Title: JULIA B. WILLIAMS V. THE STATE OF WYOMING

State: wyoming

Issuer: Wyoming Supreme Court

Document:

JULIA B. WILLIAMS V. THE STATE OF WYOMING2006 WY 131143 P.3d 924Case Number: 05-185Decided: 10/16/2006Modified: 10/18/2006
OCTOBER TERM, A.D. 2006

 
 
JULIA B. 
WILLIAMS,

 
 
Appellant

(Defendant),

 
 
v.

 
 
THE STATE OFWYOMING,

 
 
Appellee

(Plaintiff).

 
 

Appeal 
from the DistrictCourtofLaramieCounty

The 
Honorable Peter G. Arnold, Judge

 
 
Representing 
Appellant:

Megan L. 
Hayes, Laramie, Wyoming; Donna D. Domonkos*, Appellate Counsel, and Ken 
Koski, Public Defender, Cheyenne, Wyoming.  
Argument by Ms. Hayes.

 
 

Representing 
Appellee:

Patrick 
J. Crank, Wyoming Attorney General; Paul s. Rehurek, Deputy Attorney General; D. 
Michael Pauling, Senior Assistant Attorney General; and Leda M. Pojman, 
Assistant Attorney General.  
Argument by Ms. Pojman.

 
 
Before 
VOIGT, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL**, KITE, JJ., and STEBNER D.J, 
Retired.

 
 

*Order 
Granting Leave for Counsel to Withdraw entered September 15, 
2005.

**Chief 
Justice at time of oral argument.

 
 

HILL, 
Justice.

 
 
[¶1]      Appellant, Julia 
Williams, contends that the district attorney's misconduct at trial constitutes 
plain error and that such error requires reversal of her conviction for 
accessory after the fact to the unlawful killing of a human being.1  She also contends that there was not 
sufficient evidence introduced during her trial so as to sustain her conviction 
for the crime of accessory after the fact to the unlawful killing.  We will affirm the 
judgment and sentence of the district court.

 
 
ISSUES

 
 
[¶2]      Williams raises these 
issues:

 
 
I.          
Whether plain error occurred when the prosecutor repeatedly referred to 
an inadmissible confession by Linda Greene and used information from that 
confession to bolster the State's theory of the case during trial and closing 
argument.

 
 
II.          
Whether there was sufficient evidence presented at trial to prove, beyond 
a reasonable doubt, that Linda Greene unlawfully killed Allen Ross, an essential 
element of the charged crime of accessory after the fact.

 
 
The State rephrases the issues more simply:

 
 
I.          
Did the prosecutor engage in misconduct?

 
 
II.          
Was there sufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that 
Linda Greene killed Allen Ross?

 
 
FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

 
 
[¶3]      It is somewhat 
difficult to keep track of the persons involved in this factual scenario, and so 
we will provide a dramatis personae to aid both this Court and our readers in 
following the events that led up to the crime at issue here.  Before we embark on 
that endeavor, we note that this group of people moved to Cheyenne in 1995 from Guthrie, Oklahoma.  In mid 1995, Julia Williams purchased a house 
near downtown Cheyenne.  It is also of some 
assistance in sorting out this rather unusual story to note that many of the 
main participants used various nicknames/aliases from time to time.  The record is not 
crystal clear why, but it suggests that this was done at Linda Greene's urging 
because she believed various people were attempting to steal her business and 
because she was generally paranoid.  It was the State's theory of this case that 
Linda Greene murdered Allen Ross, and Julia Williams assisted her in concealing 
that crime.  It 
was Julia Williams's theory of the case that Denis Greene murdered Allen Ross 
and that she assisted Denis in concealing that crime, under threats of death 
made by him.  
However, ultimately Julia Williams decided not to testify in her own 
behalf.  
Rather, her theory of the case was presented to the jury in the form of 
the various statements, which were at once both exculpatory and inculpatory, 
that she made to the police. 

 
 
[¶4]      Julia Williams (hereinafter "Williams"):  Williams was 
convicted of acting as an accessory after the fact after Linda Greene shot and 
killed Allen Ross on or about November 22, 1995.  Williams helped Linda Greene drag Allen 
Ross's body from the main floor of the house to the basement, where the two of 
them interred his body in a shallow grave.  Although the investigation into this case 
began in early 1996 and included a cursory search of the house where Allen Ross 
was buried, his body was not found until July 17, 2000.

