Opinion ID: 2197178
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: The facts from which this case arises are as follows: The victim, Harlene Mayhue, was last seen alive on the evening of December 15, 1986, when she left her daughter's birthday party at 10:45 p.m. Her mutilated body was subsequently found by David Kisow and Donald Meerdo at approximately 3:00 a.m. on the morning of December 16, 1986, in the trunk of the car she had been driving when last seen. An autopsy performed on Mrs. Mayhue's body on the morning of December 16th revealed five deep lacerations in the victim's skull and marked hemorrhage in her brain. The victim's skull was broken. Dr. Leon Rozin, who performed the autopsy, testified that these injuries were consistent with blows from a baseball bat or similar object. (Trial Transcript (T.T.) 12/10-15/87 at 238). Dr. Rozin also noted that the victim's neck bone was fractured. (T.T. at 242). In addition, the autopsy revealed that Mrs. Mayhue had been shot between the eyes and in the left temple. Two .25 automatic caliber bullets were found in the victim's head. According to Dr. Rozin, the minimal hemorrhaging along the tracks of these bullets indicated that the victim had still been alive at the time she was shot. (T.T. 12/10-15/87 at 241). Dr. Rozin determined the cause of death to be trauma to the head. Based upon his examination of the body, he was of the opinion that the victim had first been beaten, then strangled, and finally shot. (T.T. 12/10-15/87 at 246). The chain of events that culminated in this brutal murder began in August of 1981, when the victim filed for divorce from appellant. Due to extensive litigation regarding tax liabilities and business holdings, however, the divorce had still not been finalized at the time of the victim's death. These bitter and protracted proceedings resulted in appellant's harboring an extreme animosity toward Mrs. Mayhue and her boyfriend, Barry Carle, appellant's former financial advisor, with whom Mrs. Mayhue became romantically involved in December, 1981. At the time of her murder, Mrs. Mayhue was residing at what had been the family residence, an 18 acre horse farm on Sunflower Road (Route 68) in Daugherty Township, Beaver County. Barry Carle frequently stayed there as well. In addition, due to past abuse, Mrs. Mayhue had secured a court order prohibiting appellant from entering the property. Appellant, meanwhile, was living in a condominium in another part of Beaver County. As previously noted, Mrs. Mayhue attended a birthday party for her daughter, Debbie Meyer, on the evening of December 15, 1986, and departed at 10:45 p.m. from her daughter's house where the party was being held. She was driving a 1984 Oldsmobile belonging to Barry Carle. Appellant had called Debbie at about 9:00 p.m., and had been informed by Debbie that her mother was at the party. Appellant stated that he was at his parents' house processing a deer, and would be unable to attend. At approximately 1:30 a.m. on the morning of December 16th, Barry Carle telephoned the Meyer residence seeking Mrs. Mayhue, who was not at home when he arrived there at 12:45 a.m. Knowing that the trip from Debbie's home in New Galilee, Pa. to Mrs. Mayhue's home on Sunflower Road typically took twenty-five to thirty minutes, Debbie's husband, Jeff Meyer, and Mr. Carle decided to drive along the route usually taken by Mrs. Mayhue in case her car had broken down or she had been in an accident. After this search proved to be of no avail they called the state police. At approximately 2:45 a.m., David Kisow arrived at his home in Allegheny County accompanied by Donald Meerdo. The two men had been Christmas shopping earlier in the evening and had subsequently stopped at a local bar. Upon their arrival at Kisow's house, they noticed a strange car, later identified as Barry Carle's Oldsmobile, backed against Kisow's garage door with the keys in the ignition. After removing the keys, Kisow and Meerdo opened the trunk and found the body of Harlene Mayhue. Upon making this discovery, Meerdo wanted to call the police. Kisow, however, urged him not to stating that, if he didn't get rid of the car he'd be dead. Despite Kisow's requests, Meerdo called the police. This call was logged in by the Findlay Township Police at 2:59 a.m. Detectives of the homicide unit of the Allegheny County Police along with local police and members of the coroner's office were immediately dispatched to the scene. Upon their arrival, the detectives examined the trunk of the car. There they observed the body of a white female, her severely beaten face pointing toward the trunk opening. The victim's head was partially wrapped in a white scarf, which appeared to have a bullet hole in it, but due to the victim's extensive facial injuries, the detectives were unable to determine if she had been shot. Two spent .25 