Opinion ID: 1942962
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Admission of Coday's Signed, Written Confession into Evidence

Text: Coday objected to the introduction of his signed, written confession on the ground that the State had not laid the foundation that it was authentic. The trial court overruled the objection and admitted the document. Coday asserts that this was error under section 90.901, Florida Statutes (1997), which requires authentication of a document as a condition precedent to its admissibility. While section 90.901 requires the authentication or identification of a document prior to its admission into evidence, the requirements of this section are satisfied by evidence sufficient to support a finding that the document in question is what its proponent claims. See § 90.901, Fla. Stat. (1997). Authentication or identification of evidence may include examination of its appearance, contents, substance, internal patterns, or other distinctive characteristics in conjunction with the circumstances. See State v. Love, 691 So.2d 620 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997). In this instance, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that Coday's confession was authentic, for there was an abundance of evidence that supported the trial court's finding that the signed, written statement was drafted by Coday. Both Detective Greco and Sergeant Russell testified that they witnessed Coday write and sign this statement, and in turn, they both signed the statement after Coday. The details of the attack on Gomez contained within the statement are consistent with the injuries to Gomez's body as described in the testimony of Dr. Eroston A. Price, the Associate Medical Examiner for the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office, who performed the autopsy. In the statement, the author wrote that he took Gomez's wallet for the purpose of trying to identify whom she was dating. This is consistent with Sergeant Russell's testimony that when the police were removing Gomez's purse from Coday's bag, Coday stated that he had taken Gomez's wallet not for personal gain but for the purpose of trying to identify whom she was dating. Additionally, in the statement, the author states that he drove Gomez's car to the Miami airport after the murder, flew to Paris, and had in his possession $5000 to $6000 which he had withdrawn from his bank account two days prior. This is consistent with Coday's actions as described in the testimony of Detective Carol Coval, a Fort Lauderdale Police Department Crime Scene Investigator; Kirk Demyan, a supervisor at the Delta Airlines' ticket counter; and Salisha Ramdass, a former customer service representative at the City County Credit Union. Lastly, the handwriting of the 200-page confession, titled the Crepusculo, which was found in Coday's bag when he was apprehended, matches the handwriting in the signed, written statement. Thus, there was sufficient evidence in the record to support the trial court's conclusion that the statement was authentic, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting this confession into evidence. See, e.g., Hunt v. State, 746 So.2d 559 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999).