 
 
[¶5]      Williams and Linda 
Greene decided to move to Cheyenne in early 1995, and to that end Williams purchased 
a home near downtown Cheyenne.  Williams, Linda 
Greene, and Allen Ross lived in that house and they also operated a business at 
that location called Amber Press.  The main purpose of Amber press was to 
publish Linda Green's books on dowsing.2  In addition, 
Williams bought an acreage near Loveland/Fort Collins, Colorado, where Williams intended to build a 
cabin.3  She hired Denis Greene, Linda Greene's former 
husband, to build the cabin.  It was of interest later in the case that 
Denis Greene, Williams, and Linda Greene were experienced at mixing and using 
cement and mortar.  
Williams's nickname was Celeste.  Denis Greene sometimes posed as Jay Williams 
(and as Julia's brother).  Linda Greene was also known as 
Genevieve.  
Allen Ross sometimes used the alias, Rex.  In about October of 1995, Williams and Linda 
Greene began complaining that someone was trying to steal Amber Press's business 
(had expropriated its 800 number business).  Williams also expressed a belief that Allen 
Ross, Mary Kett, and Laura Humphries were the thieves.  Both Williams and 
Linda Greene believed that someone was trying to poison them.

 
 
[¶6]      Williams provided a 
lot of "information" to the police in Cheyenne but very little, if any, of it was 
ever corroborated.

 
 
[¶7]      Allen Ross (hereinafter "Ross"):  He is the victim of 
the underlying crime.  
His body was found buried in a shallow grave in the crawl space of 
Williams's downtown Cheyenne home.  The grave was 
covered with a thin layer of concrete, although his body was found because his 
feet were sticking out of the ground just a bit.  Ross was a documentary film maker by trade, 
but also was involved romantically with Linda Greene and was associated with the 
operation of the Amber Press business.  The parties stipulated that Ross had been 
"unlawfully killed."  
Eventually, the trial court also determined that a part of the State's 
burden of proof was to prove as an element of the crime that Linda Greene had 
killed Ross.  
Ross died of a single gunshot wound to the head.

 
 
[¶8]      Linda Greene Ross (hereinfter "Greene"):  Greene was the 
central person in this group.  She was an expert in dowsing and attracted 
people to this group with her lectures, teaching, and books.  Her former husband, 
Denis Greene, is also involved in this case.  Greene was divorced from him in 1993.  In the autumn of 
1993, Greene and Ross became an item, so to speak, and soon after became at 
least "spiritual" spouses, although the record does not reflect that they were 
actually married.  
Because things became difficult for her group in Oklahoma, Greene decided that they 
should move to Cheyenne.  Greene was ill at 
the time, although the exact nature of her illness is not a matter of 
record.  Greene 
was committed for mental health treatment in late 1995 or early 1996.  The record suggests 
that she suffered from paranoid schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.  Greene died on 
March 18, 2002.

 
 
[¶9]      One of the 
complications of presenting this case to the jury was that Denis Greene told the 
police that on November 25, 1995, Greene told him that she had killed Ross.  However, on March 
18, 2002, Greene died and was not available as a witness at trial.  For that reason the 
district court ruled that no mention could be made of that statement, nor could 
any of the statements Greene made that tended to incriminate Williams be 
admitted as evidence.  
The district court's ruling was based in part on the United States 
Supreme Court's decision in the case, Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S. Ct. 1354, 
1365-69 (2004), which held that the Confrontation Clause of the United States 
Constitution bars "admission of testimonial statements of a witness who did not 
appear at trial unless he was unavailable to testify, and the defendant had a 
prior opportunity for cross-examination."  Also see Davis v. 
Washington, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S. Ct. 2266 (2006) 
(further refining what the U.S. Supreme Court meant by "testimonial 
statements").  
The trial court's decision to disallow the admission of many of Greene's 
statements was also based in part on Lilly v. Virginia, 527 U.S. 116, 119 S. Ct. 1887, 144 L. Ed. 2d 117 (1999) (holding that admission of non-testifying accomplices' 
confessions violate the Confrontation Clause).  The trial court's decision in this regard is 
in no way challenged in this appeal.

 
 
[¶10]   Denis 
Greene:  He 
is Greene's former husband and an associate of Ross and Williams.  Much of the history 
of this case is told from his perspective because Greene died before this case 
came to trial, and Ross had been murdered.  He met Greene when she worked as a nurse at a 
hospice where he also worked as a volunteer.  In those days, Denis Greene worked as a 
consultant and fundraiser for non-profit organizations.  He married Greene 
in 1984 and their son, Daniel Greene, was born on December 27, 1985.  Greene became 
involved in dowsing in the late 1980's when the couple lived on a rural property 
between Edmond, Oklahoma, and Guthrie, Oklahoma.  Denis Greene helped Greene form a nonprofit 
corporation called the Samaritan Foundation.  He purchased an old jail building in Guthrie 
to house the activities of the Foundation.  That building became known to this group as 
"the Monastery."  
Volunteers helped to renovate it and they also financially supported the 
Foundation.  
Denis Greene was skilled in the renovation and construction of buildings 
and often made his living doing that sort of work.  Greene did a 
variety of workshops on dowsing and referred to the building as "the Monastery" 
 "because she envisioned it as the place where people come to learn what she 
was teaching."  
She thought of herself as a spiritual leader.  There were several 
people who would come to the Monastery and stay for extended periods of 
time.  Among 
those people were Williams, Mary Kett, Laura Humphries, and Susan Kirchoff.

