Opinion ID: 1060830
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Color Video Tapes

Text: The first color video tape, which was taken when officers from the Stewart County Sheriff's Department first arrived on the scene, shows the exterior and the interior of the Vesters' home, including the victims' bodies as they were found. The admissibility of video tapes of a crime scene is within the sound discretion of the trial court, and its ruling on the admissibility of such evidence will not be overturned without a clear showing of abuse of discretion. State v. Bigbee, 885 S.W.2d 797, 807 (Tenn.1994); State v. Van Tran, 864 S.W.2d 465, 477 (Tenn.1993), cert. denied, 511 U.S. 1046, 114 S.Ct. 1577, 128 L.Ed.2d 220 (1994). In finding that this video tape was probative, the trial court stated: I've reviewed this film. The bottom line, it's a picture of a crime scene. It's a good picture. I think it's much better than a still photo because a still photo you have all kinds of interpretation about angles and everything else. This is not. So this is very probative. Now, every crime scene, especially if it involves the loss of a life of someone, certainly is going to have some gruesome effect to it. If anybody cares anything about human life, it's going to have a gruesome effect to it. But in this case, the officer has done, I think, an excellent job in avoiding making the picture gruesome. It shows them, two bodies. Didn't dwell on them. It does show some blood on Mrs. Vester's leg. However, it also shows holes in the screen, one screen missing. It shows a hole in another screen. It shows the angle these had to have come from, the shots. Assuming that they prove the shots is what made the holes in the screens. I don't think it's gruesome. No more gruesome than any death of a human being. So I'm going to overrule your objection and allow the film to be admitted. As in Bigbee, the challenged portion of the tape is unpleasant because it shows postmortem lividity and some rigor mortis, but the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the video tape to be played for the jury. 885 S.W.2d at 807. It should also be noted that no photographs of the victims' bodies were introduced at the guilt/innocence phase. Later in the trial, a second video tape, which was taken by the T.B.I., was shown to the jury. However, the video only showed the exterior of the house and the area surrounding the house. While somewhat cumulative of the first video, it was short and provided a more concise view of the window screens and evidence found around the outside of the house. Moreover, the appellants made no contemporaneous objection to the introduction of this portion of the video. See Tenn. R.App. P. 36(a).