Opinion ID: 1440035
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Sodomy of Victim.

Text: Defendant contends the trial court erred by admitting evidence that he sodomized Amanda, thereby weaving suppositional evidence of sexual innuendo with Amanda throughout the trial. Evidence is relevant if it tends to prove or disprove a fact in issue or corroborates other relevant evidence. State v. Rousan, 961 S.W.2d 831, 848 (Mo. banc 1998), cert. denied, 524 U.S. 961, 118 S.Ct. 2387, 141 L.Ed.2d 753 (1998), quoting, Brown v. Hamid, 856 S.W.2d 51, 56 (Mo. banc 1993). It is elementary that relevant evidence should not be admitted if it causes prejudice wholly disproportionate to the value and usefulness of the offered evidence..... Id. The evidence of sodomy supported the State's theory of a sexual motive for the crimes. It included evidence of finding Defendant's sperm on Amanda's bed sheet. Defendant concedes this evidence is certainly suspicious, but argues there is no way to determine when the sperm got on the bed sheet. To the contrary, the State presented evidence that one stain on the sheet contained a mixture of genetic components consistent with both Amanda's and Defendant's DNA. He also presented evidence that some of the sperm was found on top of the blood on the sheet, indicating that it was deposited after Amanda was stabbed. Dr. Douglas Anderson, a pathologist, offered his expert medical opinion that the condition of Amanda's body indicated acts of sodomy. Police discovered her lying face down on the floor, partially undressed. The presence of a large amount of blood on the mattress indicated that her body had been draped over the side of the bed. Moreover, her rectum was abnormally enlarged. Two aspects of the condition of her clothes also tended to indicate that she had been undressed while she was killed. First, there was evidence that she had been sloppily or hastily redressed. Second, she was stabbed 21 times, but her shirt had 32 cuts. This evidence indicated that her shirt had been pulled up and bunched together as the knife passed through the fabric. The State presented this evidence to demonstrate that Defendant did not act impulsively but rather committed a planned sexual attack on Amanda and murdered her in order to keep her quiet. The trial court could have reasonably concluded that the evidence of sodomy was, taken as a whole, legally relevant because it provided the jury with a complete picture of the crime, and tended to show deliberation, motive, and animus on Defendant's part, and that it was not unduly prejudicial in light of its probative value. The jury was free to believe or disbelieve all, part, or none of the testimony of Dr. Anderson. State v. Hineman, 14 S.W.3d 924, 927 (Mo. banc 1999).