 
 
[¶11]   In 1993, Greene told Denis Greene that 
she had multiple sclerosis (or some similar disease) and wanted a divorce so she 
could live "quietly in her final days."  Denis Greene had custody of their son, Daniel 
Greene, after the divorce.  Although they divorced, they remained in 
close contact so that their child would be able to visit his mother.  In early 1995, 
Greene and Williams decided to move to Cheyenne and they asked Denis Greene to 
relocate there too.  
It was also Greene's and Williams's intent to purchase a parcel of 160 
acres of undeveloped land near Loveland, 
Colorado, and 
build a cabin on it.  
Denis Greene lived in the Cheyenne house for a month or so, and then Williams 
purchased an RV trailer for Denis Greene and his son to live in on the 
Colorado land.  Denis Greene's job was to build a cabin on 
that land and he set about that task in approximately June of 1995.  Williams was going 
to repay Denis Greene for materials he bought to build the cabin and, to pay for 
his labor, she was going to deed 40 acres of the land to him as sort of a 
college fund for Daniel Greene.  During this time period, Greene asked Denis 
Greene to go by the name, Jay Williams (a brother to Julia Williams).  It was Denis 
Greene's impression that the regular group that used to hangout in Guthrie, Oklahoma, broke up about the time 
this move to Cheyenne was made.  While construction 
was ongoing at the cabin site, Denis Greene would go to Cheyenne about once a month, and Greene and 
Williams would come to the site at least once a month.  Denis Greene 
claimed that he got along well with Ross.  He asserted that Williams did not get along 
well with Ross.  
Denis Greene denied that he had ever had a gun while he stayed at the 
Colorado property or that he had received a 
gun from Williams.  
Denis Greene also reported that Williams told him that it was necessary 
for her and Greene to go to St. 
Louis in October of 1995 in order to bring Ross back to Wyoming because he was having an affair with a 
fellow male worker.  
A couple of weeks later, they had to go to New 
Orleans to get Ross because he was having another affair 
there.

 
 
[¶12]   On November 21, 1995, Denis Greene 
arrived in Cheyenne to do some work 
at Williams's house.  
He planned to stay over until the next day, November 22, 1995.  Denis Greene's son 
Daniel Greene was already there visiting, and Ross, Greene, and Williams were 
there as well.  
Ross was helping Denis Greene with his project of working on a 
clutch.  This 
work activity was being done in the basement of the Cheyenne house.  While Ross and Denis Greene were working, 
Williams came down to the basement and told Ross that she and Greene were going 
to Guthrie to sell a rental house she owned there, as well as "the 
Monastery."  
Denis Greene reported that Ross became very concerned about that because 
he had a lot of valuable possessions stored there.  Denis Greene 
surmised that Ross was planning to leave Cheyenne because Ross asked him for advice 
about what kind/size of vehicle to buy to haul his belongings and 
equipment.  
Denis Greene also claimed that Williams told him that Ross was planning 
to do something bad to Denis Greene and to his son Daniel Greene.  Between 2:00 p.m. 
and 4:00 p.m. on November 22, 1995, Denis Greene left Cheyenne with his son and went back to 
Loveland.  He stopped at a hardware store to buy some 
parts, stopped to get gas, and then arrived back at the cabin site around 6:00 
p.m.  Denis 
Greene testified that that was the last day he saw Ross alive.

 
 
[¶13]   Greene and Williams next came to the 
cabin site on November 25-26, and 28, 1995.  While there, Williams intimated to Denis 
Greene that Ross had left Cheyenne and had probably 
run off with his "gay lover," or was probably "on the beach getting a tan with 
Laura Humphries," and that she hoped he "is enjoying the money he stole from 
me."  
Initially, Denis Greene also presumed that Ross's disappearance/leaving 
was consistent with his concern about going to Guthrie to retrieve his 
belongings.  Of 
course, it was during this visit that Greene told Denis Greene that she killed 
Ross, but Denis Greene did not really believe that at the time.

 
 
[¶14]   In late November of 1995, county 
authorities in Colorado required Denis 
Greene to halt the building of the cabin because he did not have the proper 
permits.  Also 
about that same time Williams and Greene moved from Cheyenne to Loveland and rented a house.  Williams rented 
that house under the name Julia Hill.  For a time Denis Greene and his son lived in 
the trailer in Loveland but 
when it got too cold, they moved to Kansas 
City, taking the RV trailer with them.  Before he left for 
Kansas City, Denis Greene 
went to Cheyenne with 
Williams and helped her move a large copier and install a piece of peg board 
over the entrance to the crawl space of the Cheyenne house.  Ross's body was eventually found in that 
crawl space.