automatic caliber shellcasings were later found beside the vehicle. A bloody baseball bat was lying between the victim's legs. After the victim's driver's license was found, the police were able to make an initial identification of the victim as Harlene Mayhue. When interviewed by the police, David Kisow initially denied having any knowledge concerning the murder. It was not until a phone conversation with appellant on December 21, 1986 left him fearing for his life that Kisow contacted police and began to cooperate with their investigation. [2] At trial, Kisow testified that he had known appellant, who had been a close friend of his deceased father, since 1978. Since 1981, Kisow had been traveling to Colorado to perform construction work, returning to Pennsylvania each year from December through April. According to Kisow, upon his return in 1981 appellant had approached him and asked if Kisow would chop up a car for him. Kisow stated that he would. This favor was to be payment for the proceeds of a cocaine sale made by Kisow for appellant in 1980/81, which had been stolen from Kisow's house before the money could be given to appellant. [3] Kisow testified that upon his return to Pennsylvania in 1982, appellant's request changed to whether Kisow would mind chopping up a car if it had a body in it. (T.T. at 89). Appellant then repeated this request each time Kisow returned home from 1982-1986. Upon Kisow's return in September, appellant paid him a visit and asked him if he had thought about their deal. (T.T. at 92-93). Kisow, however, was in a hurry and did not answer. Kisow stated that he next heard from appellant a few weeks later when appellant called and told him not to be surprised if he found a car in his driveway. (T.T. at 95). As previously indicated, Kisow subsequently found a car in his driveway on the morning of December 16th when he and Donald Meerdo made their gruesome discovery. After finding Mrs. Mayhue's body, the police proceeded to her residence on Sunflower Road. There they discovered patches of blood in the driveway near the entrance to the garage. The blood had been covered with gravel and leaves in an apparent attempt to conceal it. In addition, the officer's found two buttons from the victim's coat and one of her gold earrings near one of the house's window wells. Although police originally believed Mrs. Mayhue had been killed at her home in Beaver County, the discovery of the two spent cartridges at the Kisow residence coupled with the coroner's determination that the victim was still alive at the time she was shot, caused them to conclude that the death had actually occurred at the Kisow residence in Allegheny County after Mrs. Mayhue had been beaten and abducted at her home. Appellant was interviewed by the police on the morning of December 16th. Appellant told the police that on the previous evening he had been at his father's house processing a deer until 9:30 p.m., and had then returned to his home, where he spent the evening alone. (T.T. at 161,735). Early in the afternoon of the 16th, Chief Charles Zarillo of the Rochester Township Police Department learned of Mrs. Mayhue's murder, and traveled to the home of James Hardin. Hardin was the elected police/public safety commissioner for Rochester Township. He was also a very good friend of appellant's. When Zarillo arrived at Hardin's home, he observed Hardin speaking with an individual named Steve Gavura. Hardin concluded his conversation with Gavura and approached Zarillo, stating that he had just learned of the murder from Gavura. Hardin also said that he would probably become involved in the investigation since he had been with appellant the previous evening. According to Hardin, appellant had called him on the evening of the 15th to ask for a ride home. Hardin said he had picked appellant up, taken him home, and stayed with him until 12:30 a.m. While at appellant's residence, they had watched Monday Night Football and drunk a few beers. Zarillo relayed this information to the investigating officers. A few days later Hardin told Zarillo that Mrs. Mayhue had died at 2:00 a.m. Information regarding the victim's time of death, however, had yet to be released. Zarillo again relayed this information to the investigating officers. After speaking to Zarillo, Troopers Schneeman and Veil of the Pennsylvania State Police arranged to interview Hardin on the evening of December 16th. Hardin told the troopers that on the evening of the 15th, after babysitting until 10:00 p.m., he had driven appellant home, had watched television with him, and had returned to his own home at 1:00 a.m. At trial, Trooper Schneeman testified that Hardin was nervous throughout the interview. Although the troopers knew Hardin's statement was inconsistent with that of appellant, they did not confront Hardin with this inconsistency. Investigators subsequently