Opinion ID: 4427271
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Cell phone photographs properly admitted

Text: Wood claims the circuit court abused its discretion during the guilt phase by overruling his objection to the admission of 32 photographs from Hailey's cellphone. The circuit court reviewed the photographs before overruling Wood's objection and concluded they were relevant and admissible. The photographs were taken from 11:10 a.m. to 4:40 p.m., just minutes before Wood abducted Hailey. The photographs depicted Hailey, her dog, family, friends, stuffed animals, the neighborhood where she was walking, and her friend’s handwritten lyrics to a popular song. Wood argues the photographs were improper victim impact evidence during the guilt phase because most of the photographs were cumulative and had no logical or legal relevance to disputed facts pertaining to the murder charge. Evidence must be logically and legally relevant to be admissible. State v. Prince, 534 S.W.3d 813, 817 (Mo. banc 2017). Evidence is logically relevant if it tends to make the existence of a material fact more or less probable. Id. (internal quotation omitted). Evidence is legally relevant when the probative value of the evidence outweighs unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, waste of time, or cumulativeness. State v. Taylor, 466 S.W.3d 521, 528 (Mo. banc 2015) (internal quotation omitted). Photographs are relevant if they depict the crime scene, the victim's identity, 8 the nature and extent of the wounds, the cause of death, the condition and location of the body, or otherwise constitute proof of an element of the crime or assist the jury in understanding the testimony. State v. Collings, 450 S.W.3d 741, 762 (Mo. banc 2014) (internal quotation omitted). The disputed element during the guilt phase was deliberation. Section 565.002(3), RSMo 2000, defined deliberation as cool reflection for any length of time no matter how brief. 4 The element of deliberation may be proven by the circumstances surrounding the crime. Collings, 450 S.W.3d at 760. Although Wood admitted he killed Hailey, the state, having the burden of proving defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, should not be unduly limited in its quantum of proof. State v. Griffin, 756 S.W.2d 475, 483 (Mo. banc 1988). The photographs of Hailey and the neighborhood where she was walking were logically and legally relevant because they assisted the jury with understanding the circumstances surrounding the crime. The photographs confirmed the timeline of events and showed Hailey was wearing the same clothing Wood later discarded in the dumpster. Wood's attempt to dispose of Hailey's clothing and conceal the crime supports an inference of deliberation. See State v. Tisius, 92 S.W.3d 751, 764 (Mo. banc 2002). Finally, the photographs assisted the jury with understanding the nature and extent of the injuries Wood inflicted on Hailey by showing she lacked any significant injuries prior to the abduction. The fact Hailey lacked injuries prior to the abduction assisted the jury with understanding 4 Section 565.002 was amended effective January 1, 2017. The definition of deliberation remained the same but is now found in § 565.002(5). 9 the multiple injuries Wood inflicted, including ligature marks indicating Hailey struggled to free herself. Evidence of multiple injuries and prolonged struggle are relevant to the state's burden of proving the disputed element of deliberation beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. The photographs were relevant and admissible. To the extent the photographs of Hailey's stuffed animals, pets, family, and song lyrics are less relevant, the issue is whether the allegedly erroneous evidentiary ruling was so prejudicial that there is a reasonable probability it affected the outcome of the trial. Hartman, 488 S.W.3d at 57. The state briefly mentioned the photographs in the guilt phase closing argument to establish the timeline of events and the fact Hailey had no injuries before Wood abducted her. The state's argument, therefore, was limited to referencing the most relevant photographs. In any event, the overwhelming weight of the evidence clearly established deliberation, and negates any reasonable probability the outcome would have been different even if the circuit court had excluded some of the less logically relevant photographs. 5