Opinion ID: 2358836
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Facts and Trial Court Judgment

Text: The facts must be viewed in the light most favorable to the verdicts. State v. Shurn, 866 S.W.2d 447, 455 (Mo. banc 1993), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 837, 115 S.Ct. 118, 130 L.Ed.2d 64 (1994). Since the standard under which we view the facts is the same as for a direct appeal, the facts of Rousan I, are adopted and summarized in this opinion. On September 21, 1993, Rousan, his son, Brent Rousan, and Rousan's brother, Robert Rousan, met and discussed stealing cattle from Charles and Grace Lewis. Charles Lewis, 67, and his wife, Grace, 62, lived near the farm where Rousan resided. Having devised a plan, the Rousans set out for the Lewis farm. On the way they discussed killing Mr. and Mrs. Lewis. They agreed that if it had to be done it had to be done. As Rousan, Robert, and Brent drove past the Lewis farm, Rousan pointed out the cattle that they would be stealing. Rousan parked his truck approximately two miles from the farm. He got out of the truck and removed a .22 caliber rifle that belonged to his girlfriend, Mary Lambing. He loaded the rifle for use in the crime in case anyone was home. Rousan and his son then argued over who would carry the gun. Brent said that he was man enough to do whatever needed to be done and that he would use the weapon. Rousan at first stated that Brent was not man enough, but eventually gave him the gun. He warned Brent that if they were caught, they would fry. The three men then hiked through the woods to the Lewis farm where they waited under cover behind a fallen tree. Between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. that afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis returned home. Mr. Lewis began to mow the lawn. Mrs. Lewis spoke on the phone to the couple's oldest daughter, who called at approximately 4 p.m. Brent grew tired of waiting and exclaimed that he wanted to do it. Rousan told Brent to wait until Rousan and Robert had secured the house. Rousan headed for the front door and Robert made his way to the back door. Before they got to the door, Mr. Lewis saw Brent and called out. Brent fired at least six shots from the rifle, all of which struck Mr. Lewis. Mr. Lewis died as a result of the multiple gunshot wounds. Mrs. Lewis, speaking by telephone with her daughter, told her daughter that she heard gunfire and hung up the telephone. As Mrs. Lewis exited the house through the front door, Brent shot her several times. Although the bullets fractured both of Mrs. Lewis' arms, the wounds were not fatal. Mrs. Lewis ran back into the house. Rousan followed her, removed a garment bag from a coat rack, placed the bag over Mrs. Lewis' head and the upper part of her body, picked her up, and carried her outside. When Rousan placed Mrs. Lewis on the ground, she was alive. Rousan turned to Brent and instructed him to finish her off. Brent fired one shot into the left side of Mrs. Lewis' head. The shot killed her. The three men wrapped the bodies in a tarpaulin and tied it with a rope. Rousan instructed that they should pick up the shell casings and clean up the blood stains. After doing so, the men deposited the bodies near a shed and left, planning to return later to get the bodies and the cattle. The three men, along with Jerry Rousan, another of Rousan's brothers, returned to the Lewis farm that night. There they loaded the bodies into Mr. Lewis' truck. They took two cows, a VCR, jewelry, soda, two gas cans, and a saddle. The four men then returned to Mary Lambing's farm, where Rousan lived. On the return trip, Brent bragged about the murders. At the Lambing farm, the men buried Mr. and Mrs. Lewis in a shallow grave by the barn. After digging the grave and placing the bodies in it, the men poured concrete over the bodies. They covered the grave with a pile of manure. They burned rags used to clean the blood from the Lewis house. The men disposed of the Lewises' property in various ways. On the night of the murders, the men consumed the soda. The cows were later sold at auction. Robert Rousan gave the VCR to his sister and brother-in-law, Barbara and Bruce Williams, on the day following the murders. Mr. and Mrs. Williams sold the VCR to a local pawnbroker approximately eight months later. Rousan buried the couple's personal items. He gave the remainder of the jewelry to Mary Lambing on special occasions during the following year. The four men hid and later burned Mr. Lewis' truck. Rousan, armed with a .22 caliber rifle, was arrested at the barn without incident. He was taken to the Washington County sheriff's department. There, the officers advised Rousan of his Miranda rights and questioned him. Rousan provided information that implicated himself in the murders. He told the police that he had first met the victims in 1975. He saw them again in 1989 after he escaped from custody in the State of Washington and sought refuge at their farm. When Mr. Lewis discovered Rousan hiding in his barn, Mr. Lewis fed him, clothed him, and when Rousan left the farm two weeks later, Mr. Lewis gave him twenty dollars. Shortly after that time, Rousan was apprehended and returned to prison. After release from prison in June of 1993, Rousan returned to the farm to thank Mr. and Mrs. Lewis for their kindness and to rekindle their friendship, he said. According to Rousan, Mrs. Lewis was in poor health. Rousan explained that Mr. Lewis asked Rousan to kill Mrs. Lewis to put her out of her misery, and to kill him because he did not want to live without his wife. Rousan also claimed that he was hired by Charles Lewis, IV, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, to kill them in exchange for fifty-thousand dollars. Rousan maintained, however, that his actual motivation for the murders was mercy. The police discovered the Lewises' bodies at Mary Lambing's farm. They also discovered the murder weapon and various articles of the Lewises' personal property there. Rousan was charged with the murder of Charles and Grace Lewis. The jury found Rousan guilty of two counts of first degree murder. At the penalty phase, the state introduced evidence of Rousan's prior convictions for rape, assault, escape, and unlawful possession of a firearm. In addition, the state presented testimony from family members of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis with respect to the impact of their deaths on the family. Rousan presented testimony of friends and family members in mitigation of punishment. The jury found five statutory aggravating circumstances with respect to Grace Lewis' murder and recommended that Rousan be sentenced to death. The jury also recommended that Rousan be sentenced to death for the murder of Charles Lewis. The jury found four statutory aggravating circumstances with respect to his murder. The trial court sentenced Rousan to death for the murder of Grace Lewis and life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the murder of Charles Lewis. This Court affirmed on direct appeal. Thereafter, Rousan filed a timely Rule 29.15 motion in the trial court for post-conviction relief. He claimed his attorneys, Richard Scholz and Robert Wolfrum, were ineffective. The court appointed counsel and held a hearing on Rousan's claims. On December 28, 1999, the circuit court overruled his motion.