learned from Officer Terry Johnke of the Rochester Township Police that after concluding an investigation with the Game Commission on the evening of the 15th, Johnke returned to Rochester Township Police Station between 8:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. Johnke testified at trial that when he arrived at the station, Hardin was there, and announced to Johnke that he was expecting a visitor; when the man arrived, Hardin wanted Johnke to leave. Approximately twenty-five minutes later, appellant walked into the station. Johnke stated he knew appellant from a prior occasion and said hello. Johnke left the station about five minutes later, per Hardin's request. When he returned to the station after 11:00 p.m., no one was there. Johnke also testified that he next saw Hardin two days later on December 17th. At that meeting, which also occurred at the police station, Hardin told Johnke that he had been at appellant's house on December 15th watching football, and that appellant was using him as an alibi. Hardin asked Johnke if he remembered Hardin's telling him on the 15th that he and appellant were going to watch football. In addition, Hardin asked Johnke to verify that he (Hardin) had been in the station at 10:30 p.m. on the evening of the 15th. Hardin again stated that a man was coming to the station and requested that Johnke leave. Johnke testified that he left the station when appellant arrived shortly thereafter. Appellant was arrested on December 22, 1986, and charged with the murder of his wife. At the time of the victim's death, Wayne Shackleford was incarcerated in the Beaver County Jail. After seeing a television news report concerning the murder, Shackleford told a fellow inmate, Alphonso Pittrel, that he knew appellant and had had some dealings with him concerning his wife. Pittrel relayed this information to the warden who in turn contacted the police. The police then arranged to interview Shackleford. After a series of denials, Shackleford admitted to police that appellant had solicited him to kill Harlene Mayhue, but that his attempts had been unsuccessful. At trial, Shackleford described appellant's efforts to have his wife killed. Shackleford testified that he first met appellant in the Beaver County Jail when appellant was incarcerated on contempt charges in 1985. After both men were released, they chanced to meet on the street. During the course of their conversation, appellant offered Shackleford $10,000 dollars and a pound of high grade cocaine to kill his wife. (T.T. at 560-61). The two men also discussed three possible plans for carrying out the murder. One plan included bludgeoning Mrs. Mayhue to death with a baseball bat. Another involved shooting the victim in the head, while a third involved arranging the murder to look as if it had occurred during the course of a robbery. (T.T. at 562). In addition, appellant assured Shackleford that he knew judges and lawyers who could help him if anything went wrong. The two men exchanged phone numbers. Appellant and Shackleford began meeting on a regular basis. According to Shackleford, however, he did not plan on killing appellant's wife but wanted to see what he could get out of appellant. Specifically, Shackleford thought that if he appeared to go along with the scheme, appellant would give him a job. Shackleford was able to obtain an initial payment of $500 from appellant after Shackleford told him that he needed certain equipment before he could go to the victim's residence. Appellant later gave Shackleford another $700 to buy a gun and a ten speed bike, [4] and a half-gram of the high grade cocaine appellant had previously offered Shackleford so that Shackleford could test its quality. Following these payments, appellant gave Shackleford a .22 caliber pistol, which they had practiced shooting at a local gun range. This gun was to be used by Shackleford to kill Mrs. Mayhue. Shackleford, however, gave the gun to a friend, Sylvestor Waters. Waters then attempted to sell the gun, but was arrested for possessing a firearm as an ex-convict. The gun was then confiscated. Once the two men began to meet regularly, appellant took Shackleford to the victim's residence four or five times. On one of these occasions, the two were accompanied by James Hardin. According to Shackleford, appellant and Hardin picked him up and drove to a country road near the victim's residence. Appellant, who was dressed in camouflage clothing, then led Shackleford through the woods to Mrs. Mayhue's home. Once there, appellant identified the various buildings on the property for Shackleford, and described the intended victim. The two fled when a truck arrived at the property. Appellant then contacted Hardin on a walkie talkie to come and pick them up. On the ride back to Shackleford's home, appellant and Hardin decided that Shackleford could find his way