State v. Lambert

2015 Ohio 4018
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 30, 2015
Docket2014-L-096
StatusPublished

This text of 2015 Ohio 4018 (State v. Lambert) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Lambert, 2015 Ohio 4018 (Ohio Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Lambert, 2015-Ohio-4018.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

ELEVENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

LAKE COUNTY, OHIO

STATE OF OHIO, : OPINION

Plaintiff-Appellee, : CASE NO. 2014-L-096 - vs - :

MARVIN DALE LAMBERT, JR., :

Defendant-Appellant. :

Criminal Appeal from the Lake County Court of Common Pleas, Case No. 14 CR 000081.

Judgment: Affirmed.

Charles E. Coulson, Lake County Prosecutor, and Karen A. Sheppert, Assistant Prosecutor, Lake County Administration Building, 105 Main Street, P.O. Box 490, Painesville, OH 44077 (For Plaintiff-Appellee).

Charles R. Grieshammer, Lake County Public Defender, and Vanessa R. Clapp, Assistant Public Defender, 125 East Erie Street, Painesville, OH 44077 (For Defendant-Appellant).

COLLEEN MARY O’TOOLE, J.

{¶1} Marvin Dale Lambert, Jr., appeals from the judgment of the Lake County

Court of Common Pleas, entered on a jury verdict, sentencing him to serve 15 years

imprisonment to life for the murder of John Funari. Finding no error, we affirm.

{¶2} Mr. Lambert and Mr. Funari lived at the Madison Inn, a group of six

efficiency apartments in Madison Township, Ohio. Other residents included Dale Vanderlip, who lived next to Mr. Funari; Mr. Lambert’s uncle, Allen Gray; and James

Fogel. One apartment was empty.

{¶3} Unfortunately, Mr. Funari suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. He

appears to have been a quiet young man, who attended his medical appointments, and

talked almost daily with his mother, Nancy Stanek, who handled his finances and sent

him gifts of money. He was generally well-liked. Mr. Lambert was his best friend. They

spent most of their days together, generally in Mr. Funari’s apartment.

{¶4} January 9, 2014, Mr. Funari went to a medical appointment in the

morning. His mother had sent him $50 the day before. On returning to his apartment,

he lent Mr. Lambert a small sum, so the latter could buy bread, beer, energy pills, and

cigarette tubes at the local market.

{¶5} Later that afternoon, Mr. Vanderlip heard Mr. Funari and Mr. Lambert

arguing in Mr. Funari’s apartment. He heard Mr. Lambert yell at Mr. Funari, then leave

the apartment. A little while later, Mr. Vanderlip heard Mr. Lambert return to Mr.

Funari’s, and begin yelling. Mr. Vanderlip heard banging, and the sound of items being

tossed. He texted the apartment manager, Lydia Laiosa, to inform her. As he did so,

he heard a loud bang against the wall separating his apartment from Mr. Funari’s,

followed by complete silence. Someone then left the apartment, slamming the door.

Mr. Vanderlip assumed it was Mr. Lambert, who habitually slammed the door, and since

the footsteps he heard headed toward Mr. Lambert’s apartment. Later that night, he

heard footsteps in the bushes, and looked out, but did not see anyone. He did notice

the air conditioning unit for Mr. Funari’s apartment had been removed from the window,

and placed on the ground.

2 {¶6} Over the next two days, Mr. Vanderlip heard the sound of the radio and

television constantly from Mr. Funari’s apartment. He found this unusual, since Mr.

Funari usually turned these off when he was not there, or sleeping. January 11, 2014,

Mr. Vanderlip again texted Ms. Laiosa, the apartment manager, about the sound. She

entered the apartment, and found Mr. Funari’s body lying on the floor, face up. The

police were contacted immediately.

{¶7} The police found the apartment in disarray, with items strewn about. Mr.

Funari’s body was cold, and he had no pulse. There was dried blood on his face and

bruising on his neck. The bed was out of angle with the wall. There were no signs of

forced entry. Responding paramedics concluded Mr. Funari had been dead at least 36

hours.

{¶8} Forensic scientists with the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner found

hair on Mr. Funari’s right palm. They could exclude Allen Gray and Dale Vanderlip as

sources for the hair, but not Mr. Lambert.

{¶9} Dr. Andrea McCollum conducted the autopsy, and found strangulation to

be the cause of death. There were numerous injuries to the body. Dr. McCollum

concluded these all occurred close to the time of strangulation.

{¶10} Criminalist David Green of the Lake County Regional Forensic Laboratory

compared bruising on Mr. Funari’s neck to his bed railing, and could not eliminate the

railing as the source of the bruising due to similar width.

{¶11} Erica Ames, a Forensic Examiner for the F.B.I. Laboratory in Quantico,

Virginia, compared the mitochondrial DNA profiles of hairs found on Mr. Funari’s hand

with those of his neighbors. Ms. Ames could not exclude Mr. Lambert as a donor.

3 {¶12} Dr. Karen Zavarella of the Lake County Regional Forensic Laboratory also

did DNA testing. She found that three beer bottles from Mr. Funari’s apartment had Mr.

Lambert’s DNA on them. Boots had been found near Mr. Funari’s head, with blood on

them. The blood matched Mr. Funari’s. His DNA, and Mr. Lambert’s, were also on the

boots.

{¶13} Several people had noticed Mr. Funari’s pants were in an unusual

position, with the belt and zipper skewed to the right. Dr. Zavarella found both Mr.

Funari’s and Mr. Lambert’s DNA on the pants.

{¶14} Dr. Zavarella swabbed beneath Mr. Funari’s fingernails, and found some

of Mr. Lambert’s DNA there. She testified that it is rare to find another person’s DNA

under fingernails, unless scraping had occurred.

{¶15} Mr. Lambert was interviewed by the police several times on January 11,

2014, the day the body was discovered. He had bruising and swelling on his face,

which he attributed to tussling with a niece. Initially, he denied fighting with Mr. Funari.

He said they had been together on January 9, and that he eventually went home to bed.

In his second interview, he said he went to Mr. Funari’s at around 12:00 p.m. or 1:00

p.m., borrowed ten dollars, and went to the store to buy the cigarette tubes and beer.

He said Mr. Funari planned to see a friend named “Bill” later. Mr. Lambert always

maintained Mr. Funari was fine when he last saw him.

{¶16} In an interview in early February 2014, Mr. Lambert admitted that he went

to Painesville to buy marijuana in the evening of January 9, but again insisted he never

argued with or touched Mr. Funari that day.

4 {¶17} Police examined Mr. Lambert’s phone records. These revealed numerous

phone calls and texts between him and a friend named “Charlie” between 5:00 p.m. and

8:00 p.m. on January 9, 2014. Mr. Lambert needed a ride. The records indicated he

was near the Madison Inn until the early evening, and later, in Painesville.

{¶18} Mr. Funari’s last phone call was to Mr. Lambert at 12:05 p.m., January 9,

2014.

{¶19} February 10, 2014, Mr. Lambert was charged by way of secret indictment

with two counts of murder, in violation of R.C. 2903.02(A) and (B), respectively. He

waived the right to be present at his arraignment, and the trial court entered pleas of not

guilty on his behalf. Jury trial commenced August 18, 2014, and concluded August 25,

2014, Mr. Lambert being found guilty on both counts. By a judgment entry filed

September 2, 2014, the trial court merged the second count into the first for sentencing

purposes, and ordered Mr. Lambert to serve 15 years to life in prison. This appeal

timely ensued, Mr. Lambert assigning four errors. The first reads:

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2015 Ohio 4018, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lambert-ohioctapp-2015.