Opinion ID: 1009453
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence Against Bramblett

Text: Although the case against Bramblett was almost entirely circumstantial, it was no less powerful for being so. Because the weight of this evidence is relevant to several of Bramblett’s claims, we will examine the evidence in some detail. Testimony from various witnesses established that Bramblett was at the Hodgeses’ home during the weekend of August 27-28. And, Bramblett was seen with Theresa, Winter, and Anah as late as 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. At approximately 4:30 a.m. on August 29—shortly before the fire was discovered—Dorothy McGee drove past the Hodgeses’ home. As she proceeded down the road, she was passed by a pinkish red pickup truck with a dark tailgate. J.A. 358-59. The truck was driven by a lone, white male. Subsequently, law enforcement officers showed McGee a white truck and a red truck under lighting conditions similar to those present at the time of the murders; under those conditions, McGee thought the white truck looked pink. Other evidence established that Bramblett, who is white, drove a white pickup with a dark tailgate at the time of the murders. Later on the morning of August 29, a neighbor of the Hodges family saw Bramblett drive by the Hodgeses’ home, which at that time 4 BRAMBLETT v. TRUE was still surrounded by firefighters and law enforcement officials. Bramblett looked over but did not stop. Fred Smith, a coworker of Bramblett’s at Brewco Sign Company, testified that Bramblett sometimes slept in his truck and that he usually parked the truck in front of Brewco on such occasions. Smith further testified that when he arrived at Brewco at 4:30 a.m. on August 29, he did not see Bramblett’s truck. At approximately 5:00 a.m., however, Bramblett asked Smith to let him into the building, and he told Smith that he had spent the night in his truck. Smith noticed that Bramblett was wearing clean clothes and was freshly shaven.2 Later during the week of the murders, Smith and another coworker observed Bramblett sitting near a dumpster behind Brewco. A subsequent search of the dumpster revealed bills addressed to Bramblett, a t-shirt identical to one given to Winter a few days before the murders, a multi-page document written by Bramblett detailing his belief that Winter was sexually attracted to him, and several audiotapes and a tape recorder. The recordings on the tapes were by Bramblett, and in them he spoke about his obsession with Winter.3 Also found in the dumpster was a crude sketch depicting the murders. The sketch was of four stick figures: a male, a female, and two children. Lines were drawn to the heads of the male stick figure and the children, and a circle had been drawn around the female and the children, excluding the male. The paper on which the sketch appeared bore notes in Bramblett’s handwriting. Other evidence indicated that these notes were written several days before the murders. Physical evidence from the crime scene was also linked to Bramblett. A pubic hair discovered in the bed where the children’s bodies were found was matched to Bramblett through visual, microscopic, and DNA analysis. Several days after the murders, coworkers of Bramblett’s found a pair of jeans in a bucket filled with water and a 2 In addition, law enforcement officers who interviewed Bramblett later that day noticed that Bramblett’s sneakers appeared to have been freshly laundered. 3 Similar recordings were found in a box Bramblett sent to one of his sisters for safekeeping. Also in the box was one member of a pair of distinctive socks that belonged to Winter. BRAMBLETT v. TRUE 5 solvent used in silk screening in an area of the Brewco shop where Bramblett did silk screening work. Chemical analysis revealed traces of fuel oil on the jeans; fuel oil was one of the accelerants used in the arson of the Hodgeses’ home. Additionally, five-gallon fuel cans found at the Hodgeses’ home were matched to fuel cans owned by Candler Oil, where Bramblett had worked. Several individuals who stopped by the Hodgeses’ home during the afternoon and evening of Sunday, August 28, and some of the firefighters initially on the scene the following morning, observed notes on the front and back door of the home. These notes indicated that there had been a family emergency, although other family members testified that they knew of no such emergency and that Theresa would surely have called them if anything were wrong. Additionally, although family members recognized Theresa’s handwriting, the prosecution’s document expert, Gordon Menzies, was unable to make a positive match. The prosecution argued, based on other testimony by Menzies, that Menzies was unable to positively identify Theresa’s handwriting because she had been under some kind of duress or stress when she wrote the notes. In addition, Menzies found an indented writing4 on one of the notes and testified that the writing, which was addressed to Bramblett’s sons, was very likely written by Bramblett. The prosecution also linked Bramblett to the crime through ballistics evidence. A .22 magnum revolver that was missing its barrel was recovered from the bedroom where Blaine’s body was found; police also seized bullets and shell casings from the crime scene. Searches of Bramblett’s truck and a storage warehouse he rented yielded additional .22 magnum bullets, shell casings, and unfired cartridges. Expert analysis indicated that all of the shell casings bore markings from a revolver like the one found at the crime scene. Additionally, the prosecution’s expert determined with certainty that a shell casing found in Bramblett’s truck had been fired from the revolver found near Blaine’s body. The prosecution also presented evidence of suspicious statements by Bramblett. Having been informed of Bramblett’s close relationship 4 An indented writing is the impression left on a piece of paper that is beneath another piece of paper being written on. 6 BRAMBLETT v. TRUE with the family, law enforcement officials sought to speak with him at the outset of their investigation. Sergeant Mark Vaught with the Vinton Police Department spoke with Bramblett at approximately 5:00 p.m. on August 29. Vaught informed Bramblett that the Hodges family had been killed in a fire; he did not mention that the Hodgeses had been murdered. Vaught subsequently introduced Bramblett to Agent Barry Keesee with the state police. Keesee again informed Bramblett that the Hodgeses had been killed in a fire, and asked Bramblett when he had last seen Blaine. Although several witnesses testified to seeing Bramblett at the Hodgeses’ home over the weekend, Bramblett stated that he could not remember when he had last seen Blaine.5 Bramblett then appeared to become angry and said, The sorry [expletive] had a beautiful family. He did them and did himself.6 Trial Tr., Vol. 11, at 104 (internal quotation marks omitted). Bramblett then asked, They were murdered, weren’t they? Id. at 106 (internal quotation marks omitted). This was not the only time that Bramblett revealed knowledge of the crimes beyond information available to the public. Shortly after his arrest in 1996, Bramblett met with a reporter. During the interview, Bramblett made statements concerning the facts of the crime—specifically, that only Theresa had been doused with gasoline—that had not been released by the police. Shortly after the murders, Bramblett left Virginia for Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he lived until he was arrested in 1996. During that time, Bramblett told his roommate, James Lee Owens, that he had done something bad in Virginia but that he couldn’t talk about it. Trial Tr., Vol. 7, at 15 (internal quotation marks omitted). 5 Later that day, Bramblett told another officer that he could not remember whether he had been at the Hodgeses’ home on Sunday, August 28. Several days after the murders, Blaine’s brother spoke with Bramblett about the murders, and Bramblett was evasive regarding his activities on August 28. 6 Based on the locations of the bodies and the fact that a firearm was found near Blaine’s body, police initially believed that the deaths were the result of a murder/suicide in which Blaine had killed his family, set fire to the home, then killed himself. Immediately prior to speaking with Bramblett, however, Agent Keesee had learned that Blaine died many hours before the rest of the family, rendering the murder/suicide theory untenable. BRAMBLETT v. TRUE 7 The prosecution’s last witness was Tracy Turner, who was incarcerated with Bramblett prior to Bramblett’s trial. Turner testified that Bramblett said he was addicted to young girls and that he had choked Theresa after she had caught him with Winter. J.A. 460. According to Turner, Bramblett further stated that after strangling Theresa he went upstairs and took care of his business with the remaining members of the Hodges family.7 Id. at 461. Bramblett also told Turner that he had set fire to the Hodgeses’ home in order to destroy the evidence.