 
 
[¶15]   In the early part of 1996 Greene 
accused Denis Greene of killing Ross, and this set Denis Greene to wondering 
what actually had happened to Ross.  Denis Greene's concern grew once he learned 
that Ross's family had not heard from Ross for several months and because of 
peculiar contacts he had with Williams and Greene.  Eventually, Denis 
Greene gave a lengthy written statement to Cheyenne police about many of the events 
described in this recitation of the facts of this case.  Williams never paid 
Denis Greene for the work he did or the materials he used to build the 
cabin.  He 
filed a lien against the property, but then withdrew it because he feared 
Williams. 

 
 
[¶16]   Daniel 
Greene:  As 
noted above, he is the son of Denis Greene and Linda Greene.  He was nine years 
of age at the time Ross was murdered.  However, he was present during many of the 
times crucial to the unraveling of this case and he recalled much of what he 
observed.  When 
the group came to Cheyenne, Daniel Greene 
was given the "nickname" Sam but he quickly blew that by blurting out his real 
name.  He 
testified that "the group was scared for my safety so they gave me fake glasses 
and a fake name."  
In later testimony, the "group" mainly turned out to be his mother.  Like so much else 
about this case, exactly why Daniel Greene was not safe has no explanation based 
in fact.  
However, his candid testimony revealed a lot about this group, as did the 
district court's granting of a motion in limine that prohibited the prosecution 
from referring to the group as a "cult."

 
 
[¶17]   Daniel Greene related that while he was 
at the cabin site, his mother pulled a 9-millimeter pistol out of her purse and 
shot the lock off an RV trailer.  He testified that he saw her with a gun quite 
often and that she carried it in her purse.  Daniel Greene never saw any other gun, except 
his mother's.  
Earlier testimony established that Williams purchased a Glock 
9-millimeter pistol in the summer of 1995.  He described the relationship between his 
mother and Williams this way:  "I saw [Greene] making all of the decisions 
and [Williams] was basically the financial center and basically just kind of 
back up my mom in whatever she said."  He also testified that Williams and his 
mother were always together when he was with his mother.  His observation was 
that Ross and his father got along very well and he never saw any disagreement 
between them.  

 
 
[¶18]   Nelli 
Greene:  
Denis Greene's girlfriend who eventually became his second wife.  She and Denis 
Greene divorced about the time he and Daniel Greene returned to Kansas 
City at the end of 1995.  Williams believed that Nelli Greene wanted to 
murder both Greene and her, which was all a part of the conspiracy against Amber 
Press.  Also, 
Williams listed the fact that Ross had an affair with Nelli Greene as a reason 
Denis Greene had for wanting to kill Ross.

 
 
[¶19]   Helen 
Edwards:  
Mrs. Edwards had no association with the persons described above, but she 
came to play a significant role in the unfolding of this story.  She and her husband 
lived near the road that accessed the mountain property where Williams and 
Greene had Denis Greene building the cabin.  She and her husband monitored the gate on the 
road to that property, and Mrs. Edwards kept a detailed journal of all the 
comings and goings from that property.  Mrs. Edwards knew all of the people by their 
"nicknames," but of particular importance her journal revealed that Denis Greene 
had returned to the cabin at 6:06 p.m. on November 22, 1995.  

 
 
Narrative

 
 
[¶20]   On March 7, 2003, an information was 
filed in the district court alleging that Greene murdered Ross on or about 
November 22, 1995.  
The information further alleged that Williams assisted Greene in 
concealing Ross's body in the basement of a downtown Cheyenne home.  It suffices here to note that the pretrial 
proceedings were lengthy and the trial in this case did not begin until November 
16, 2004.  We 
will make further mention of the pretrial proceedings only to the extent that 
they bear on the issues raised in this appeal.

 
 
[¶21]   Greene was a "spiritual leader" and 
founder of the Samaritan Foundation (also known as "the Monastery"), a nonprofit 
organization which Denis Green helped create.  Williams met Greene at one of Greene's 
dowsing seminars in Oklahoma.  In early 1995, 
Greene, Williams, and Ross moved from Oklahoma to Cheyenne.  Williams purchased the home described above 
and the three of them lived in that home.  In that home they also operated a business 
known as Amber Press, LLC.  The purpose of that business was to write, 
publish, and sell books on dowsing.  The books were authored by Greene.

 
 
[¶22]   This case first got underway on 
February 21, 1996, when Denis Greene called a Cheyenne police detective and told him that a possible 
homicide had been committed in Cheyenne, and that the body of Ross was buried in the crawl 
space/basement of a downtown Cheyenne home.  That detective also 
received some phone calls from members of Ross's family indicating that Ross was 
missing.  The 
detective went to the house in question in March of 1996 to investigate.  He did some digging 
in the crawl space but did not find Ross's corpse, although he did notice an 
area in the crawl space that was covered with concrete.  The detective, and 
a second volunteer detective, spent 15-30 minutes looking around in the basement 
and then left.  
The detective did enter the name of Allen Ross into an NCIC missing 
persons data base.

