Opinion ID: 3046279
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: m. on February 24.

Text: McMullen objected to the admission of his police statement on corpus delicti grounds. The trial court denied his objections and allowed the statement into evidence. However, the jury also heard testimony from the pathologist who autopsied Barcelona in 1985. The pathologist reiterated his finding of accidental drowning based on the condition of the body and the fact that neither the body nor the location of the drowning showed signs of a struggle. He acknowledged the existence of 4 bruising and lacerations on Barcelona’s forehead, adding that such injuries could not have been caused by the impact of falling from the bridge. Nevertheless, he stated that the head injuries could have occurred after the fall and prior to drowning. He finally commented that no additional evidence had come to light since 1985 that would have a bearing on his original autopsy report. In December 1990, the jury found McMullen guilty of both burglary and second degree murder. The trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the murder conviction and eleven months to five years of imprisonment for the burglary conviction. On appeal, the Pennsylvania Superior Court vacated both convictions and remanded for a new trial (“McMullen I”). Commonwealth v. McMullen, 616 A.2d 14, 17 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1992). It specifically held that the Commonwealth failed to establish the requisite corpus delicti for the homicide charge and that the trial court accordingly committed reversible error by admitting McMullen’s statement to the police into evidence. Id. The Commonwealth appealed. According to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (“McMullen II”), the Pennsylvania Superior Court properly applied the corpus delicti rule with respect to the homicide charge. Commonwealth v. McMullen, 681 A.2d 717, 720-23 (Pa. 1996). On the other hand, the McMullen II court found that “the Superior Court offered no explanation as to why it also vacated Appellee’s burglary conviction,” even though the Commonwealth clearly established the corpus delicti for this charge. Id. at 723. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ultimately “affirm[ed] that portion of the Superior Court’s Order vacating Appellee’s conviction for second degree murder, but reverse[d] that portion of the Superior Court’s Order vacating Appellee’s conviction for burglary.” Id. The Commonwealth then received permission to exhume 5 Barcelona’s body and conduct a second autopsy. Following the second autopsy, the cause of death was ruled to be homicide. McMullen filed a motion to dismiss the homicide charge on double jeopardy grounds. The trial court denied this motion, and the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed its ruling on interlocutory appeal (“McMullen III”). Commonwealth v. McMullen, 721 A.2d 370, 372 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1998). The Pennsylvania Superior Court held that a retrial was permissible because the evidence admitted at the first trial, including McMullen’s statement to the police, was sufficient to sustain a murder conviction. Id. at 371-72. It further determined that the Commonwealth should be given an opportunity to present its entire case before a ruling on the corpus delicti issue. Id. at 372.