Opinion ID: 1287681
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Whether the Defendant Submitted Sufficient Evidence of her Claim of Self-defense

Text: Provocation. There is no evidence in the record that the defendant did any deed or act that provoked the attack upon her by the decedent. Accordingly, not only has the defendant established sufficient evidence that she did not provoke the attack, but this element is proven beyond a reasonable doubt as an uncontested issue. Reasonableness. We next turn to the issue of whether the defendant submitted sufficient evidence that she actually believed and had a reasonable basis to believe that she was at risk of death or serious bodily injury as a result of the decedent's conduct. The record is clear that the decedent brutally attacked the defendant during the hours immediately preceding the decedent's death. The State concedes this point, acknowledging that the defendant suffered an evening of physical and sexual abuse and night of terror at the hands of the decedent. Evidence introduced at the defendant's trial regarding the evening of physical and sexual abuse and night of terror is summarized as follows. At trial the State called K.B. to testify as to her recollections of the evening of her sleep over. K.B. testified that she recalled overhearing the defendant and decedent arguing and that the argument appeared to be about the decedent's drinking. At some point during the evening, K.B. testified that the defendant came to their room and told them to go to bed. When asked if there was anything unusual about the defendant when she came to the bedroom doorway, K.B. testified that She had, like, bruises on her eyes. Following the defendant's instructions, K.B. and A.H. laid down to go to sleep, although K.B. could still hear the defendant and decedent arguing and testified that she was frightened. Finally falling asleep, K.B. testified that she was awakened by sounds of more arguing and, again becoming frightened, woke A.H. to ask her about what was going on. A.H. told K.B. that her parents were probably just tumbling around and not to worry about it. K.B., however, testified that she had difficulty trying to get back to sleep, and at one point overheard the defendant say to the decedent that she didn't want to get killed with her two kids. After K.B.'s testimony was concluded, A.H. was called to testify as to her recollections of the evening. A.H. testified that she also recalled being awakened by K.B. and that K.B. asked her Are your parents fighting? and that I just figured they were wrestling like we normally do. We used to wrestle all the time, so I told her not to worry about it. A.H. also testified she could hear the defendant and decedent in the other room  I just heard thumping. I heard thumping. When asked to describe the thumping sounds, A.H. testified that it [j]ust sounded like they were stomping their feet or fell on the ground or something. I just figured they were wrestling like we would normally do. After telling K.B. not to worry, A.H. said she fell back to sleep only to be again awakened by K.B., who informed her that B.H. was in the room. Upon seeing B.H. in the room, A.H. testified that she hollered for mom or one of them to come and get him, and he went back to the living room. The defendant's youngest child, B.H., was also called to testify. A portion of B.H.'s testimony is as follows: Q. Did you see Dad hurt Mom that night? A. I seen him hit her with a back end of a gun. Q. ... And when did you  what else happened? A. They just kept arguing and stuff. Q. Where was Mom when that happened? A. When what happened? Q. When you saw  when you saw Mom get hit with the gun  A. She was in a recliner. Q. What kind of gun was it? A. All I know is it was a black shotgun of some kind. Q. Where did that gun come from? A. Out of my dad's back room where he usually kept all of his guns and computer and stuff. . . . Q. How did the gun get into the living room? A. He [Dad] carried it. Q. ... Did you see him go get it? A. Uh-huh. Q. ... Why did he go get it? A. I heard him  I heard them fighting and he said I am going to go get the gun and shoot you, and that's really the reason I think he got it. Q. Did you think he was going to shoot Mom? A. Yeah. But I didn't really think he would have. Q. Why didn't you think he would? A. Well, because they  they would fight before and they just get over it and it would be fine the next morning. When asked to further explain about what he saw and did when the decedent went to get the shotgun, B.H. testified that I got on mom's lap and asked her, `What's the matter, Mommie? Is everything going to be okay?' And she said, `Yeah, it's okay, Bubby. Go back to sleep.' When asked about seeing the decedent hit the defendant with the gun, B.H. testified that the decedent hit her with the gun in the arms and shoulders. B.H. was also asked, Do you remember [saying] that you saw [the decedent] take the gun and point it to [the defendant's] belly and asked her if she wanted to die? B.H. responded I might remember that. [11] Dr. Lori Bennet, an Emergency Room physician at Cabell Huntington Hospital, was also called to testify. Dr. Bennet testified that she examined the defendant on the morning of the shooting, and that the defendant informed her she was assaulted by her husband and that the circumstances of the assault included that the decedent had struck her about the head and back with the butt of a gun and threatened her with the gun and that she was struck with a fist and gun during the altercation. When asked about what injuries the defendant sustained, Dr. Bennet testified that she had contusions of both orbital areas, the right upper arm, a puncture wound with a foreign body of the right forearm, contusions of her chest, left facial cheek, the left upper lip and that X-rays done at the time demonstrated a nasal fracture. Photographic evidence of the defendant's injuries described by Dr. Bennet were also introduced during the trial. These photographs depict the defendant