State v. McIver

902 P.2d 982, 257 Kan. 420, 1995 Kan. LEXIS 52
Supreme Court of Kansas·Decided April 21, 1995·No. No. 70,713·Published·Cited by 15 cases

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Lockett, J.:

Randy M. Mclver appeals his conviction of felony murder, a class A felony in violation of K.S.A. 1992 Supp. 21-3401. Mclver was sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, the defendant claims that he was deprived of a fair trial because the district court failed to instruct the juiy on his theory of defense of suicide and improperly admitted his incriminating statement. This court has jurisdiction pursuant to K.S.A. 1994 Supp. 22-3601(b)(1).

On July 27, 1992, Elmer Gamer was found dead outside his mobile home in rural McPherson County. Gamer, who was 84 years old and lived alone, had been shot once between his eyes with a small caliber weapon and was found with a white paper towel clutched in his right hand. A single .22 caliber shell casing was found in the vicinity of Gamer s body, but no gun was found. Gamer’s rifle and wallet were missing. Although Gamer never drank Budweiser beer, a half-empty Budweiser beer can was found on the ground outside the mobile home. The television was on and air conditioning was running inside the mobile home. Several pieces of correspondence soliciting Gamer’s membership in a right-to-die organization were in the home. No suicide note was found.

It had recently rained, and distinctive tire tracks in Gamer’s driveway led directly to the home of Mclver, who knew Gamer and lived approximately three miles away. Officers observed that Mclver’s pickup tmck had tires that appeared, to match the tracks left at the Gamer residence.

Over the course of eight months after Gamer’s death, Mclver and his wife were interviewed several times by law enforcement officers. Mclver was interviewed by law enforcement officers on July 29, 1992; August 1, 1992; August 17, 1992; March 8, 1993; and April 8, 1993. Mclver and his wife gave conflicting accounts of their activities and whereabouts on July 26, 1992. Each interview can be summarized as follows:

July 29, 1992

Two days after Gamer’s body was discovered, Mclver and his wife were interviewed outside their residence for approximately [422]*42230 minutes. No Miranda warnings were given. Both Mclver and his wife stated that they were at their home until around noon on July 26, 1992, and that they then visited their neighbor until 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. They denied going to Gamer s residence, and the last time Mclver said that he saw Garner was around June 2 or 3, 1992. Mclver stated that he had no knowledge of Garner s death.

August 1, 1992

Mclver was asked to come to the McPherson County Sheriff’s office, where he was interviewed for approximately 45 minutes. No Miranda warnings were given. Mclver admitted driving by Gamer’s residence sometime after 11:00 a.m. Mclver stated that he did not see Gamer at that point, so he drove on to his neighbor’s house and stayed there until about 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. Mclver said that some people were drinking Budweiser beer at the neighbor’s residence, but that he did not drink any himself.

August 17, 1992

Mclver voluntarily drove to Wichita to take a polygraph examination, at which he was given Miranda warnings. Mclver’s statement was basically the same as before except that he said that the last time he had seen Gamer was in December or January. Mclver stated that he did not know of anything that might be missing from the Gamer residence.

March 8, 1993

Mclver was interviewed at the McPherson County Sheriff’s office, where he was given the Miranda warnings and signed a written waiver. Mclver indicated that on the morning of July 26, his parents had visited his residence until approximately 11:00 a.m. Mclver stated that he and his wife then ate lunch and drove to a neighbor’s residence. Mclver stated that on the way to the neighbor’s residence, he stopped and visited with Garner for about 10 minutes about installing some pipes in the mobile home. Mclver stated that when they left the Gamer residence, Gamer was alive. When they left the Gamer residence, they drove out the secondary driveway past the old farmhouse and fuel tanks. Mclver denied having any arguments with Gamer or taking Gar[423] ner’s billfold and rifle when he left the residence. Mclver also denied having any beer to drink on that date. When confronted with the fact that Gamers billfold had been found on the township road about one-half mile south of the Mclver residence, Mclver denied any knowledge of the billfold.

Mclver s wife, who was interviewed separately, stated that she and Mclver drove over to their neighbor’s residence, spending the day there and leaving at about 6:30-7:00 p.m. She stated that as they were going home, Mclver mentioned something about installing some pipes at the Gamer residence, so Mclver decided to drive over and see about getting this done. Mclver’s wife stated she was very sure that it was near evening as the sun was setting and the sky was pink. While she never saw Mclver actually talking to Gamer, she stated that as far as she knew, Gamer was alive when they left the residence. She stated that she had not heard any argument between Gamer and Mclver, and denied seeing a gun at the Gamer residence. She could not remember Mclver drinking any beer at that time.

April 8, 1993

Mclver was scheduled to have a routine meeting that day with his parole officer. Mclver and his wife were interviewed separately at the Rice County Sheriff’s office. Mclver was not given the Miranda warnings. Mclver initially stated that he and his wife had gone to the neighbor’s residence around noon. On their way to the neighbor’s, Mclver stated that they stopped at the Gamer residence and he talked to Gamer about installing the pipes. When asked whether he was drinking beer, Mclver first denied it, but then said that he had been drinking a beer but had thrown it out on the way to the neighbor’s house. Mclver then admitted that he drove to Gamer’s residence between 6 and 7 p.m. on July 26; that when he arrived he found Gamer dead, lying on his back; that he took Gamer’s wallet, and that he left the beer can in Gamer’s yard. Mclver denied seeing a rifle at the scene. This initial interview lasted approximately 20 minutes.

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State v. McIver, 902 P.2d 982, 257 Kan. 420, 1995 Kan. LEXIS 52 (kan 1995).

902 P.2d 982 (State v. McIver) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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