through the woods, and that the back road would be the drop off point when the time came to kill Mrs. Mayhue. On three occasions after this incident, appellant called Shackleford and told him that Hardin would drive him to the road behind the victim's residence so he could kill Mrs. Mayhue. After each call Hardin picked Shackleford up. On each of these occasions, however, Shackleford failed to commit the murder. On the first occasion, Shackleford merely wandered in the woods after Hardin dropped him off at the appointed spot. He later told appellant that he had been unable to find his way to the victim's residence. Following this botched attempt, appellant placed reflector tags on the trees to insure Shackleford could find his way. Hardin then drove Shackleford to the appointed spot once again. This time Shackleford followed the reflectors to the Mayhue property. Once there, however, he merely sat and watched the horses and again returned home without committing the murder. On the third occasion, Shackleford told Hardin that he didn't feel like killing the victim that evening, and asked Hardin to tell appellant that they had gone to the victim's property but were unable to commit the deed. Hardin agreed and the two went to dinner at the Red Bull Inn. Following these unsuccessful attempts, appellant apparently changed his plan as to how the murder should be carried out. Appellant told Shackleford that he could kill Mrs. Mayhue, put her body in her car, and drive it to Kisow's residence, where the car would be chopped up and the body disposed of. Having by now realized that appellant could not be persuaded to forgo any plans to kill his wife, Shackleford took it upon himself to warn Mrs. Mayhue of appellant's plot to have her killed. On June 10, 1986, he called Mrs. Mayhue from a residence in Ambridge, and, without identifying himself, told her that her life was in danger and that she should be careful. From then on, appellant refused to have anything to do with Shackleford. Immediately after the discovery of Mrs. Mayhue's body, investigators focused their attention on one Edward Lau. These efforts soon uncovered yet another attempt by appellant to solicit someone to kill his wife. On April 17, 1985, Lau and another man, Danny Farrel, had been discovered parked outside of Mrs. Mayhue's residence. That evening Lau had knocked on Mrs. Mayhue's door, telling her that his car had broken down and that he needed water. Mrs. Mayhue refused to open her door and told Lau to go down the road to a gas station. She then called the police. When the police arrived they discovered the two men slouched down in Farrel's car in a parking lot on Mrs. Mayhue's property. A search of the vehicle revealed a ski mask, lighter fluid, and a loaded .25 caliber automatic pistol. [5] At the time of his arrest, Lau told police that the gun was his, that he purchased it at Corney Manns' Bar in McKees Rocks, and that he and Farrel had gotten lost when their car broke down. Lau plead guilty to the firearms violation and received five years probation. Shortly after the victim's murder, detectives went to Lau's residence to question him about the murder as well as the incident in April, 1985. At that time, Lau told detectives that he had gone to Mrs. Mayhue's house in April, 1985 in order to rob it. The detectives then contacted Lau's attorney and arranged to have a meeting with him and Lau. After the meeting, Lau decided to cooperate with the police in their investigation. At trial, Lau testified that in January 1985 he had been solicited by a man named Gerry McCarthy to kill appellant's wife. While working as a busboy at the Sheraton Hotel in Station Square, Lau had met McCarthy, who tended bar at the same hotel. McCarthy often sold cocaine to Lau and the two men sometimes partied together. In January, 1985, McCarthy asked Lau if he wanted to make money by doing a job for him. When Lau indicated his agreement, McCarthy drove him to Beaver County and pointed out the victim's house as the location where the job was to be done. McCarthy then drove to a nearby bar, introduced Lau to a young man at the bar, and told Lau that the man would help him get out of Beaver County if he ever needed any help. McCarthy then drove past the home of Ronald Neish, a friend of McCarthy and Hardin, and told Lau that he could also go there for assistance. On the drive back to Pittsburgh, McCarthy told Lau that the job was to kill the lady who lived in the house he had been shown. McCarthy said that the lady's husband wanted her dead because of their divorce, and was willing to pay $10,000. (T.T. at 876). McCarthy gave Lau a loaded .25 caliber pistol and told him to make sure the hit did not look professional. McCarthy suggested that Lau make it look like a robbery, and either hit the victim with a baseball bat, stab her, or strangle her. McCarthy explained