Walshaw v. Commonwealth

603 S.E.2d 633, 44 Va. App. 103, 2004 Va. App. LEXIS 483
CourtCourt of Appeals of Virginia
DecidedOctober 12, 2004
Docket0605034
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 603 S.E.2d 633 (Walshaw v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walshaw v. Commonwealth, 603 S.E.2d 633, 44 Va. App. 103, 2004 Va. App. LEXIS 483 (Va. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

FELTON, J.

On November 26, 2002, a jury convicted Steve Frederick Walshaw (appellant), sometimes known as Steven F. Walshaw, of first-degree murder for the strangulation death of Karen *107 Tegeler, and fixed his sentence at life imprisonment. On appeal, appellant contends that the short form indictment on which he was tried for first-degree murder was deficient because it failed to allege malice and premeditation and that the trial court erred in its instructions to the jury on voluntary manslaughter. Finding no error, we affirm his conviction.

BACKGROUND

On January 23, 2002, appellant killed Karen Paulette Tegeler, his girlfriend of three years. He gave a detailed confession to the police admitting that he killed Tegeler. He described how their relationship had become strained prior to Tegeler’s death, how he suspected her of infidelity and had confronted her about it. He admitted to the police that he had contemplated killing her a month before he actually did.

On the day appellant killed Tegeler, he found a Valentine’s card addressed to him in Tegeler’s condominium. Inside the card was a handwritten note from Tegeler informing appellant that their relationship was over and that he had to move out of the condominium. Later that evening when Tegeler returned to the condominium from work, the two had sexual relations. Shortly thereafter while Tegeler was napping, appellant stepped outside, smoked a cigarette, and reread the note. He became “pretty upset” and then “he just lost it.” He went back into the bedroom, laid beside Tegeler and then, with her head resting on his arm, strangled her until she was dead. Tegeler tried to resist, and the two struggled for five to seven minutes during which time Tegeler fell off the bed. When appellant knew Tegeler was dead, he left to buy some beer. He told the police that he contemplated suicide by throwing himself in front of a train, but there were no trains. He went to a friend’s house and confessed the murder to her. She called the police, who then arrested him.

The indictment on which appellant was prosecuted for murder stated:

The GRAND JURY ... charges that on or about January 23, 2002, in the aforesaid Judicial Circuit, the accused, *108 STEVE FREDERICK WALSHAW did feloniously kill and murder one Karen Paulette Tegeler, in violation of Virginia Code Section 18.2-32.

After the close of all the evidence and during the presentation of the jury instructions to the trial court, appellant objected that “[t]he indictment alleges only manslaughter ...” and “does not allege premeditation and or malice,” the elements necessary to convict him of first-degree murder. The trial court overruled his contention that the jury should only be instructed on voluntary manslaughter.

The trial court granted Instruction B-l, which followed the format of I Virginia Model Jury Instructions, Criminal G.33.700 (1998 repl. ed. with 1999 supp.), and rejected Instruction B, an alternative murder instruction offered by appellant. Appellant objected to the portion of Instruction B-l relating to voluntary manslaughter, arguing that it misallocated the burden of proof for voluntary manslaughter and thus erroneously stated the law. The trial court overruled appellant’s objection.

The jury convicted appellant of first-degree murder and fixed his sentence at life imprisonment. The trial court entered judgment on the jury’s verdict.

ANALYSIS

A. SHORT FORM MURDER INDICTMENT

“When considering on appeal whether an indictment charged a particular offense, we limit our scrutiny to the face of the document.” Moore v. Commonwealth, 27 Va.App. 192, 198, 497 S.E.2d 908, 910-11 (1998).

At trial, appellant contended that he could not lawfully be convicted of or punished for an offense greater than voluntary manslaughter because the statutory short form murder indictment failed to contain the words “willful, deliberate and premeditated” or “with malice.” He contends that these defects denied him adequate notice of the charge against him as required by the United States Constitution and Ring v. Ari *109 zona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002); Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000); and Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227, 119 S.Ct. 1215, 143 L.Ed.2d 311 (1999).

Both the United States and Virginia Constitutions guarantee a criminal defendant the right “to be advised of the cause and nature of the accusation lodged against him.” 1 Simpson v. Commonwealth, 221 Va. 109, 115, 267 S.E.2d 134, 139 (1980) (upholding use of Virginia short’s form murder indictment in conviction of first-degree murder and robbery). However, our Supreme Court has held that there is no constitutional or statutory requirement “that the indictment charge the degree of murder alleged or use the specific statutory language constituting that degree of offense.” Id.

The purpose of an indictment “ ‘is to give an accused notice of the nature and character of the accusations against him in order that he can adequately prepare to defend against his accuser.’ ” King v. Commonwealth, 40 Va.App. 193, 198, 578 S.E.2d 803, 806 (2003) (quoting Sims v. Commonwealth, 28 Va.App. 611, 619, 507 S.E.2d 648, 652 (1998)). Code § 19.2-220 provides, in pertinent part, that:

The indictment or information shall be a plain, concise and definite written statement ... describing the offense charged----In describing the offense, ... the indictment or information may state so much of the common law or statutory definition of the offense as is sufficient to advise what offense is charged.

Rule 3A:6(a) also requires the indictment to “cite the statute or ordinance that defines the offense____” See also Reed v. Commonwealth, 3 Va.App. 665, 667, 353 S.E.2d 166, 167-68 (1987). “[T]he inference to be drawn from the provisions of Code § 19.2-220 and Rule 3A:6(a) is clearly that incorporation *110 by ... reference of the statute cited in the indictment” provides adequate notice of the charges against the accused. Thomas v. Commonwealth, 37 Va.App. 748, 753, 561 S.E.2d 56, 58 (2002). Here, appellant clearly had adequate notice of the offense for which he was to stand trial.

The indictment on which appellant was tried precisely follows Code § 19.2-221, providing short form indictments for murder and voluntary manslaughter.

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Bluebook (online)
603 S.E.2d 633, 44 Va. App. 103, 2004 Va. App. LEXIS 483, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walshaw-v-commonwealth-vactapp-2004.