Opinion ID: 2607400
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Bouwkamp's final contention is that the evidence presented at his trial was insufficient to support his conviction of murder in the first degree under either the premeditation or felony murder theories argued by the state. Bouwkamp directs most of his argument to the felony murder theory, claiming that there was not sufficient evidence of robbery in light of his alternative explanation of how the victim's body came to be stripped and Lennick's possession of some of Millox's personal effects. Bouwkamp claimed that Millox's body was stripped of clothing and property after his death only to cover up his identity. However, our reading of the record reveals that the jury had enough evidence and reasonable inferences available to it on which to find that Millox was murdered only after the intent to commit robbery was formed and to effect that purpose. To determine whether sufficient evidence of a crime exists, [w]e examine all the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. Mendicoa v. State, 771 P.2d 1240, 1243 (Wyo.1989). See also Broom v. State, 695 P.2d 640, 642 (Wyo.1985). In so doing, we note the testimony of Bouwkamp's drinking with Millox while the victim placed his stack of bills on the bar, the travel of the trio to a remote location, the ultimate disappearance of the victim's cash without any explanation, and Lennick's retention of Millox's personal items having utility or value. Our standard of review is not whether the evidence is sufficient for us, but whether, when viewed favorably to the state, it was enough on which a jury could form a reasonable inference of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Mendicoa, 771 P.2d at 1243. That test is satisfied in this case. Likewise, we find the evidence of premeditation sufficient. We are somewhat troubled with the evidence of premeditation offered by the state. It is apparent that the hedgerow separating the offenses of first and second degree murder has fallen into some disrepair, requiring that we do some pruning to restore the boundary. Wyo.Stat. § 6-2-101 defines murder in the first degree as a killing committed purposely and with premeditated malice [or one occurring in the course of a felony or attempted felony]. Wyo.Stat. § 6-2-104 (June 1988) defines murder in the second degree as a killing committed purposely and maliciously, but without premeditation. As second degree murder is a lesser included offense of first degree murder, State v. Selig, 635 P.2d 786, 791 (Wyo.1981), a distinction obviously exists between the charges, which is the element of premeditation required for a finding of murder in the first degree. Another apparent distinction is that first degree murder is a specific intent crime, requiring proof of the element of intent, while second degree murder is a general intent crime, requiring only proof of the element of voluntariness. Crozier v. State, 723 P.2d 42, 52 (Wyo. 1986). We conclude premeditation is the specific intent element which distinguishes the two types of murder. Premeditation, or premeditated malice, should be accorded its ordinary meaning, which has been applied in our decisions for some time. It is the thinking over, deliberating upon, weighing in the mind beforehand, resulting in a deliberate intention to kill which constitutes the killing murder in the first degree. Parker v. State, 24 Wyo. 491, 502, 161 P. 552, 555 (1916). Premeditation may be inferred from the facts and circumstances. Murry v. State, 713 P.2d 202, 206 (Wyo.1986); Goodman v. State, 573 P.2d 400, 407 (Wyo. 1977). This court's recent discussions of premeditation have focused on the passage of time required to establish premeditation. See generally, Murry, 713 P.2d at 206-07. While it is true that no specific or substantial time period is required, there must be evidence of cool calculation beyond the mere opportunity to deliberate, such as a demonstrated motive, State v. Williams, 285 N.W.2d 248, 268 (Iowa 1979), [2] or leaving an altercation to arm oneself. Murry, 713 P.2d at 207. Otherwise, having said an instant is sufficient, we have inadvertently eliminated any principled distinction between the evidentiary requirements for the two degrees of homicide. See State v. Ollens, 107 Wash.2d 848, 733 P.2d 984, 987 (1987). The question is not only, did the accused have time to think, but did he think? Williams, 285 N.W.2d at 268 (quoting State v. Wilson, 234 Iowa 60, 94, 11 N.W.2d 737, 754 (1943)). [3] The state does not make a compelling case for premeditation. We are simply reminded of the number of blows delivered, the