Holloway v. State

379 S.W.3d 696, 2010 Ark. App. 767, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 814
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedNovember 17, 2010
DocketNo. CA CR 10-81
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 379 S.W.3d 696 (Holloway v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Holloway v. State, 379 S.W.3d 696, 2010 Ark. App. 767, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 814 (Ark. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

LARRY D. VAUGHT, Chief Judge.

_JjBy felony information appellant Phillip Holloway was charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, Erma Holloway. He was convicted of the lesser-included offense of second-degree murder. On appeal he argues (1) that there was insufficient evidence to prove that a homicide occurred; (2) that the evidence was insuffi-dent to prove that he had the requisite intent for second-degree murder; (3) that the trial court erred in its failure to address police and prosecutorial misconduct; (4) that the trial court erred by instructing the jury on the lesser-included offense of second-degree murder; (5) that the trial court erroneously denied his mistrial motion; and (6) that the trial court erroneously allowed one of the State’s witnesses to give expert testimony. After a careful review of each point on appeal, we affirm appellant’s conviction.

|2We first turn our attention to appellant’s sufficiency arguments. In Arkansas, a person commits second-degree murder in either of two ways: (1) when the person “[kjnowingly causes the death of another person under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life,” or (2) “[w]ith the purpose of causing serious physical injury to another person, ... [he] causes the death of any person.” Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-103(a) (Repl.2006). A person acts knowingly with respect to his conduct or the attendant circumstances when he “is aware that his ... conduct is of that nature or that the attendant circumstances exist,” and he acts knowingly with respect to the result of his conduct when “he ... is aware that it is practically certain that his ... conduct will cause the result.” Ark.Code Ann. § 5-2-202(2)(A) & (B) (Repl.2006). Further, “extreme indifference” has been defined by our court as deliberate conduct that culminates in the death of another person. Mainard v. State, 102 Ark.App. 210, 214, 283 S.W.3d 627, 630 (2008).

Appellant claims that insufficient circumstantial evidence was presented to establish (1) that his wife’s death resulted from murder as opposed to an automobile accident, and (2) alternatively, if she was murdered, the State failed to prove that he possessed the requisite mental state to support the conviction. However, at trial, appellant’s directed-verdict motion focused solely on the circumstantial nature of the evidence. He argued that the State’s case did not exclude every other reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence — specifically, he claimed that the State failed to prove that a murder (as opposed to an automobile accident) occurred. As we have stated numerous times, sufficiency-of-the-evidenee challenges must be specific enough to advise the trial court of the exact element that the State has failed to prove. Pratt v. State, 359 3Ark. 16, 23, 194 S.W.3d 183, 188 (2004). Further, parties are bound by the scope and nature of the objections and arguments presented at trial. Rounsaville v. State, 372 Ark. 252, 256, 273 S.W.3d 486, 490 (2008). As such, because appellant did not raise his intent argument below, on appeal we will consider only the circumstantial-evidence portion of his sufficiency challenge.

When we review a trial court’s denial of a directed-verdict motion that is based on a lack of sufficient evidence, we must affirm the denial if there is substantial evidence — direct or circumstantial — to support the conviction. McKenzie v. State, 362 Ark. 257, 262, 208 S.W.3d 173, 175 (2005). Substantial evidence is evidence forceful enough to compel a conclusion beyond reasonable suspicion or conjecture. Id., 208 S.W.3d at 175. In reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State and consider only the evidence that supports the verdict. Id., 208 S.W.3d at 175. Circumstantial evidence may provide the basis to support a conviction, but it must be consistent with the defendant’s guilt and inconsistent with any other reasonable conclusion. Coggin v. State, 356 Ark. 424, 431, 156 S.W.3d 712, 717 (2004). Overwhelming evidence of guilt is not required in cases based on circumstantial evidence; rather, “the test is one of sub-stantiality.” Id. at 432, 156 S.W.3d at 717.

Further, the question of whether the circumstantial evidence excludes every hypothesis consistent with innocence is for the jury to decide. Ross v. State, 346 Ark. 225, 230, 57 S.W.3d 152, 156 (2001). The trier of fact “may resolve questions of conflicting testimony and inconsistent evidence and may choose to believe the State’s account of the facts rather than the defendant’s”; we will not second guess these determinations. Barrett v. State, 354 Ark. 187, 195, 4119 S.W.3d 485, 490 (2003). Furthermore, inconsistent testimony does not render proof insufficient as a matter of law. Harmon v. State, 340 Ark. 18, 24-25, 8 S.W.3d 472, 476 (2000).

On appeal, appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to prove that a homicide occurred and instead supports his theory of the case — that Erma drowned after exiting her wrecked, water-submerged automobile. The evidence at trial established that at 9:34 a.m., Sergeant Josh Mourton and Chief Deputy Sheriff Terry Staggs responded to a 911 call made by Jim Smittle who reported that he and appellant had found Erma’s body in a pond located on appellant’s farm. When Mour-ton and Staggs arrived at the scene, appellant was sitting at the edge of the pond, holding his wife’s body in his arms. Shortly thereafter, another officer, Sheriff Cody Carpenter, arrived at the scene. He asked appellant to move away from the pond while Mourton removed the body from the water. The officers immediately noticed that Erma had abrasions to her head, nose, lip area, right elbow, and legs, and had dried blood underneath her nose and above her lip.

When questioned about the events leading up to his wife’s demise, appellant told the officers that the evening before, around 9:00 p.m., he and Erma had gotten into an argument about their relationship. He explained that because they had been drinking, he “could not let her go.” Appellant then told officers that despite his efforts, Erma eventually left via automobile. The officers inquired about where her car was located if she had left the scene. Appellant answered that he thought the car was inside the pond because he had observed — as Erma exited down his gravel drive — the tail lights on her automobile cease to glow when she neared the pond area. Appellant volunteered that he believed Erma’s car was in the pond when it stopped.

IsFollowing this revelation, Heath Tate and Brian Keys, members of the Yell County Dive Team, conducted a search of the pond in an attempt to recover Erma’s vehicle. Tate and Keys began their search by walking along the path of tracks they believed to be left by an automobile heading into the pond. After finding nothing, they began a grid-style search of the pond. Eventually they located the car, just to the right of the underwater tire tracks. The water provided zero visibility; in fact Keys touched the vehicle before he saw it.

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Related

Matlock v. State
2015 Ark. App. 65 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2015)
Cooley v. State
2013 Ark. App. 580 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2013)
Holloway v. State
2013 Ark. 140 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
379 S.W.3d 696, 2010 Ark. App. 767, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 814, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holloway-v-state-arkctapp-2010.