People v. Furman

404 N.W.2d 246, 158 Mich. App. 302
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 3, 1987
DocketDocket 84528
StatusPublished
Cited by68 cases

This text of 404 N.W.2d 246 (People v. Furman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Furman, 404 N.W.2d 246, 158 Mich. App. 302 (Mich. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinions

[306]*306G. R. Cook, J.

After a jury trial in Lenawee Circuit Court, defendant was found guilty but mentally ill of first-degree murder, MCL 750.316; MSA 28.548, for the killing of a college honors coed. Defendant was sentenced to imprisonment for his natural life without parole. He appeals from his conviction by leave granted to file a delayed appeal.

The prosecution’s case against defendant was based upon circumstantial evidence presented through the testimony of more than forty witnesses, not including expert testimony from a rebuttal witness. Defendant testified and raised two defenses: a reasonable doubt existed that defendant was the perpetrator of the homicide; and, in the alternative, legal insanity. On appeal defendant raises eight issues. We affirm.

The victim’s body was discovered in a field off of a country road outside of Tecumseh, Michigan, on Tuesday, January 31, 1984, at 7:30 a.m. She was last seen alive in Tecumseh at approximately 5:30 p.m., Monday, January 30, 1984. Just two weeks before her death, the victim assumed employment as an Avon lady and was assigned a route which covered the Russell Square Apartments in Tecumseh where defendant lived.

A description of the victim’s actions on January 30 is warranted to more fully appreciate defendant’s arguments on appeal and the factual setting of this case.

Ruth McCarley, a Tecumseh resident, testified that her daughters had ordered Avon products from the victim and that the victim had stopped at her house between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to make a delivery but then agreed to return about 5:00 p.m. when Ruth’s daughters would be home. Ruth testified that the victim never returned. Several residents of Russell Square Apartments [307]*307testified that the victim had delivered their Avon orders to them at home between 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Monday, January 30. Lillian Gardner, a family friend, testified that she saw and waved to the victim at a gas station around 4:20 p.m. or 4:25 p.m. Delores Letson, a friend of the victim from high school, testified that she talked to the victim at the Tecumseh Plaza at about 4:45 p.m. The victim invited the Letsons over for a visit and explained that she had to run into the store and had three Avon orders to drop off but would be home in one hour. Judy Aranda, another Avon customer who lived in Tecumseh, testified that the victim delivered her order and left at 5:15 p.m. Waltrud Sterling testified that the victim was alone in her car, signaling a turn, when she blew her horn and waved at Sterling at approximately 5:30 p.m.

i

Defendant argues that the prosecution presented insufficient evidence on the element of premeditation. According to defendant, the evidence was sufficient to sustain a second-degree murder conviction but was lacking in several key areas to establish a cold-blooded, deliberate and planned killing rather than one committed in the heat of passion or frenzy. These areas include: a prehomicide motive, defendant’s actions preceding the offense to show a plan for the homicide, and a prior relationship between the victim and defendant other than that established by the sale of Avon products to defendant by the victim. He contends that the brutality of the method of killing alone is not evidence of a deliberate plan. Finally, he argues that the evidence of sexual relations tending to show that the homicide was committed in the [308]*308course of a criminal sexual assault is consistent with a finding that the killing was the result of the heat of passion and not cool-headed reflection.

When reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we review the record to determine whether sufficient evidence was introduced to justify a trier of fact in reasonably concluding that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. People v Hampton, 407 Mich 354, 368; 285 NW2d 284 (1979), cert den sub nom Michigan v Hampton, 449 US 885 (1980). To premeditate is to think about beforehand; to deliberate is to measure and evaluate the major facets of a choice or problem. People v Vail, 393 Mich 460, 468; 227 NW2d 535 (1975), quoting People v Morrin, 31 Mich App 301; 187 NW2d 434 (1971). Premeditation and deliberation characterize a thought process undisturbed by hot blood. Vail, supra. While the minimum length of time needed to exercise this process is incapable of exact determination, a sufficient interval between the initial thought and the ultimate action should be long enough to afford a reasonable man an opportunity to take a "second look” at his contemplated actions. Vail, supra, p 469. See, also, People v Tilley, 405 Mich 38, 45; 273 NW2d 471 (1979).

Premeditation and deliberation need not be established by direct evidence, but may be inferred from all the facts and circumstances established on the record. People v Hoffmeister, 394 Mich 155, 158-159; 229 NW2d 305 (1975), reh den 394 Mich 944 (1975); People v Conklin, 118 Mich App 90, 93; 324 NW2d 537 (1982). Evidence of the following nonexclusive factors may establish premeditation: (1) the previous relationship of the parties; (2) the defendant’s actions prior to the actual killing; (3) the circumstances of the killing itself; and (4) the defendant’s conduct after the homicide. People v Johnson, 93 Mich App 667; 287 NW2d 311 (1979). [309]*309For other nonexclusive factors, see People v Conklin, supra.

The brutal nature of a killing does not alone justify an inference of premeditation and deliberation. People v Hoffmeister, supra, p 159. It has been held that evidence of manual strangulation and a defendant’s posthomicide conduct support a prima facie case of first-degree premeditated murder. People v Irby, 129 Mich App 306, 323; 342 NW2d 303 (1983), lv den 418 Mich 951 (1984). See, also, People v Charles, 58 Mich App 371, 384; 227 NW2d 348 (1975), lv den 397 Mich 815 (1976) (evidence of strangulation by the use of an electrical cord and evidence of a struggle at the scene of the crime constitute sufficient evidence of premeditation and deliberation for the jury).

After reviewing the entire record, we conclude that sufficient evidence was presented from which the jury could infer premeditation. Evidence was presented from which the jury could infer motive and a deliberate plan by defendant’s prehomicide actions. Compare, People v Gilbert, 101 Mich App 459, 469; 300 NW2d 604 (1980).

Evidence of motive, a sexual interest in the victim, was presented through the testimony of Todd Davis Sparks. On August 15, 1984, Sparks, an escapee from Jackson Prison, was lodged in the Lenawee County Jail in a cell adjacent to that of defendant. According to Sparks, he and defendant conversed after defendant learned that Sparks had escaped from prison. Defendant wanted to know what prison conditions were like. Defendant explained that he was incarcerated for killing the Avon lady. Defendant described her as so "good-looking, that he wanted some.” Defendant told Sparks that he had made a pass at the Avon lady when she delivered a gift which defendant had purchased for his ex-wife on their divorce. Defen[310]*310dant told Sparks that the Avon lady became "radical.” Defendant told Sparks that he had a seizure and remembered taking her out to the van. Sparks testified that defendant remembered he dumped her on some "line” road. Sparks testified that defendant revealed no details of the killing or the length of the seizure.

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Bluebook (online)
404 N.W.2d 246, 158 Mich. App. 302, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-furman-michctapp-1987.