Opinion ID: 2766626
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Testimony regarding out-of-court statements

Text: At trial, Misty Abbott testified that during the ride to Shasta Lake, Morris told her that he had killed a woman; specifically, he had tried to strangle her but because she did not die he took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her. She testified that during the ride back to her mother‘s trailer, after they dumped the truck into the lake, defendant and Morris fired their guns out the windows of the car. When she was interviewed by Wilson‘s private investigator, she also said that Morris and defendant were laughing about the murder and calling each other ―down white boys.‖ Misty‘s brother, Shane Fernalld, testified that while he and defendant were driving to Sacramento, defendant told Fernalld either ―she deserved it‖ or ―she didn‘t deserve it‖; he was not sure which. Before trial, however, he told several law enforcement officers that defendant‘s statement was ―she deserved it‖ or ―the old bitch deserved it.‖ Morris‘s grandfather testified that Morris called him from jail, sounding very upset, and told him that his friends had turned against him and were going to testify that he had killed Bone, but that he had not done it.2 This call occurred an hour or two before Morris committed suicide by hanging himself in his jail cell. Jonathan Howe, a prisoner who had been housed with defendant in the county jail, testified that defendant told him defendant had ordered Wilson and Morris to tie up Bone and kill her. According to Howe, defendant also told him that he could not be linked to the murder with DNA evidence because he had never touched the body. Defendant told him either that he had enjoyed watching 2 The trial court admonished the jury that it could not consider for its truth Morris‘s statement to his grandfather that he did not kill Bone; the court explained that testimony was relevant only in evaluating Misty‘s testimony regarding Morris‘s confession to him. 6 Bone be killed or he enjoyed the fact that she died. Howe testified under an agreement that permitted him to plead guilty to pending charges for a sentence of, at most, 24 months, consecutive to a term he was already serving. Prior to coming forward he had been offered a plea bargain with a 24-month consecutive sentence. Under the new plea agreement, he could receive a sentence of less than 24 months; his sentencing was postponed until after trial in the present case, at which time the judge presiding over defendant‘s trial would decide his sentence.