 2005. On October 25, 2008, Laura died in her home from a single shotgun wound to the left side of her face. On October 29, 2008, a warrant was issued for Brian’s arrest, and on February 2, 2009, he was indicted for Laura’s murder. On November 30, 2009, Brian’s trial began.

[497]*497¶ 8. The State first called Freda Stacy, Laura’s grandmother, to testify. Stacy testified that Laura suffered from a variety of medical problems, including migraine headaches. According to Stacy, on October 21, 2005, she took Laura to a chiropractor, who treated the tension associated with the headaches. Stacy testified that, on the way to the chiropractor, Laura told her that she had planned to divorce Brian, and she had filed “some sort of papers,” but Brian had thrown them away. According to Stacy, while they were leaving the chiropractor’s office, Brian had called Laura continuously, and the two had argued during each call. Stacy testified that when they arrived back at Laura and Brian’s home, the couple continued to argue. Shortly after arriving home, Laura left to take her sister to cheerleading practice. Stacy testified that she stayed and spoke with Brian, who told her that he thought Laura was cheating on him.

¶ 4. Lee Ann Bradford, a close friend of Laura’s, was the State’s second witness. Bradford also testified that Laura had been unhappy in her marriage. According to Bradford, Laura explained that she and Brian had been fighting; one fight had resulted in bruising along her arm, and another fight had resulted in Brian locking her in a closet. Bradford testified that she had seen Laura at a cheerleading event on the morning of her death, and Laura had said that she had given Brian divorce papers that morning. Bradford testified that Brian, who was sitting in the stands, continuously called Laura from his cell phone during the event. Bradford testified that Laura had returned home after the cheer-leading event, and that they had made plans for later that evening.

¶ 5. The State called Steven Hatcher, a lieutenant with the Lowndes County Sheriffs Office, as its next witness. Lieutenant Hatcher and town marshal Ben Kilgore were the first responders to the emergency call reporting a suicide at the Holliman residence. Lieutenant Hatcher testified that, upon arrival, he saw Laura lying in a large pool of blood outside her bedroom closet; a wood-frame-pump shotgun lay beside her. Both Hatcher and Kilgore testified that Brian had told them that he had been outside with the couple’s children when he heard a gun shot, went inside, and discovered Laura had committed suicide.

¶ 6. Eli Perrigin, a detective with the Lowndes County Sheriffs Office, also testified. Perrigin had arrived at the Holli-man house shortly after Hatcher and Kil-gore. Perrigin also testified to seeing Laura lying in a pool of blood outside her bedroom closet door. During Perrigin’s testimony, the State introduced photographs of the injuries suffered by Laura. Perrigin testified that he had observed two injuries to Laura-a shotgun wound on the left side of her face, and one of her fingers was blown backwards and attached by a piece of skin. According to Perrigin, there was soot along both injuries consistent with the choke, or vents, on the particular shotgun found near Laura’s body. Perri-gin testified that the particular shotgun is vented, and when the gun was fired, hot air and gas were expelled through the vents and created a specific pattern of soot.

¶ 7. After evaluating the scene, Perrigin had asked Brian to come to the sheriffs office and provide a statement whenever it was most convenient. Perrigin had offered Brian a ride to the sheriffs office, and Brian, along with his brother, had accepted. Brian had provided a statement to Perrigin and described Laura’s death as a suicide.

¶ 8. Perrigin testified that, on October 28, 2008, he was notified that the pathologist had completed the autopsy, and the [498]*498results suggested that Laura’s death was a homicide. According to Perrigin, he requested that Brian return to the sheriffs office to give another statement. Perrigin testified that, on October 29, 2009, he was present when Brian gave his second statement. During the second statement, Brian stated that Laura’s death was the result of an accident. Brian explained that he had entered his bedroom, observed that the shotgun had been removed from its usual place, and found Laura in the closet on her cell phone. Brian explained that he had picked up the gun in an effort to prevent Laura from committing suicide. Brian’s statement reads: “In the process of talking, I was bringing the gun down leveling it off with both hands pointed towards [Laura]. The barrel touched her upper body, and she grabbed hold of the barrel. She pushed the barrel away from her, and the gun went off.” Brian then admitted to placing the gun near Laura’s body to make her death appear to be a suicide. Perrigin testified that Brian was allowed to leave the sheriffs office after he had provided his statement.

¶ 9. On October 29, 2008, a warrant was issued for Brian’s arrest. Perrigin testified that, once Brian was arrested and escorted to the office, he was given his Miranda rights.1 Brian signed a waiver of his rights and provided the officers with a third statement. Perrigin testified that, in Brian’s third statement, Brian admitted: “On purpose I pointed the gun at Laura to scare her ... she hit the gun and I was jarred and the gun went off.”

¶ 10. Perrigin was questioned regarding whether Laura’s death could have been the result of an accident. Perrigin responded and stated, “... a gun just don’t go off ... you got to have your finger on the trigger, and the gun has to be loaded, and the trigger had to be pulled.” According to Perrigin, that particular type of shotgun would not fire without a round in the chamber. This would require an individual to inject the round into the chamber, pull the port end down, and pull it back up. Perrigin testified that only one round had been loaded into the chamber.

¶ 11. The State then called Lisa Funte, medical examiner for Shelby County, Tennessee’s Regional Forensic Center, who testified that Laura’s autopsy revealed two prominent injui'ies — a gunshot wound to the left side of her face and an injury to her right-hand ring finger. Funte testified that the finger was fractured and almost completely amputated, with gray-black discoloration, consistent with soot. Funte testified that the wound to Laura’s hand was “consistent with an injury to the finger from gas and gunshot residue emitted from the muzzle of the gun at the time the gun was shot.” According to Funte, the injury most likely occurred when Laura “was pushing or slapping the gun away.”

¶ 12. Two witnesses, Heather Cole and Sara Holliman, were called in Brian’s defense. Cole, Brian’s friend, testified that Laura was depressed because of her medical problems and had become withdrawn from friends and family.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
79 So. 3d 496, 2011 Miss. LEXIS 579, 2011 WL 5985628, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holliman-v-state-miss-2011.