United States v. Murphy

36 M.J. 1137, 1993 CMR LEXIS 153, 1993 WL 94475
CourtU.S. Army Court of Military Review
DecidedMarch 30, 1993
DocketACMR 8702873
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 36 M.J. 1137 (United States v. Murphy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Army Court of Military Review primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Murphy, 36 M.J. 1137, 1993 CMR LEXIS 153, 1993 WL 94475 (usarmymilrev 1993).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT ON REMAND

De GIULIO, Senior Judge:

Appellant was tried at a general court-martial consisting of officers in November and December 1987. Contrary to his pleas, he was found guilty of three specifications of premeditated murder, larceny, bigamy, and false swearing, in violation of Articles 118,121, and 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. §§ 918, 921, and 934 (1982) [hereinafter UCMJ]. He was sentenced to total forfeitures, reduction to Private El, and to be put to death. The convening authority approved the sentence.

On 25 March 1990, this Court affirmed the findings of guilty and the sentence. United States v. Murphy, 30 M.J. 1040 (A.C.M.R.1990) (en banc). On 14 April 1992, the United States Court of Military Appeals remanded the ease to this Court to reexamine the sentence imposed in light of United States v. Curtis, 32 M.J. 252 and 33 M.J. 101 (C.M.A.1991). United States v. Murphy, 36 M.J. 8 (C.M.A.1992) (summary disposition). On 19 June 1992 the United States Court of Military Appeals treated a petition for extraordinary relief by appellant as a motion to clarify the court’s remand order and amended the 14 April 1992 order so “[cjounsel may raise any issues not previously considered by the court.” Murphy v. Judges of United States Army Court of Military Review, 34 M.J. 310 (C.M.A.1992). After receiving several extensions of time, appellant has filed thirty-eight supplemental assignments of error with this Court.

The facts of this case are summarized in this Court’s original opinion as follows:

The victims were the appellant’s former wife, Petra Murphy, Petra’s five-year-old [1139]*1139son by a former marriage, Tim A. Herstroeter, and the appellant’s twenty-one-month-old son by Petra Murphy, James. They were killed at some time prior to the appellant’s departure from Germany on 20 August 1987, pursuant to orders reassigning him to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The appellant married Beate Murphy on 12 June 1987, without benefit of a divorce from Petra Murphy; thus, the bigamy conviction. Although an acrimonious divorce proceeding was pending in the German courts, the appellant filed for a divorce from Petra Murphy in Sampson County, North Carolina. The North Carolina court entered a decree of divorce on 22 July 1987, based on Petra Murphy and the appellant living apart for more than one year.

Petra Murphy was last seen alive by Private First Class (PFC) Carlos Ruddy, a church acquaintance, on the afternoon of Sunday, 16 August 1987. Because Petra Murphy did not own an automobile, PFC Ruddy had given her a ride to the local post exchange and then carried groceries up to her apartment. On Monday, 17 August, Mrs. Kathy Swift, also a church friend, took her two children to Petra Murphy’s apartment so that Petra could baby-sit the children. Although Petra was usually very reliable, there was no answer when Mrs. Swift knocked on the door. Mrs. Swift became concerned and checked at the kindergarten Tim attended and found that Tim was absent. Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2) Betram Smith, Petra’s pastor, became concerned after Petra missed several church activities, because she always called when she could not attend. CW2 Smith went to the apartment on Wednesday and again on Thursday or Friday but no one answered the door. He visited the apartment again on Sunday, 23 August, after Petra missed church services. He noticed an odor coming from the kitchen window and notified the German police.

The German police entered the apartment through a window. In the bathroom, they discovered the dead bodies of Petra, Tim and James. The bodies of the children lay in a partially filled bathtub. Tim was lying face up, James face down. Petra was in a kneeling position beside the tub, her head draped into the water.

Professor Doctor Hans Fredrick Bret-tel, a forensic pathologist, testified that Petra died by drowning; however, she had also suffered at least four severe blows to the head prior to death. One blow fractured her skull. Dr. Brettel testified that Petra may have been unconscious at the time that her head was submerged, but he could not be certain. He detected injuries indicative of choking on her neck. There were no defensive injuries on her hands or legs.

Dr. Brettel’s examination of the bodies of the children revealed that both had died from drowning. He opined that the children were alive and conscious at the time of drowning. There was no evidence of any other physical injuries.

On 27 August 1987, Special Agent (SA) Charles F. Woodall of the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) interviewed the appellant at the CID office at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, the appellant’s new duty station. The appellant waived his UCMJ article 31 rights.1 Initially, the appellant denied all knowledge of the murders and denied having been at Petra’s apartment. On further questioning, the appellant admitted that he had been at Petra’s apartment on the day of the murders, but insisted that he had not harmed the children. He did, however, admit that he had killed Petra: “[wjhat would you say if I told you that I killed her because she killed the children?”

[1140]*1140The appellant stated that he had gone to the apartment to say good-bye. He and Petra argued when the appellant told her that he wanted custody of the children. According to the appellant, Petra took the children to the bathroom for a bath and returned ten or fifteen minutes later and announced that the appellant could not take them because they were dead. In this version of events, the appellant killed Petra because she had killed the children.

The appellant stated that he choked Petra but fled when she obtained a knife from the kitchen. He went to his car, put on gloves, and returned to the apartment carrying a mason’s hammer. The appellant said that he returned to the apartment, asked Petra why she had killed the children, and hit her with the hammer only after she came at him with the knife. “I just stood there for a couple of minutes stunned. I could not believe what had happened and was stunned.” The appellant rearranged the crime scene to make it look “like someone had broken in.” He departed, taking Petra’s car keys, her military identification card, and the knife she allegedly used to assault him. The appellant revealed how and where he had disposed of the keys, identification card and knife, but stated that the hammer and gloves were still in the trunk of his car. This statement was reduced to writing, sworn and signed by the appellant. The appellant also drew a detailed diagram of the bathroom correctly identifying the positions of the bodies.

SA Woodall then told the appellant that he did not entirely believe the appellant’s rendition of events. The appellant responded: “[wjhat would you say if I told you that I killed one of the children and Petra killed the other one?” The appellant then stated that he had killed Petra and Tim in retaliation for Petra killing James. This oral statement was not reduced to writing. SA Woodall again advised the appellant that he did not believe him because the CID investigation had revealed that [Tim]2 had been killed first.

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Bluebook (online)
36 M.J. 1137, 1993 CMR LEXIS 153, 1993 WL 94475, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-murphy-usarmymilrev-1993.