 
 
[¶23]   A second detective testified that 
Williams came to the Cheyenne police on June 
25, 1999, "with some information that Mr. Ross had been found."  That detective told 
Williams that Ross was still listed as a missing person.  Williams also told 
the detective that a "psychic lady" had told her that Ross was buried in the 
city dump.

 
 
[¶24]   Another detective testified that 
Williams called the police department on October 28, 1995, to report a 
burglary.  
However, Williams would not tell the detective the names of the people 
who lived there or allow him to otherwise investigate the scene (take 
fingerprints, etc.).  
Because Williams would not allow the investigation, that matter was not 
pursued further.  
On cross-examination, this detective also revealed that he had talked to 
Denis Greene about matters related to this case because he was at one time a 
suspect in the killing of Ross.  The detective testified that Denis Greene 
denied having anything to do with the homicide.

 
 
[¶25]   Yet another detective testified that on 
November 17, 1995, Williams called the police to report a disturbance (two 
people fighting) in her front yard.  She told the police that the two people were 
Mary Kett and Laura Humphries.  However, when the detective arrived, there 
was no one there and that was the end of the matter.  The detective 
essentially did not believe Williams but told her she could call back if she 
needed further assistance.

 
 
[¶26]   Still another detective was called to 
Williams's Cheyenne home on November 
29, 1995.  
Williams complained that she had been the victim of an approximately 
$10,000.00 theft and expressed concern that there were people who wanted to harm 
her.  She 
listed those people as Allen Ross, Laura Humphries, John MacArthur, and Mary 
Kett.  Although 
this detective spent almost two hours at Williams's house, he could find no 
evidence that any crime had been committed.  He also testified that Williams made no 
report about a dead body buried in the basement.  Later testimony also revealed that Williams 
and Greene had made numerous other reports to the police about "suspicious 
activity" at or near their home in downtown Cheyenne.

 
 
[¶27]   An expert from the Wyoming State Crime 
Laboratory testified that a shell casing found in the basement of Williams's 
Cheyenne home was possibly fired from a 
9-millimeter Glock pistol.

 
 
[¶28]   One of the State's principal witnesses 
was Dean Jackson.  
Jackson had more than 20 years of experience as 
a police detective and homicide investigator.  In 1999 he became an investigator for the 
Laramie County District Attorney.  He became involved in this case when he and a 
police detective found Ross's remains in July of 2000.  In January of 2001, 
Jackson accompanied 
Detective Bilkie on a trip to New 
Orleans to interview Williams and Greene over the course 
of three days, January 27-29, 2001.  On the first day of discussions with them, 
for almost seven hours they discussed the disappearance of Ross.  On the second day, 
Jackson talked with Williams, while Bilkie 
talked with Greene.  
Tape recordings of portions of Williams's interviews were played for the 
jury; however, no transcripts were made of the tape recordings.  Jackson had a detailed knowledge of 
the background for this case because he had studied records from the Cheyenne home, from the Guthrie, 
Oklahoma sites, from police reports, and 
statements from witnesses such as Denis Greene.  Ross's bank records showed that the last 
check he ever wrote was on November 22, 1995.  Jackson had also listened to a tape recording 
of a conversation between Ross and Greene that indicated there was a problem in 
that relationship.

 
 
[¶29]   Of great significance to this case, on 
the third day of these interviews, Williams reported that she had learned from 
Greene in December of 1995 that Ross had been murdered.  She also implicated 
Denis Greene in Ross's disappearance, as well as the conspiracy to steal from 
Amber Press.  
However, the information she revealed did not indicate that she had 
participated in the murder or its aftermath in any way.  Most of what Greene 
had to say could not be related to the jury because the district court 
suppressed statements that she made which tended to incriminate Williams.

 
 
[¶30]   On March 21, 2001, Greene and Williams 
came to Cheyenne.  Each of them was interviewed at the Cheyenne 
Police Department on March 22.  As was the case with other statements given 
by Greene, these were not called to the attention of the jury.  Williams was also 
interviewed and she gave a statement that was consistent with what she had told 
the police when she was interviewed in New 
Orleans.  The gist of that statement was that on or 
about November 22, 1995, Greene wanted Williams to go down to the basement where 
Ross and Denis Greene were working on repairing a transmission and tell Ross 
that they were going to Oklahoma to close up the properties in Guthrie.  Williams said that 
by doing that, Greene hoped to provoke a reaction from Ross.  He did react saying 
something to the effect that "please, no matter what you find, let me get my 
things."  
Greene then went to her room to watch TV and later they went to a hotel 
and later yet to separate hotels.  Williams said nothing about Ross being shot 
or ever seeing his body but that all of his belongings were gone when they 
returned to the home the next day.  Greene and Williams really had no intention 
of going to Oklahoma  all of it was 
a charade to provoke a reaction from Ross.  When asked about her statement from the 
New Orleans interview that Denis Greene 
murdered Ross, she hedged and said she only "believed" he did it, not that she 
knew he did it.  
Also, while they were in Cheyenne, Jackson took both Williams and Greene on a 
walk-through of the downtown house.  Jackson noted that neither had any visible 
response even when he took them down to the basement crawl space.

