Opinion ID: 853026
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sufficient Evidence of Aiding or Inducing Murder?

Text: When reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we consider the evidence most favorable to the verdict, along with all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. Coleman v. State, 490 N.E.2d 325 (Ind.1986). Applying the appropriate standard of review, this Court will affirm if a reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. To convict Sharon Garland of aiding in murder, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she (1) intentionally or knowingly (2) aided, induced, or caused Allen or Lloyd to (3) kill David Garland. See Ind.Code Ann. §§ 35-41-2-4, 35-42-1-1(1) (West 1998). In determining whether a person aided another in the commission of a crime, this Court has long considered the following four factors: (1) presence at the scene of the crime; (2) companionship with another engaged in criminal activity; (3) failure to oppose the crime; and (4) a defendant's conduct before, during, and after the occurrence of the crime. Johnson v. State, 490 N.E.2d 333, 334 (Ind.1986). We examine each of these. First, Sharon does not dispute that she was present at the scene when David was killed. Second, there is an abundance of evidence that speaks to Sharon's companionship with James Lloyd. Sharon admittedly carried on a fairly open relationship with Lloyd since meeting him in 1994 as Allen's court-ordered drug counselor. This relationship developed during the period of Allen's counseling and continued even after Allen's counseling ended. When Lloyd came to the Garland's trailer on the night of the murder, Sharon went out in the cold, barefoot and without a coat, to meet him, after Allen announced Lloyd's arrival. It was Sharon who then accompanied Lloyd into the trailer where David was subsequently shot and killed. The morning after David's murder, Sharon asked Marvin and Aline Busse, with whom she was staying, to place calls to Lloyd, and Lloyd returned the call within minutes. Lloyd was also present at the funeral home as Sharon made David's funeral arrangements. The abundance of evidence of Sharon and Lloyd's companionship leads to a reasonable inference that Sharon was a party to Lloyd's murder of her husband. Third, nothing in the record suggests that Sharon opposed Lloyd's plan to murder her husband. Sharon knew of Lloyd's plot no later than the morning of the murder, though from the nature of Sharon's companionship with Lloyd, she presumably knew of the plan much earlier. The fact that Sharon accompanied Lloyd into the trailer with knowledge of Lloyd's plan to kill David leads to a reasonable inference that Sharon did not oppose Lloyd's plan. Fourth, Sharon's behavior before, during, and after the murder is also quite damning. On the weekend prior to David's murder, Sharon angrily blurted out during a card game that she would hire someone to kill him, take the insurance money, and go to Florida. Her recent purchase of the policy makes that declaration seem more tangible than would otherwise be the case. Sharon also told her friend Kay Bakain that you could murder anybody in Starke County and get by with it cause the cops were all Barney Fifes. (R. at 3027.) Several days after the murder, Sharon met with Lloyd privately. When she returned, Allen asked her, How much do you owe him, $10,000 or $5,000? Sharon responded, I will take care of it all later. (R. at 2910.) These statements and incidents lead to a reasonable inference that Sharon hired Lloyd to kill David. Considering the four factors in determining accomplice liability, and the substantial evidence the State presented against Sharon, we conclude there was sufficient evidence to convict Sharon of aiding in the murder of her husband David Garland.