that if Lau hit her in the head with a baseball bat it would be just like hitting a watermelon. McCarthy also assured Lau that if he were caught, everything would be taken care of because they knew people in Beaver County. McCarthy, however, warned Lau not to grab the wrong person because someone else had done that. He also told Lau that he wouldn't want to know what would happen to him if he said anything to anybody. (T.T. at 889). About a week later, McCarthy asked Lau when he was going to kill the woman. Lau told him that he needed a ride out to the property. McCarthy then arranged to use his girlfriend's vehicle, and he, his girlfriend, and Lau traveled to Mrs. Mayhue's residence. McCarthy dropped Lau off on a road behind the residence and Lau followed a creek to the victim's house. Lau, however, merely sat behind Mrs. Mayhue's garage, and told McCarthy that no one was home. The three then returned to Pittsburgh. After this incident, McCarthy told Lau that he could no longer drive Lau to the property, since he wanted to have an alibi whenever the murder occurred. McCarthy asked Lau to let him know when the murder would be committed so McCarthy could arrange to be where people were going to see him. McCarthy then gave Lau keys to one of the buildings on the property as well as a floor plan of the victim's house. Lau next arranged to have his friend, Danny Farrel, drive him to the victim's house. Lau had told Farrel that they were going to the house to pick up stolen goods. When they arrived, Lau walked up to the residence, but returned to the car with the information that no one was home. They then left the area. On April 17, 1985, Lau and Farrel returned to Mrs. Mayhue's residence. As previously noted, the two were discovered by the police and arrested. In February, 1987, the police were contacted by Steve Gavura, the owner of a landscaping and excavation business who owned property adjacent to Mrs. Mayhue's residence on Sunflower Road. He was also a friend of appellant and Hardin. Gavura told investigators that on the afternoon of April 5, 1985, Hardin and appellant drove to the job site where Gavura was working, and asked if they could borrow his pick-up truck. Gavura said they could. Later that evening, Hardin returned the truck to Gavura's property where Gavura was training one of his employees, Hudson Gibson, to operate a large excavator. Hardin asked Gavura if he would be willing to bury a dog for him. Gavura said that he would, and ordered Gibson to begin digging the hole. [6] While Gibson was excavating, Hardin told Gavura that he wanted to talk to him privately. The two then went to Gavura's mobile home, where Hardin told Gavura that the four legged dog was really a two legged dog. (T.T. at 25). Hardin explained that he wanted to bury the body of a man whom appellant had hired to kill his wife. Appellant had given the man money, but the man had failed to do the job. Hardin said that he, appellant, and [G]erry the hit man had shot the guy in the back of the head with a .25 caliber pistol. (T.T. at 1052). Hardin told Gavura that they had wanted to bury the body on the property of Howard Stuber, a business associate of appellant, but had been unable to gain access to Stuber's backhoe. Gravura was assured that if he agreed to bury the body then, Hardin and appellant would come back at a later date and move it somewhere else. Gavura agreed. Although Hardin did identify the dead man, Gavura later learned that the body was that of one Earl Span. [7] One to two months after this incident, appellant, Gavura, and Hardin were again at Gavura's property. On this occasion appellant pointed towards the spot where Hardin and Gavura had buried Span, and said to Gavura, Thanks for taking care of that down there. (T.T. at 1066). Gavura testified that appellant appeared to know where the body was even though he had not been present at the time of the burial, and Gavura had never told him the location of the grave. Appellant went on to tell Gavura, who was also going through a difficult divorce, that, I'm going to take care of my wife first, and yours, we will take care of her later. (T.T. at 1066). Appellant and Hardin also informed Gavura that [G]erry the hit man was a real professional, a good hit man, and that he could do the job for Gavura. According to appellant and Hardin, [G]erry the hit man worked as a bartender at Station Square in Pittsburgh and dealt drugs. (T.T. at 1067). On December 15, 1986, as Gavura returned to his house at about 11:15 p.m., he noticed Hardin's vehicle parked on his property, facing towards the victim's residence. He pulled up, and saw Hardin inside his car with a police scanner and a handheld radio. Gavura could hear a male voice speaking to Hardin, but was unable to identify it. Hardin immediately told Gavura to move his car because he was blocking the view. Hardin then