 
 
[¶31]   After these interviews, Williams 
returned to New Orleans and continued 
to communicate with the Cheyenne Police Department by FAX.  In each successive 
FAX her story about what happened with Ross and the conspiracy against Amber 
Press appeared to evolve.  Indeed, eventually Williams came up with an 
astonishingly long list of motives that Denis Greene might have had for killing 
Ross.  
Jackson testified that the last check written 
by Ross was dated November 22, 1995.  Ross dropped off a book order in September of 
1995 but never picked it up.  Furthermore, Ross dropped off his vehicle to 
be repaired on November 20, 1995, and never reclaimed it.  Williams eventually 
picked up the book order.  Detective Jackson obtained Williams's credit card records 
and was able to track her travels over the time period from late 1995 through 
early 1997.

 
 
[¶32]   On March 18, 2002, Williams called 
Detective Jackson to tell him that Greene had died and that she wanted to come 
to Cheyenne and talk to him.  Williams had told 
Detective Jackson to look at Denis Greene, Susan Kirchoff, and Laura Humphries 
as persons of interest in Ross's disappearance.  Jackson testified that he had eliminated 
Kirchoff and Humphries as suspects and indicated that he had no evidence linking 
Denis Greene with Ross's disappearance. 

 
 
[¶33]   Williams arrived in Cheyenne on March 20, 2002, and met Detective 
Jackson at his office.  Her story changed yet again as she told 
Jackson that she was present 
in the Cheyenne home when the shots that killed Ross 
were fired.  
Williams was not sure what date the killing took place but that it was 
sometime between November 22, and 24, 1995.  Two shots were fired.  However, she only 
heard them, she did not see them being fired.  Williams came downstairs and saw Denis Greene 
with the gun in his hand and Ross lying on the floor.  Williams then 
helped Denis Greene carry Ross's body to the basement using sheets or blankets 
and helped clean up.  
She also related that Denis Greene directed her to conceal the gun that 
was used to shoot Ross, and she took it to Kansas 
City and put it behind a hotel.  The police looked 
for that gun but could not find it.  

 
 
[¶34]   In her statement Williams did not 
account in any way for where Greene was when this occurred or for where Daniel 
Greene was when this occurred.  She also related that Denis Greene said he 
shot Ross because Ross had sexually molested Daniel.  She helped Denis 
Green inter Ross's body because she was afraid Denis was going to kill her.  Williams originally 
stated she did not know what happened to the gun that Denis Greene used.  In the summer of 
2000, when Jackson indicated that they were looking in the basement of her 
Cheyenne home for Ross's body based in part on what Denis Greene said, 
Williams's response to Jackson was that this was just another example of the 
slander and harassment Denis was putting her and Amber Press through and that it 
was part of the "conspiracy" against Amber Press.  Detective Jackson testified that he could find no 
evidence of a "conspiracy" against Amber Press during his rather extensive 
investigation nor could he find any link between Amber Press and Denis Greene in 
any way.

 
 
DISCUSSION

 
 
Prosecutorial Misconduct

 
 
[¶35]   Williams's principal contention in this 
regard is that the prosecution made improper use of Greene's so-called 
"confession" as the theory of its case.  The prosecution argued its theory of the case 
to the jury in both its opening statement and its closing statement.  However, it is also 
evident that the State's theory of the case was actually a variation on 
statements that Williams made to the Cheyenne police.  As noted above, her statements evolved over 
time, but eventually she made an admission that she did help Denis Greene carry 
Ross's body to the basement of her Cheyenne home and bury it there.  During additional 
questioning, it was suggested to Williams that she was really just substituting 
the name "Denis Greene" for "Linda Greene" in that statement.  Williams denied 
that and upon further questioning, stated that her memory had been "compromised" 
and she could not go on with the questioning.

 
 
[¶36]   Moreover, Williams contends that 
despite the district court's very clear pretrial ruling that Greene's statement 
that she shot Ross was not admissible, the prosecutor made several references to 
it.  Williams 
further maintains that those references constitute misconduct that was 
prejudicial to her defense and denied her a fair trial.  Williams contends 
that, in spirit, she objected to all such comments because the district court 
granted a pretrial motion prohibiting them.  However, in a couple of instances she did not 
specifically object at the time the prosecutor made references to Greene's 
so-called "confession."  Thus, to the extent she failed to object, the 
errors must be reviewed under the plain error doctrine.

 
 
[¶37]   Before we will hold that an error in 
the nature of prosecutorial misconduct has affected an accused's substantial 
right, thus requiring reversal of a conviction, we must conclude that based on 
the entire record a reasonable possibility exists that in the absence of the 
error the verdict might have been more favorable to the accused.  Jensen v. State, 2005 WY 85, ¶ 23, 116 P.3d 1088, 1098 (Wyo. 
2005) (and cases cited therein); also see Butcher v. State, 2005 WY 146, ¶ 38, 123 P.3d 543, 554 (Wyo. 
2005).

