Opinion ID: 4464659
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: State’s Witnesses in Its Case-In-Chief

Text: In summary, various witnesses called by the State testified as follows regarding evidence relevant to the questions on certiorari. (. . . continued) Murder in the second degree. (1) Except as provided in section 707-701, a person commits the offense of murder in the second degree if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the death of another person. (2) Murder in the second degree is a felony for which the defendant shall be sentenced to imprisonment as provided in section 706-656. 4 HRS § 706-656 provides in pertinent part as follows: Terms of imprisonment for first and second degree murder and attempted first and second degree murder. . . . . (2) Except as provided in section 706-657, pertaining to enhanced sentence for second degree murder, persons convicted of second degree murder and attempted second degree murder shall be sentenced to life imprisonment with possibility of parole. 5 The indictment stated: On or about July 21, 2014, in the City and County of Honolulu, State of Hawai̒i, KIMBERLY J. UDO did intentionally or knowingly cause the death of Sandra Lee Wollaston thereby committing the offense of Murder in the Second Degree, in violation of Sections 707-701.5 and 706656 of the Hawai̒i Revised Statutes. 6 The Honorable Rom A. Trader presided. 5  FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND THE PACIFIC REPORTER  Paramedic Kelly Kihe (“Kihe”) responded to a 911 call for assistance at 1150 Bishop Street on July 21, 2014. When Kihe arrived on the scene, Wollaston was lying motionless on her back; Wollaston could not speak and her vital signs were weak. At 4:40 a.m., while in the ambulance, Wollaston lost her pulse, her heart stopped beating on its own, and she no longer breathed spontaneously. The paramedics used a defibrillator on Wollaston and also administered four doses of epinephrine in attempts to resuscitate her. Kihe’s clinical impression was that Wollaston had a closed head injury and that Wollaston was deceased upon arrival at QMC. Kihe did not have any information indicating that Wollaston was experiencing a heart attack. Charlotte Carter, the medical examiner’s investigator who investigated Wollaston’s death, spoke with Wollaston’s father, who stated Wollaston had a history of prior use of marijuana and methamphetamines. (The jury was instructed, however, not to consider Wollaston’s father’s comments for the truth of the matter asserted.) HPD Officer Jarrett De Soto (“Officer De Soto”), approached Udo on Hotel Street after hearing a suspect description on the morning of July 21, 2014. When he told Udo she was a suspect in 6  FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND THE PACIFIC REPORTER  an assault case, Udo stated, “[S]he hit me first so I went pound her.” Using photographic exhibits, Toy Stech (“Stech”), an evidence specialist with the City and County of Honolulu, pointed out possible injuries to Udo’s upper right cheek, right hand, and right foot on July 21, 2014. HPD Detective Peter Boyle (“Boyle”) went to HPD’s Central Receiving Division to process Udo. While informing Udo that they would be gathering evidence from her, Udo uttered that “she gets beat up all the time in town and the first time she fights back she gets arrested.” According to HPD Detective Daniel Tsue (“Detective Tsue”), the lead detective in Udo’s case, on the morning of July 21, 2014, Kingston appeared to understand his questioning, offered responsive answers, and was understandable. Kazmierski, however, was not responsive to questions, and Detective Tsue did not interview Supee because Supee was asleep during the incident. Detective Tsue confirmed there were no external surveillance cameras near the scene of the incident. Kingston testified as the only eyewitness. Kingston had lived in Hawai‘i for twelve years and had been on and off the streets. When on the streets, he slept by a Bible store at the 7  FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND THE PACIFIC REPORTER  corner of Adams and Bishop Streets. He had known Wollaston for a couple years. At around 10:00 p.m. on the night of July 20, 2014, Kingston, Wollaston, Kazmierski, Supee, and Clinton went to sleep in front of Ninja Sushi after drinking together. At around 2:45 a.m., Kingston, Wollaston, and Kazmierski awoke and had shots of vodka. At around 4:20 a.m., Kingston saw a woman slamming her dog against a wall. Kingston identified Udo as the woman he saw that morning. According to Kingston, Wollaston was also awake and said something to Udo. Udo then responded to Wollaston from about three feet away, cursing, then approached Wollaston, who had been sitting down. Kingston told Wollaston, “Don’t do it, [Wollaston].” Wollaston responded, “No, Chaz, stay out of it. This is mine.” Then Wollaston “stood up and they scrapped, pulled hair, kicked, punched, whatever. They fell over [Clinton]. And it got out of hand.” Kingston called 911, and an ambulance arrived within a few minutes. Kingston was a couple of feet from Wollaston during the incident. When Wollaston and Udo fell over Clinton, Wollaston’s head hit the ground, and Udo kicked Wollaston in the face until Kingston pulled her away. Udo left then returned three to four times, and each time, she kicked Wollaston in the head and neck 8  FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND THE PACIFIC REPORTER  area, “stomp[ed]” on Wollaston, and uttered phrases such as “I’ll kill you.” After the final kick, Wollaston had “a death stare,” was motionless, and was lifeless. According to Kingston, during the incident, Clinton was present, Supee was passed out, and Kazmierski was at a store getting Wollaston a sandwich. Udo then left in the direction of Union Mall. Kingston tried to care for Wollaston, but she remained motionless and was not breathing or speaking. After HPD arrived, Kingston wrote a statement and identified Udo in a field show-up near Union Mall. On cross-examination, Kingston testified he had consumed a few shots or a half-pint of vodka the night prior to trial. He stated he was not intoxicated throughout the period of July 20 to July 21, 2014, but had drunk about a pint of vodka on July 20, 2014 and less than half a pint the morning of the incident. Kingston also testified that when Wollaston saw Udo abusing the dog, she cursed out Udo, asking what she was doing with the dog. According to Kingston, Wollaston voluntarily entered into the fight with Udo despite Kingston trying to stop her. As its final witness,7 the State presented Christopher Happy, M.D. (“Dr. Happy”), the chief medical examiner for the 7 Before presenting its final witness, the State also presented the following witnesses: (1) Veronica De Mello, a police evidence specialist for HPD, who photographed and diagrammed the crime scene; (2) HPD Sergeant Eric (continued. . .) 9  FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND THE PACIFIC REPORTER  City and County of Honolulu. The court qualified Dr. Happy as “a medical expert with a specialization in forensic pathology.” According to Dr. Happy, Wollaston was pronounced dead at 5:42 in the morning on July 21, 2014. Dr. Happy performed Wollaston’s autopsy on July 21, 2014. Dr. Happy described the physiology of a human spine, neck, and brain. He explained that “the brainstem regulates heart rate and respiratory rate,” and injury to the brainstem can cause death. Before and during Wollaston’s autopsy, Dr. Happy noticed several injuries consistent with a kick or a punch on Wollaston’s head, face, and brain: (1) two contusions on the right side of her face; (2) an abrasion and a contusion in the external left occipital region of Wollaston’s head; (3) a subscalp hemorrhage in the right occipital subscalp area; (4) a (. . . continued) Fong, who responded to the scene and noted that Clinton, Kazmierski, and Kingston were all present, but Supee remained asleep; (3) HPD Corporal Arnold Sagucio, who went to the crime scene, and testified that Kazmierski was “extremely intoxicated” when he interacted with him, Supee remained asleep, and there were no surveillance cameras in the crime scene area; (4) HPD Officer Brian Goda, who placed an all-points bulletin with Udo’s description, took Kingston to the field show-up, and could not say “how intoxicated [Kingston] was” the morning of July 21, 2014; (5) HPD Officer Dustin Hao, who was on duty at QMC’s Emergency Room and confirmed that Wollaston’s body was not tampered with between the time it was at QMC and the time it was transported in a sealed body bag to the medical examiner’s office; and (6) HPD evidence specialist, Doryn Matsuda, who photographed Wollaston’s body and swabbed her hands for evidence. None of those witnesses who were crossexamined about drug paraphernalia testified to seeing any drug paraphernalia around the crime scene or in Wollaston’s belongings. 10  FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND THE PACIFIC REPORTER  two-by-one-and-one-half-inch abraded red and purple contusion with associated swelling in the occipital parietal scalp above Wollaston’s left ear; (5) a subscalp hemorrhage on the left occipital region more extensive than the exterior injury; (6) a “two-inch horizontally oriented fracture extending from the posterior part of the temporal bone to about the mid portion of the left temporal bone” of Wollaston’s skull; (7) four subscalp hemorrhages on the top of the head, indicating four different impacts; (8) bleeding in multiple locations between the dura and the surface of the brain -- subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhages;8 and (9) “a very small four millimeter laceration” on Wollaston’s brainstem, along with hemorrhaging. A tissue slide was made of Wollaston’s brainstem. At the completion of Dr. Happy’s testimony the State rested. Udo moved for, but was denied, a judgment of acquittal.