Opinion ID: 1443106
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Admissibility of Victim's Mother's Hearsay Testimony and Excerpts from the Reading of Victim's Diary

Text: Appellant finally argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it permitted Debra King to testify as to Robin's fear of Appellant under the state-of-mind exception to the hearsay rule. Appellant contends generally that the trial court abused its discretion by allowing Mrs. King to discuss the nature of her daughter's relationship with Appellant. Appellant specifically challenges the following testimony: [Prosecutor]: When you talked with Robin at your home after the matters at the district justice's, what was her demeanor? [Debra King]: She was still upset. She was scared. She was concerned as to whether or not there was the possibility that he would be back on the street, and she had never gotten the chance to talk to him before that would happen. N.T. Trial at 171. Appellant further argues that the trial court erred in allowing Mrs. King to read excerpts from the victim's diary into evidence because those excerpts [17] also were inadmissible hearsay. [18] Substantively, Appellant raises what could be a close decision on the merits. The Commonwealth urges that the admissibility of the evidence falls under the rubric of Commonwealth v. Chandler, 554 Pa. 401, 721 A.2d 1040, 1045 (1998) (finding that a deceased wife's statements concerning her negative feelings towards defendant/husband and her relationship with him were admissible under the state-of-mind exception to the hearsay rule because the victim's opinion of the defendant and her marriage went to the presence of ill will, malice or motive for the killing) and Commonwealth v. Sneeringer, 447 Pa.Super. 241, 668 A.2d 1167 (1995), appeal denied, 545 Pa. 651, 680 A.2d 1161 (1996) (finding that a murder victim's statements regarding the breakdown of her relationship with the defendant and her stated intent to remove defendant from her life were admissible under the state-of-mind exception because they allowed the jury to infer defendant's possible motive). Appellant retorts that they fall under Commonwealth v. Laich, 566 Pa. 19, 777 A.2d 1057 (2001) (holding that a hearsay statement from a deceased victim recounting a threat from the defendant went to the victim's state-of-mind, and was irrelevant to the defendant's state-of-mind, and thus inadmissible where the only issue in dispute was whether Appellant was provoked and acted in the heat of passion). Regardless of the parties' assertions, even if Appellant is correct that portions of Mrs. King's testimony and the diary entries were not relevant under Laich, and therefore, inadmissible, he is not entitled to relief if, as the Commonwealth claims, the error was harmless. See Commonwealth v. Hutchinson, 571 Pa. 45, 811 A.2d 556 (2002) (finding even if the trial court erred in admitting hearsay statements concerning deceased victim's fear of defendant as evidence of motive and ill will, the error was harmless where that statement was cumulative of other uncontroverted evidence). An error will be deemed harmless if: (1) the error did not prejudice the defendant or the prejudice was de minimis; (2) the erroneously admitted evidence was merely cumulative of other untainted evidence which was substantially similar to the erroneously admitted evidence; or (3) the properly admitted and uncontradicted evidence of guilt was so overwhelming and the prejudicial effect of the error was so insignificant by comparison that the error could not have contributed to the verdict. See Commonwealth v. Young, 561 Pa. 34, 748 A.2d 166, 193 (1999) (quoting Commonwealth v. Robinson, 554 Pa. 293, 721 A.2d 344, 350 (1998)). The Commonwealth bears the burden to prove harmlessness beyond a reasonable doubt. See id. Upon review of the record, we note that Mrs. King did not tell the jury anything more than what they heard from Ms. Britton and Detective Logan. For instance, Ms. Britton testified that both Robin and Appellant called her about their marital problems. It is uncontradicted that Appellant called her immediately before the murder threatening to kill Robin and he called her again, immediately after the murder and told her that Robin Little [was] no more. N.T. Trial at 330. Appellant also gave an uncontradicted detailed confession to Detective Logan, including a full chronology of the couple's tumultuous relationship, and he confessed in vivid detail how he first raped Robin on September 1, 1997. He specifically admitted that he threatened to snap her neck if she ever told anyone about the first rape, and he admitted to coming back, raping, strangling and stabbing Robin ten days later, after she filed criminal charges and sought a PFA. The evidence complained of was cumulative and could not have caused Appellant prejudice as to the only question presented to the jury: whether Appellant had the capacity to formulate specific intent to kill. See Hutchinson, 571 Pa. 45, 811 A.2d 556. Consequently, Appellant is not entitled to relief in this regard.