State v. Parker

679 So. 2d 1029, 1996 WL 493130
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 28, 1996
DocketNo. CR95-1458
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 679 So. 2d 1029 (State v. Parker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Parker, 679 So. 2d 1029, 1996 WL 493130 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinions

JiDECUIR, Judge.

The defendant, Daimond Parker, appeals his conviction for the second degree murder of Lydia Parker. We reject his argument that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction and affirm the jury’s verdict.

FACTS

On July 1, 1991, the 88-year-old victim, Lydia Parker, was found in her room, bruised and bleeding, by her granddaughter, Wanda Turner, who had just | ¿returned home. Defendant, Daimond Parker, Turner’s son, was the only person in the house with the victim while Turner was gone. The victim was rushed to the hospital, where she remained comatose until her death on August 16, 1991. The victim had suffered massive blunt trauma which crushed the bones around her right eye socket and cheekbone, causing intracranial hemorrhages, edema, and contusions. No weapon was recovered.

[1031]*1031 LAW AND DISCUSSION

The defendant asserts the trial court erred in denying his motion for a post-verdict judgment of acquittal, as the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to support his conviction. La.Code Crim.P. art. 821(B):

B. A post verdict judgment of acquittal shall be granted only if the court finds that the evidence, viewed in a light most favorable to the state, does not reasonably permit a finding of guilty.

When the issue of sufficiency of evidence is raised on appeal, the critical inquiry of the reviewing court is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560, rehearing denied, 444 U.S. 890, 100 S.Ct. 195, 62 L.Ed.2d 126 (1979); State ex rel. Graffagnino v. King, 436 So.2d 559 (La.1983). It is the role of the fact finder to weigh the respective credibility of the witness, and therefore the appellate court should not second guess the credibility determination of the trier of fact beyond the sufficiency evaluations under the Jackson standard of review. See State ex rel. Graffagnino, supra, citing State v. Richardson, 425 So.2d 1228 (La.1983). In order for the state to obtain a conviction, it must prove the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

18As the defendant correctly notes, the case against him is circumstantial. The record is devoid of direct evidence that he is the killer.

La.R.S. 15:438 provides:

The rule as to circumstantial evidence is: assuming every fact to be proved that the evidence tends to prove, in order to convict, it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence.

Incorporating this under the Jackson standard, an appellate court must determine that viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a reasonable trier of fact would have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that every reasonable hypothesis of innocence had been excluded. State v. Honeycutt, 438 So.2d 1303 (La.App. 3 Cir.1983), writ denied, 443 So.2d 585 (La.1983); State v. Morris, 414 So.2d 320 (La.1982).

In addition, when circumstantial evidence forms the basis of the conviction, such evidence must consist of proof of collateral facts and circumstances from which the existence of the main fact may be inferred according to reason and common experience. State v. Shapiro, 431 So.2d 372 (La.1982). See also State v. Chism, 436 So.2d 464 (La.1983).

There is no real question as to whether a homicide occurred. The defendant told police that the victim had fallen, but doctors testified Lydia Parker’s injuries were inconsistent with a fall, but were consistent with a beating. The police forensic technician testified the blood-spatter patterns near the victim’s bed were consistent with blows to the head of a person lying in the victim’s bed. Additionally, the massive blunt trauma suffered by the victim indicates the killer had the specific intent to end her life or, at least, cause serious injury.

Thus, the present appeal revolves around the question of identity. All of the evidence on this point is circumstantial. In making its case, the state proved |4the defendant was the only person in the house with the victim when she was beaten. Wanda Turner testified there was only an approximate five-minute window during which the murder could have occurred. When she left to go to a neighbor’s house, the victim was in her room, alive and uninjured. Also, the shades were open, which was normal in their home.

Ms. Turner stated she returned home approximately five (5) minutes later, and found the shades closed, darkening the room. She attempted to speak to the victim, who did not respond. When Turner checked on her grandmother, she noticed facial swelling and blood. Also, the victim was covered by the sheet and bedspread. Her granddaughter found this unusual, considering the July heat. Turner then asked Parker, who was in a back room using the telephone, what had happened. Turner testified the defendant appeared “jittery, nervous, kind of wild.”

[1032]*1032The defendant told police he had heard the victim calling “hey.” He entered her room and found her lying beside her bed, face-down. Parker surmised the victim had fallen; he lifted her into the bed and left the room. He noted no blood. The defendant’s rendition of events was recorded on videotape, and he outlined a similar scenario for his mother.

The evidence establishes the victim was beaten while the defendant was the only other person in the house. The defendant offered his mother, and investigating authorities, an explanation which is inconsistent with the victim’s injuries. The evidence reasonably permits a finding of guilty.

Parker’s trial counsel attacked the state’s case on a number of fronts:

1. Wanda Turner’s credibility. Although defense witnesses stated Ms. Turner had a poor reputation for truthfulness, witness credibility is firmly within the jury’s province.

IsA determination of the weight of evidence presented is a question of fact. The resolution of a matter where conflicting testimony exists requires a determination of credibility of the witness and is a matter of weight of the evidence and not sufficiency. Tibbs v. Florida, 457 U.S. 31, 102 S.Ct. 2211, 72 L.Ed.2d 652 (1982). Such a determination rests solely with the trier of fact who may accept or reject, in whole or in part, the testimony of any witness. State v. Nolan, 503 So.2d 1186 (La.App. 3 Cir.1987), writ denied, 507 So.2d 226 (La.1987).

A fact finder’s discretion will be impinged upon only to the extent necessary to guarantee the fundamental protection of due process of law. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, at 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, at 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Where rational triers of fact could disagree as to the interpretation of the evidence, the rational trier’s view of all evidence most favorable to the prosecution must be adopted on review. Only irrational decisions to convict by the trier of fact will be overturned. See State v. Mussall, 523 So.2d 1305, 1310 (La.1988).

2. Quality of the evidence.

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Related

State v. Carpenter
772 So. 2d 200 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
679 So. 2d 1029, 1996 WL 493130, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-parker-lactapp-1996.