 
 
[¶38]   In his opening statement, the 
prosecutor called Greene's "confession" to the attention of the jury ("[Denis 
Greene] decides to report what he has been told.  He tells detective Padilla that he's been 
told by a certain individual that Allen Ross has been murdered, that he's been 
shot in the head, that his body is buried in the basement.").  We are compelled to 
agree that under the circumstances of this case, that was clearly a reference to 
Greene's statement that she killed Ross.  However, it was also obscure enough given the 
jury's limited access to all the facts that we cannot conclude that, absent this 
statement, the verdict might have been more favorable to the accused.

 
 
[¶39]   Williams also contends that during his 
cross-examination of Denis Greene, the prosecutor violated the trial court's 
liminal order.  
The context of the exchange is important.  Denis Greene is describing his contacts with 
Williams and Greene in early 1996.  He related that they visited him and Daniel 
Greene often.  
Denis Greene noted that while Greene was in a mental hospital, to which 
she was committed by her family, she accused Denis by phone and FAX of killing 
Ross.  Denis 
Greene stated that, " at that point that's when I began to think perhaps [Ross] 
didn't run away, perhaps they killed him."  Denis Greene further related that on February 
20, 1996, Greene and Williams again visited him.  On this occasion Williams was standing back 
with her hands in the pockets of a heavy coat (and it was a very warm day in 
Kansas City), and this scared Denis.  His implication was 
that Williams might have had something in her coat pockets (e.g., a 9-millimeter 
pistol) that could be used to harm Denis.  Defense counsel objected on the basis of 
W.R.E. 404(b) but the district court overruled the objection.  The exchange then 
continued:

 
 
            
Q.  [By prosecutor]  After that encounter what did you do?

            
A.  That was a surprise visit on the 20th.  On the 21st I 
called a detective Padilla with the Wyoming police to tell him of my 
suspicions.

            
Q.  At that point in time had you ever been provided with any 
direct statement from anyone what had happened to Allen?

A.  Yes.

Q.  When were you given that statement?

A.  On November 25th.

 
 
[¶40]   Defense counsel objected and the 
objection was sustained.  However, the prosecutor continued somewhat 
along the same line:

 
 
Q.  What did you tell Detective Padilla?

A.  I told the detective  I repeated to 
detective Padilla what [Greene] had told me 

 
 
[¶41]   Again, defense counsel interposed an 
objection and asked that the district court grant her motion for a 
mistrial.  The 
district court sustained the objection but denied the motion for mistrial.

 
 
[¶42]   The trial court's response to the 
objection made it clear that the prosecutor was treading on questionable 
ground.  
However, this too was only an oblique reference to the prohibited 
statement made by Greene and, once again, given the jury's limited access to all 
the facts, we cannot conclude that absent this statement the verdict might have 
been more favorable to the accused.  For the most part, the entire exchange 
amounted to legitimate evidence that suggested that Greene and Williams could be 
the persons who killed Ross, without there being any mention that she actually 
stated that she did do it.

 
 
[¶43]   Williams also contends that the many 
allusions to Greene's "confession" were exacerbated by two seemingly deliberate 
comments that prejudiced her right to a fair trial.  The first of these 
was a comment by the prosecutor in the form of a joke that a defense attorney 
could tell that the client is not telling the truth if her lips are moving.  Defense counsel 
promptly objected and the trial court just as promptly sustained the 
objection.  The 
second was to compare this case to the Scott Peterson case, i.e., that it was a 
circumstantial evidence case.  Again, defense counsel objected and the trial 
court sustained the objection and ordered the comment stricken.

 
 
[¶44]   We conclude that here the prosecutor's 
misconduct, to the extent it was misconduct, was not prejudicial to Williams and 
there is not a reasonable possibility that the verdict might have been more 
favorable to her had the misconduct not occurred.  The trial court was diligent in policing this 
prosecutor and the defense was alert to ensure that the jury was not lead astray 
by the prosecutor's attempts to inject prejudicial information into the trial 
process.  
Compare, Wilde v. State, 2003 WY 93, ¶¶ 26-31, 
74 P.3d 699, 710-12 (Wyo. 
2003).

 
 
Sufficiency of the Evidence

 
 
[¶45]   Our standard of review is well 
known.  In 
addressing a claim of insufficiency of the evidence, we must determine whether 
any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime 
beyond a reasonable doubt.  When considering a claim of the sufficiency 
of the evidence, we review that evidence with the assumption that the evidence 
of the prevailing party is true, disregard the evidence favoring the 
unsuccessful party, and give the prevailing party the benefit of every favorable 
inference that we may reasonably draw from the evidence.  We will not reweigh 
the evidence nor will we re-examine the credibility of the witnesses.  Perritt v. State, 
2005 WY 121, ¶ 9, 120 P.3d 181, 186 (Wyo. 
2005) (and cases cited therein).

