Opinion ID: 2508126
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did the Trial Court Err in Admitting into Evidence Gruesome Photographs of the Murder Victim?

Text: The defendant's next argument is that the trial court erred in allowing the State to introduce into evidence 21 photographs of the victim's body. The defendant argues that these photographs were gruesome, unduly repetitious, not relevant, and introduced solely for the purpose of prejudicing the jury. Generally, all relevant evidence is admissible. K.S.A. 60-407(f). Relevant evidence is defined as evidence having any tendency in reason to prove any material fact. K.S.A. 60-401(b). As we recently stated: Photographs depicting the extent, nature, and number of wounds inflicted are generally relevant in a murder case. Photographs which are relevant and material in assisting the jury's understanding of medical testimony are admissible. Specifically, photographs which aid a pathologist in explaining the cause of death are admissible. Photographs used to prove the manner of death and the violent nature of the crime are relevant and admissible. State v. Parker, 277 Kan. 838, Syl. ¶ 5, 89 P.3d 622 (2004). In this case, all of the photographs about which a complaint is made are relevant. Exhibit 5 is a photograph of the victim's face taken after he was recovered from the river. Alisha Gray identified the victim from this photograph and testified that the injury to his forehead was consistent with what she had observed on the night of the murder. The pathologist, Dr. Mitchell, testified that the photograph showed two L-shaped tears on the victim's left forehead and temple, as well as an abrasion on the nose and a laceration on the jaw. Dr. Mitchell explained that most of the victim's injuries were consistent with his having been hit by a bat or bolt cutters. Crime scene investigator Kim Crockett testified about exhibits 63 through 75. Exhibits 63 through 67 are photographs of the victim wrapped in a tarp with decorative bricks attached, showing different views and close-ups of the bricks and the metallic string that attached the bricks to the tarp. Exhibits 68 through 75 showed how the victim was bound and had a plastic bag placed over his head. These photographs showed the steps taken by Cavaness and others in disposing of the body and concealing the crime. Thus, these photographs were relevant to show the violent nature of the death as well as to provide evidence of premeditation, a contested element of the crime. See State v. Boone, 277 Kan. 208, Syl. ¶ 10, 83 P.3d 195 (2004) (conduct after killing relevant to show premeditation). Dr. Mitchell, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on the victim, testified about the remaining photographs. These were photographs of the different injuries to the victim's head. They showed the extent, nature, and number of the wounds inflicted; showed the violent nature of the death; and assisted Dr. Mitchell in explaining that the cause of death was the head wounds rather than a snapped neck, as theorized by the defendant. Even though relevant, the trial court had the discretion to exclude the photographs if the probative value was substantially outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice, see State v. Dreiling, 274 Kan. 518, 549, 54 P.3d 475 (2002) or if the photographs were unduly repetitious and cumulative, see Parker, 277 Kan. at 847. Discretion is abused only when no reasonable person would take the view adopted by the trial court; the burden of proof is on the party alleging that such discretion has been abused. State v. Bey, 270 Kan. 544, 546, 17 P.3d 322 (2001). Having viewed the photographs in this case, we cannot find an abuse of discretion. As a final argument, the defendant contends that the State could have used exhibit 126 which apparently was a diagram or sketch of the body with Dr. Mitchell's notes giving the location of the injuries. We reject this argument for several reasons. First, exhibit 126 is not included in the record on appeal. Second, while the defendant did make this argument before the trial court, he did so only after the photographs had already been admitted. Finally, a diagram or sketch is not an adequate substitute for a photograph in its ability to show the jury the nature of the victim's wounds. The defendant has failed to establish that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting the complained-of photographs.