inference that a weapon of some sort was used, and informed that it would be obvious to anyone that such a brutal attack directed at the head would inevitably cause death. Repeated blows with a weapon evidence purpose and demonstrate malice, but repeated blows evidence does not establish premeditation. The state erroneously argues that premeditation can be inferred from the use of a weapon. As we said earlier, this court has held that premeditation may be inferred from the circumstances surrounding the killing. Murry, 713 P.2d at 206. This court has never said that the circumstance of a deadly weapon is by itself enough to infer premeditation. What we have said is that malice may be inferred by the use of a deadly weapon. Braley v. State, 741 P.2d 1061, 1069 (Wyo.1987). Neither can the brutality of a fatal attack, in itself, support an inference of premeditation. State v. Lacquey, 117 Ariz. 231, 234, 571 P.2d 1027, 1030 (1977); People v. Hoffmeister, 394 Mich. 155, 229 N.W.2d 305, 307 (1975). See 2 Wayne R. LaFave & Austin W. Scott, Jr., Substantive Criminal Law § 7.7(a) at 240 (1986). We have examined decisions from other jurisdictions which appear to bootstrap malice in the form of savagely administered wounds into premeditation by characterizing it as circumstances attending the killing. See Heiney v. State, 447 So.2d 210 (Fla.1984); and Tooley v. State, 1 Tenn.Cr. App. 652, 448 S.W.2d 683 (1969). This is inappropriate, and we decline to align Wyoming with these jurisdictions. A sure hazard devolving from the difficulty of establishing premeditation when confronted with a factually heinous crime is that malice tends to assume excessive significance, while the requirement of evidence of preexisting reflection becomes indistinct. We affirm that premeditation remains the defining crux and the distinction which this court will require to uphold a first degree murder conviction. We have taken this opportunity to carefully review our premeditation jurisprudence. We find that heretofore we have not identified and articulated a method for evaluating evidence of premeditation. To clarify what is required on appeal to sustain a conviction of first degree murder and to analyze the evidence presented in this instance, we adopt the three-part framework articulated by the California Supreme Court, applied in California and other jurisdictions. See People v. Bloom, 48 Cal.3d 1194, 774 P.2d 698, 705-07, 259 Cal.Rptr. 669, 676-78 (1989); Williams, 285 N.W.2d at 268; Longoria v. State, 99 Nev. 754, 670 P.2d 939, 941 (1983). See also, 2 LaFave & Scott, supra, § 7.7(a) at 239. We offer the framework verbatim: Evidence sufficient to sustain a finding of premeditation and deliberation falls into three basic categories: (1) facts about    what defendant did prior to the actual killing which show that the defendant was engaged in activity directed toward, and explicable as intended to result in, the killingwhat may be characterized as `planning' activity; (2) facts about the defendant's prior relationship and/or conduct with the victim from which the jury could reasonably infer a `motive' to kill the victim, which inference of motive, together with facts of type (1) or (3) would    support an inference that the killing was the result of `a pre-existing reflection' and `careful thought and weighing of considerations' rather than `mere unconsidered or rash impulse hastily executed'; (3) facts about the nature of the killing from which the jury could infer that the manner of killing was so particular and exacting that the defendant must have intentionally killed according to a `preconceived design' to take [the] victim's life in a particular way for a `reason' which the jury can reasonably infer from facts of type (1) or (2). People v. Crandell, 46 Cal.3d 833, 760 P.2d 423, 441, 251 Cal.Rptr. 227 (1988) (quoting People v. Anderson, 70 Cal.2d 15, 447 P.2d 942, 949, 73 Cal.Rptr. 550, 557 (1968)) (citations omitted). [V]erdicts of first degree murder typically [are sustained] when there is evidence of all three types and otherwise require at least extremely strong evidence of (1) or evidence of (2) in conjunction with either (1) or (3). People v. Anderson, 70 Cal.2d 15, 447 P.2d at 949, 73 Cal.Rptr. at 557. With reference to the foregoing three basic categories, the first type of evidence we consider is that characterized as planning activity. The evidence is questionable regarding activity directed towards, and explicable as intended to result in, the killing. Initially, Bouwkamp did not initiate Millox's fatal trip. Instead, Millox left town with Bouwkamp because he had asked Bouwkamp for a ride