pointed towards the victim's residence, and told him that appellant was down there and its going down. Later, while Gavura was taking a shower, Hardin knocked on the door and asked for some water. Hardin explained that appellant had knocked his wife's eyes out and made a mess. (T.T. at 1090). When Hardin later returned the water container he told Gavura that it had been just like Jimmy Hoffa, and that Gavura's wife would be next. (T.T. at 1092). The following day, Gavura heard that the police had found Mrs. Mayhue's body in the trunk of a car. When he drove to Hardin's residence in the afternoon to drop off some insurance papers, he found Hardin cleaning out the trunk of his car. Hardin asked Gavura to help him gather up ammunition which was lying loose in his trunk, and to help find a glove that Hardin had lost. Gavura looked into the trunk and saw loose.25 caliber ammunition as well as camouflage clothing. He refused to help Hardin, saying that he didn't want to put his fingerprints on anything. Gavura then brought up the subject of Harlene Mayhue's death. Hardin got excited at that point and said, I told those guys how to do it, they didn't listen to me. The conversation ended with the arrival of Chief Zarillo. Later that day, Gavura confided to Howard Stuber that Hardin had been in his driveway the previous evening. Stuber advised him to go to the police or get an attorney. Gavura then went to attorney Eugene Martucci, and told him about the incident. When Gavura came to pay his respects at the funeral home, he was confronted by appellant who told him that attorney Martucci had told him what Gavura had said. Appellant warned Gavura not to say a f___ing thing about Jimmy (Hardin) being in [his] driveway that night. (T.T. at 1101-1120). After this conversation at the funeral home, Hardin began calling Gavura, asking him to tell police that the only reason he had been at Gavura's house on the night of the 15th was to bring Gavura a bottle of Scotch. Hardin also asked Gavura not to take the police to where they had buried Earl Span; but rather, to take them to a spot where Gavura had actually buried a dead dog. Gavura, however, told Hardin to leave him alone, and informed him that he was going to tell the police what he knew about appellant and Hardin. Hardin was subsequently arrested in February, 1987. Gavura also showed police where the body had been buried on his property. On February 12, 1987, police disinterred the corpse and identified it as the body of Earl Span. Later, in September of that year, investigators learned from an inmate at the Allegheny County jail named Wilbert Alexander that appellant's arrest had not ended his efforts to thwart justice. At trial, Alexander testified that during June of 1987, he had been incarcerated following his arrest by Agent Pat McCarthy of the Attorney General's Office on drug charges unrelated to the present matter. At the time of his arrest, Alexander had agreed to aid the Attorney General's Office in ongoing drug investigations. On September 10, 1987, Alexander related to Agent McCarthy that appellant had repeatedly approached him about killing certain witnesses against him, and that appellant had arranged for Alexander to meet with him on September 11th. (Suppression Hearing Transcript (S.H.T.) at 90). McCarthy then relayed this information to investigators who arranged for Alexander to wear a body wire. It was agreed that Alexander would tell appellant that he was getting out of prison, but that he would otherwise let appellant do the talking. In addition, Alexander was specifically instructed to avoid any conversation relating to the murder case pending against appellant. On the 11th, Alexander met with appellant and told him he would soon be released from prison. Appellant then gave Alexander certain information about the witnesses he wanted killed. The witnesses, however, were not murdered and appellant and Hardin were subsequently tried and convicted for the death of Harlene Mayhue. [8] Appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his conviction for murder of the first degree. Nonetheless we are required to conduct an independent review of the record to determine if the evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction for murder of the first degree. Commonwealth v. Zettlemoyer, 500 Pa. 16, 454 A.2d 937 (1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 970, 103 S.Ct. 2444, 77 L.Ed.2d 1327 (1983). Having done so, we find the evidence in the present case overwhelmingly supports appellant's conviction. Appellant's repeated attempts to solicit someone to kill his wife, coupled with Hardin's statements to Gavura on the night of the murder, and appellant and Hardin's attempts to conceal their whereabouts on December 15, 1986, clearly establish beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant murdered Harlene Mayhue.