Opinion ID: 2582487
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Commission of Murders in furtherance of [r]obbery (RCW 10.95.020(11)(a))

Text: ¶ 44 Yates claims that the evidence was insufficient to establish that he committed the murders in furtherance of . . . [r]obbery. RCW 10.95.020(11)(a). RCW 9A.56.190 provides that [a] person commits robbery when he unlawfully takes personal property from the person of another or in his presence against his will by the use or threatened use of immediate force, violence, or fear of injury. The murder and the robbery must be in `close proximity in terms of time and distance,' and they must be causally connected. Brown, 132 Wash.2d at 608, 940 P.2d 546 (quoting State v. Leech, 114 Wash.2d 700, 706, 790 P.2d 160 (1990)). ¶ 45 The State presented evidence that women engaged in prostitution typically require payment prior to the negotiated sexual act and that, because they are often robbed, they commonly hide their money in their shoes, brassieres, or underwear. 50 VRP at 4432-33. On the evening that Mercer was last seen, she was wearing a tank top, a brassiere, a floral skirt, shoes, a denim jacket, and a black coat, and she was carrying a purse. 55 VRP at 5326-28, 5344-45. However, when Mercer's nude body was discovered the following day, her tank top, brassiere, shoes, and purse were missing, and no cash was found on or near her body. Id. at 5385-86; 56 VRP at 5468. Similarly, Ellis's body was found clothed in a blouse, jeans, and socks, but lacking undergarments; a single shoe was found some distance from the body, and no purse or money was found nearby. 57 VRP at 5752-54; 58 VRP at 5906-07. Additionally, the State provided evidence that Yates and his wife had money problems that prompted them to make periodic inquiries regarding Yates's paychecks for National Guard duty. 58 VRP at 5831-33. ¶ 46 Viewed in the light most favorable to the State, the State's circumstantial evidence could have persuaded a rational trier of fact that Yates murdered Mercer and Ellis in furtherance of robbery. The jury could have reasonably believed that Yates negotiated the price of a sexual act, paid up front, murdered the women, and then took their money, disturbing or taking articles of clothing in which the women were likely to have concealed their money.