Opinion ID: 1959182
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Trial Guilt Phase

Text: Given the admissibility of defendant's confession, the State's proofs during the guilt-phase of the trial were essentially directed at corroborating the facts to which defendant himself had confessed. Also, the State's evidence addressed defendant's fear of prosecution for his sexual relationship with the Basses' minor daughter and his forceful entrance into the Basses' home. The State sought to characterize McDougald's apprehension at the possibility of being prosecuted as his motive for the murders of August 19th. In its opening to the jury, the defense conceded McDougald's guilt of the numerous offenses. The defense stated:         Often ... I can deny that my client was involved. I can deny that he did essentially what the Prosecutor said he did. But, unfortunately in this case, ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately for the defense and Mr. McDougald we can't deny it in this case because essentially, and I say essentially because perhaps not completely, essentially the facts as presented to you by the Prosecutor are what happened that morning.... But, again we urge you to keep an open mind because this case is about more than guilt or innocence. It is about whether or not Mr. McDougald lives or dies.         The defense maintained this tactical posture of admitting McDougald's guilt throughout the guilt phase of the trial. The defense conducted virtually no cross-examination of the State's witnesses and proffered no evidence. The State presented photographs and witnesses describing the discovery and condition of the decedents at the scene, the evidence found, and the investigation. The officers involved in the case who testified for the State detailed a scene that corroborated Anthony McDougald's account. Officer Marvel, along with his partner first on the scene, testified that they had arrived at 14 Bedford Street at approximately 3:55 a.m. and found the front door broken open, a male decedent lying on the floor of the kitchen up against a wall, and a female decedent and crying infant in the front bedroom. Detective Conti described how he and Detective Smith, a crime-scene technician with the State Police, diagramed, searched, and photographed the premises, and collected the evidence. The State presented various crime scene photographs, in conjunction with Detective Conti's testimony. Those photographs showed the victims, the broken lock on the front door, the bedroom, and the kitchen. Detective Conti also identified a baseball bat, bedsheets, brassiere, and cinderblock, as materials found on the scene. He also identified the maroon pants as those taken from defendant on the morning of August 20th. Detective Eutsey testified to the steps he took in identifying and locating defendant, much of which has been set out above. After authenticating the statement made to him by defendant on August 20th, the Detective read that statement to the jury. A captain of the Newark Fire Department testified that he responded to a fire at 69 Somerset Street at approximately 11:30 p.m. and extinguished a fire in the bedroom of the first floor apartment. Officers Moore and Boswell told the jury about their response to Maria Bass' calls on June 10th and June 18th, respectively. Chemists from the State Police Laboratory testified, based on their analysis of the forensic evidence and blood and enzyme comparisons, that the sheet and pillowcase found in the front bedroom showed stains of blood consistent with that of Maria Bass. Also, the cinderblock and bat had traces of human blood, and the maroon pants taken from the defendant had tested positive for human blood consistent with either or both victims. A red rayon fiber recovered from the bedsheet compared physically and chemically with the pants defendant was wearing at the time of his arrest. Dr. Melczer, from the Essex County Medical Examiner's Office, outlined the findings of his autopsy examinations of the victims' bodies. Dr. Melczer explained that both victims had suffered two distinct sorts of injuries; those caused by stabbing and those caused by blunt force. Walter Bass had two fatal stab wounds to the left side of his chest, as well as superficial stab wounds to the abdomen and neck. He also suffered serious head injuries caused by a blunt instrument. His left ear was completely crushed, and his skull was fractured on both sides of his head. The doctor posited that both the stab wounds and blows to the head were capable of causing the victim's death. In Dr. Melczer's opinion Walter Bass had survived for about ten to fifteen minutes. Maria Bass had multiple blunt-force injuries to the head, which crushed her skull and were determined to be the cause of her death. Her left ear was crushed and the skull underneath fractured like an egg shell. Additionally, there was a deep slash to her neck and a baseball bat protruded from her vagina. Dr. Melczer said that Maria Bass lost consciousness within a few minutes but survived for five to ten minutes. That testimony was supplemented by clinical photographs of the decedents, taken at the police laboratory. The defense strenuously objected to the introduction of those photographs, alleging that they were highly prejudicial, repetitive of the previously-introduced crime-scene pictures, and again unnecessarily enlarged. Although the State was precluded from offering the enlargements of the photographs, most of them nonetheless were ruled admissible. Antoinette James, Bernice Simmons, and Marilyn Howard, all involved romantically with defendant during the months prior to the crimes, testified for the State. They described McDougald's evolving relationship with the Basses, his belief that the Basses had filed criminal charges against him, and his altercations with them. Although no objections to the jury charge are recorded, attorneys for defendant had previously argued that the trial court should omit language permitting a guilty verdict to capital murder based on a finding that defendant intended to cause serious bodily injury to his victims. The court denied that request. The defense also had requested that the trial court reiterate the distinction drawn under the capital statute between murder by one's own conduct and as an accomplice, specifically that something more is required than that the defendant aided and abetted in the murders. To this end, the defense requested a charge that the jury had to find beyond a reasonable doubt that it was the batteries inflicted by Anthony McDougald that had caused the victims' deaths before it could convict him of knowing and purposeful murder by his own conduct. The defense asserted that if it was a combination of several persons' blows or the jury could not ascertain which injuries caused the deaths, McDougald could not be found guilty of these counts. The trial court held that the causation issue was one of fact for jury resolution. With respect to the related accomplice issue, a verdict sheet was prepared in which a finding of knowing and purposeful murder triggered a choice between two options. The jury could find that either the killings were committed by defendant's own conduct or he was an accomplice in the murders. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts, except count ten of which defendant was found guilty of the lesser-included offense of third degree arson. The homicides were found to be committed by defendant's own conduct.