with two very large black eyes, a battered and swollen nose, bruised lips, multiple bruising on her breasts, arms, legs, thighs and other parts of her body. A photograph of the shirt worn by the defendant at the time of the decedent's brutal attack was also introduced, which depicted copious amounts of blood on it. The State Medical Examiner was also called to testify as to his findings. This testimony included serology tests showing that the decedent had a blood alcohol level of 0.22%, which the Medical Examiner testified was nearly three times the 0.08% level where a person would be presumed intoxicated in West Virginia. Also, the autopsy revealed that the decedent had a small gash on his hand that could be consistent with the decedent having struck the defendant in the face. The defendant also testified on her own behalf. The defendant testified that the decedent started drinking early in the evening and that the decedent started getting very, very angry and as the evening wore on, the decedent became increasingly verbally abusive and started making threats that he was going to kill her. When asked what she thought when the decedent said he was going to kill her, the defendant testified [i]t was a change in him, and I knew it was going to happen. At one point during the ordeal, the defendant testified that her youngest child, B.H., ran over to her and climbed on her lap and asked her what was going on. The defendant testified she told her son that everything would be okay and to go back to sleep so he couldn't see nothing else. The defendant further testified that the beating went on for hours, and it was just a continuous beating and verbal abuse during which the decedent told the defendant he was going to kill her, that she wasn't going to live to see the next day and that the children wouldn't live. The defendant explained that I was so scared and I was scared for my life, and not only mine but the three kids that was in my home and that the decedent even put the shotgun to my son's head and said he was going to kill him. When asked what happened after the decedent put the gun to their son's head, the defendant said I started talking to him so that he would leave B.H. alone and he went back to beating me. The defendant testified that she knew at this point that none of us was going to walk out of the house. As the evening wore on, the defendant testified that the decedent made me have sex with him. (Crying). After he beat me. (Crying). Photographic evidence and trial testimony from the State's blood spatter expert established that the decedent, at the time of his death, was lying naked from the waist down on the living room couch (notwithstanding that the three children were nearby) with one leg bent upwards and resting against the back of the couch and the other leg sprawled alongside the edge of the couch. Following the sexual assault, the defendant testified that the defendant continued to be verbally and physically aggressive, and that the decedent started taunting her, daring her to shoot him or that he would shoot her, and that it was at this point that she got the decedent's shotgun and shot him. The defendant explained that I thought I was going to die. I knew I was, and that the decedent would have killed them [the children], too because the decedent said that nobody was going to walk out of the house that night. It is clear to this Court that the evidence adduced at the defendant's trial, only a portion of which we have briefly summarized above, was sufficient evidence that the defendant did believe, and had a reasonable basis to believe, that her life was at risk of death or serious bodily injury. Imminency. We next consider whether the defendant submitted sufficient evidence that she had reasonable grounds to believe, and did believe, that the danger of death or serious bodily injury was imminent. The defendant's testimony established that precipitously preceding the defendant's shooting the decedent, that the decedent sexually assaulted the defendant and thereafter continued to threaten the defendant's life and the lives of the children, as well as physically assault the defendant. Considered in context with the evidence discussed above, and that the violence and threats had been ongoing for several hours, it is clear that the defendant submitted sufficient evidence upon which she could have reasonably believed, and did believe, that death or serious bodily injury were imminent. Proportionality. The next element considered is whether the evidence showed the defendant's actions to be proportionate to the danger. As we discussed above, the evidence submitted sufficiently established that the decedent had threatened to kill the defendant and the children. Further, the evidence sufficiently shows that the decedent beat the defendant with a deadly weapon  the shotgun  as witnessed by B.H., and testified to by the decedent, and as was further evidenced from the photographs depicting multiple bruises on the defendant's body. In addition, the decedent had placed the shotgun against B.H.'s head and threatened to shoot him. Further, the decedent had sexually assaulted the defendant. Finally, the defendant testified that immediately preceding her shooting the decedent, the decedent had again threatened her life, the lives of the children, and physically assaulted her. This evidence, in the context of all the other evidence, would sufficiently warrant the use of deadly force. Sufficiency. The final element considered is whether the defendant met her burden of proof. Our review of the record, discussed above, convinces us that the trial court was correct in its decision to give a self-defense instruction based upon the evidence in this case  the evidence was clearly sufficient to create a reasonable doubt that the killing resulted from the defendant acting in self-defense. Therefore, as we have previously stated, the burden shifted to the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self defense. See Syllabus Point 4, State v. Kirtley, supra .