 
 
[¶46]   Williams challenges only one of the 
elements of the crime at issue here.  She asserts that there is insufficient 
evidence that Greene was the person who unlawfully killed Ross.  Applying the 
standard of review set out above, we conclude the evidence is sufficient.  Of course, it is 
difficult to know which details of the evidence the jury focused on in reaching 
its ultimate decision.  However, we will set out one line of 
reasoning that the jury might well have followed.  The first prong in that line of reasoning is 
that Williams was not a credible witness.  She told so many variations on her story, 
that the jury was unlikely to have accepted as truthful any of her statements 
that were self-serving or tended to exonerate her.  Williams admitted 
that she was present when Denis Greene shot and killed Ross, and she admitted 
that she helped carry his body to the basement and bury it.  Other evidence 
strongly suggested that Denis Greene was not there when the killing took 
place.  Yet 
other evidence suggested strongly that the only other people present when Ross 
was shot were Greene and Williams.  By the process of elimination, the jury could 
infer that it was Greene who shot Ross.  The evidence demonstrated that Greene had a 
reason to do it, that she carried a gun similar to the one that was used to 
shoot Ross, and that her accusation that Denis Greene was the one who shot Ross 
was designed to divert attention from her as the one responsible for Ross's 
disappearance, to Denis Greene.  Williams's apparent motive in diverting 
attention from Greene as the killer was to protect and preserve her 
memory/legacy.  
When pressed to respond to a question which directly proposed that the 
real scenario was not that she had assisted Denis Greene in burying Ross, but 
rather Greene, Williams appeared to hesitate and protested that her memory had 
been compromised and she could not remember any longer. 

 
 
[¶47]   We conclude that the evidence was 
sufficient to sustain the jury's verdict of guilt.

 
 
CONCLUSION

 
 
[¶48]   Finding no error in the proceedings 
below, and that the evidence is sufficient to sustain the verdict, the judgment 
and sentence of the district court are affirmed in all respects.

 
 
FOOTNOTES

 
 

1§ 6-5-202. Accessory 
after the fact;  
penalties.

            
(a)  A person is an accessory after the fact if, with intent to 
hinder, delay or prevent the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, 
detention, conviction or punishment of another for the commission of a crime, he 
renders assistance to the person.

            
(b)  An accessory after the fact commits:

(i)  A felony 
punishable by imprisonment for not more than three (3) years, a fine of not more 
than three thousand dollars ($3,000.00), or both, if the crime is a felony and 
the person acting as an accessory is not a relative of the person committing the 
crime;

(ii)  A 
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine 
of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both, if:

(A)  The crime 
is a felony and the person acting as an accessory is a relative of the person 
committing the crime;

(B)  The crime 
is a misdemeanor and the person acting as an accessory is not a relative of the 
person committing the crime;  or

                                    
(C)  The principal is a minor.

(iii)  No 
violation if the crime is a misdemeanor and the person acting as an accessory is 
a relative of the person committing the crime.

 
 
Wyo. 
Stat. § 6-5-202 (LexisNexis 2005).

 
 
§ 6-5-201. 
Definitions.

            
(a)  As used in this article:

            
. . . .

            
(iii)  "Relative" means a grandparent, grandchild, mother, 
father, husband, wife, sister, brother or child;  and

            
(iv)  "Render assistance" means to:

                        
(A)  Harbor or conceal the person;

            
(B)  Warn the person of impending discovery or apprehension, 
excluding an official warning given in an effort to bring the person into 
compliance with the law;

(C)  Provide 
the person with money, transportation, weapon, disguise or other thing to be 
used in avoiding discovery or apprehension;

(D)  By force, 
intimidation or deception, obstruct anyone in the performance of any act which 
might aid in the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction or 
punishment of the person;  or

(E)  Conceal, 
destroy or alter any physical evidence that might aid in the discovery, 
detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction or punishment of the 
person.

Wyo. 
Stat. Ann. § 6-5-201 (LexisNexis 2005).

 
 

2The gerund form of the 
word "dowse," which means "to use the divining rod (as in search of water or 
ore)."  Webster's Third New 
International Dictionary 683 (1986).  However, in Linda Greene's case the dowsing 
was in the nature of "spiritual dowsing."  Denis Greene explained it this way:  "And basically what 
they do is they  there are two things, one is where they hold a pendulum on a 
string and you hold it.  You ask questions of the thing, and it's 
supposed to move."  
Furthermore, "[s]he would write whatever she wanted to figure out.  So it's kind of 
like the truth or not the truth, or you can put a variety of questions or 
symbols.  She 
kind of got into one branch of dowsing, a spiritually related subject, and they 
would  she took upon herself to dowse spiritual maladies [as opposed to the 
search for water]."

 
 

3Although the jury never 
learned of this, Williams had apparently inherited a considerable sum of money 
(perhaps as much as $1,000,000.00) from her 
parents.