home. Subsequent travel to an unpopulated stretch of rural road may be explicable as intended to result in the killing, but the location as readily explained by Bouwkamp's knowledge of, and search for, the after-hours party. The state points to the inferred use of a weapon and relies on Cloman to make the argument that this is a circumstance from which premeditation can be inferred. However, this is a substantially different case. First, the use of a weapon is only inferred, as no weapon was discovered or even specifically described. We are being asked to endorse an inference upon an inference. Second, the state's suggestion is that the weapon used on Millox was probably a tool or stake taken from the back of the shop truck. Use of a weapon of this nature is not, by any reasonable stretch, evidence of planning. Such an instrument is normally found on a vehicle used in construction, and if such a weapon were used, it is at least as suggestive of spontaneity as of planning. Consequently, the state is not asking this court to infer, but to speculate. People v. Rowland, 134 Cal.App.3d 1, 8, 184 Cal.Rptr. 346, 349 (1982). This is distinctly different from the weapon in Cloman, a knife apparently concealed on the person of one of the defendants before encountering the victims, and then used to commit the murders. We find no evidence of planning activity. The second category of evidence is that related to the prior relationship of the accused and the victim that suggests a motive or motives to murder the victim. This court has discussed the significance of motive evidence in several earlier first degree murder cases. Jones v. State, 568 P.2d 837, 844 (Wyo.1977); Buckles v. State, 500 P.2d 518, 523 (Wyo.1972); Keffer v. State, 12 Wyo. 49, 69-70, 73 P. 556, 561 (1903). There is little that suggests animosity between Bouwkamp and Millox. The two interacted for the first time the evening of the murder. They spoke to each other only briefly, near closing time, and that was a friendly conversation, in the course of which they bought each other drinks. At the conclusion of that conversation Millox asked Bouwkamp for a ride home, evidence of their mutual comfort level. Lennick did have some sort of brief altercation with Millox earlier that evening, but Bouwkamp was only peripherally involved. However, there is evidence of motive for robbery, or avoiding detection for robbery, based on Bouwkamp's observation at the bar of Millox's roll of bills. Robbery is sufficient motive to justify an inference of premeditation. Keffer, 73 P. at 561; State v. Gordon, 354 N.W.2d 783, 784 (Iowa 1984); Ollens, 733 P.2d at 987. The final category is evidence of the nature of the killing from which the jury could infer that the manner of killing was so particular and exacting that the defendant must have intentionally killed according to a `preconceived design.' Here there is merit in the state's argument regarding the blows administered to Millox. The exacting application of repeated, severe blows across the face is evidence supporting the inference of a deliberate intent to kill. Returning to the analytical framework, evidence of the nature of the killing to support a finding of premeditation must be supported by reasons reasonably inferred from category (1) or category (2) facts. As robbery is sufficient motive, here support for the evidence of the nature of the killing exists from category (2) evidence, motive. While the evidence is not overwhelming, we again employ our standard of review for sufficiency of the evidence in a criminal case and find the verdict adequately supported. We consider only whether the jury could find as it did, and not whether we would have reached the same result. Mendicoa, 771 P.2d at 1243. Doing so, we find the evidence of premeditation sufficient to support an inference of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Our analysis does not reveal evidence from all three categories since we do not identify evidence of planning activity. However, the motive of robbery is present and may properly be coupled with the exacting nature of the fatal blows to Millox's skull to support an inference of premeditation. We hold that the evidence considered by the jury was sufficient to sustain Bouwkamp's conviction on both felony murder and premeditation theories. As this court recently held in Price v. State, 807 P.2d 909 (Wyo.1991), where the evidence is sufficient to support the jury's determination of guilt under either a premeditation or a felony murder theory, we will sustain a general verdict of guilt. Bouwkamp's arguments are not persuasive, and his conviction is affirmed.