Opinion ID: 654644
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 Elizabeth Veltmann (Elizabeth) died the evening of January 7, 1990 during a fire in the home she shared with her husband, Carl Veltmann (Carl). The couple had just returned from a week-long honeymoon cruise with Elizabeth's son, Christopher Veltmann (Chris), and his new bride. 3 The fire was caused by arson; the crux of the case is the identity of the arsonist(s). The government theorized that Carl and Chris set fire to the house with the knowledge that Elizabeth was inside and with intent to recover proceeds under various insurance policies. 3 Defendants argued that Elizabeth, beset with fiscal worries and physical maladies, committed suicide after setting fire to the home. To evaluate the sufficiency of the evidence and harmlessness of evidentiary rulings, we must review in some detail the relevant facts pertaining to the fire, Elizabeth's state of mind, and the circumstantial case against the defendants.
4 On January 7, 1990, at 9:41 p.m., a neighbor called 911 after hearing an alarm and seeing smoke and flames coming from a second floor window of the Veltmann's three story residence. Firefighters broke into the house through the locked front door and found Elizabeth unconscious in the third floor master bedroom. She could not be revived. No one else was found in the home. 5 The investigation revealed the fire had three separate points of origin. The majority of damage was caused by a fire in the first floor foyer. This fire was started with newspapers and possibly a small amount of accelerant. The second fire was in the garage and the third in the dumbwaiter in the second floor kitchen. These two fires essentially went nowhere. The oven was turned onto the clean position, and a firefighter reported that the burners were glowing. Experts' estimates of the burn time 4 ranged from twenty to fifty minutes. It seems that the fires were lit between roughly 8:50 p.m. and 9:20 p.m. 6 None of the ten smoke detectors in the residence were sounding when firefighters arrived. The government contended that the smoke detectors were disarmed before the fire was set. 5 Seven batteries were recovered; all functioned when properly connected. One smoke detector did not contain batteries at all. According to Carl, two smoke detectors were hooked up to operate electrically. None of the smoke detectors or the batteries were fingerprinted. The plug portions of the batteries were not tested by the government for carbon deposits which may have revealed whether they were connected to the detectors during the fire. Defendants' fire investigator testified that given the absence of soot inside some smoke detectors and underneath the contact points, the batteries were fully connected during the fire. Defendants further argued that the third floor batteries must have fallen out during the fire because soot deposits were observed under the batteries rather than around them. 7 There was contradictory evidence about the home protection system. The Veltmanns were convinced they were protected by a combined burglar/fire alarm system. Government witnesses, however, testified that the alarm system did not monitor for fires at all. The system, when properly installed, had a line seizure mechanism. When such a device is triggered it seizes the phone lines and automatically calls the monitoring service. The government argued that the alarm was deactivated before the fire because it was parallel wired which prevented the system from seizing the phone line if any telephone in the house was off the hook. 6 In fact, the master bedroom telephone was off the hook with the receiver lying on the floor next to the bed. The absence of soot under the phone indicated it was on the floor during all or most of the fire. Testimony suggested that the phone was off the hook from at least 7:00 p.m. on January 7th. Accordingly, even if the system were equipped with fire detection devices as defendants believed, it could not have called the monitoring station when the fire began. However, the audible alarm outside the house was apparently triggered at some point during the fire which bolsters defendants' suggestion that the system was working. 7 8 The government emphasized that Elizabeth was locked inside the house with no means of escape. 8 Firefighters believed that all exterior doors required an inside key to be unlocked, however, it appears that only the front door and perhaps one other was so equipped. The sliding glass door in the master bedroom opened onto a screened porch; there was no testimony that this door was locked. The government claimed that all windows were shut, creating an oven-like effect. However, at least three witnesses saw flames coming out of a second or third floor window. 9 There was no forced entry into the house other than that made by firefighters. Although numerous people had access to keys, there were apparently no suspects other than Carl and Chris who had both access to the house and knowledge of the home protection systems.
10 The defense's case rested on proof that Elizabeth was suicidal. Elizabeth's autopsy revealed that her blood-alcohol level at death was .149, with a .33 level of Dalmane, a prescription sedative, in her system. Carbon monoxide test samples yielded a 73 to 75 percent result evidencing the cause of death as acute carbon monoxide intoxication from the inhalation of smoke and gases. The physician testified he did not consider suicide because it was not suggested by the police. Although Elizabeth was discovered two feet away from the sliding glass door, there is no forensic evidence that she was attempting to escape because her feet were not analyzed for soot deposits. She was found lying face down on the floor, clutching a tissue or handkerchief, nearby bills, bank statements, and family photos strewn across the floor. Approximately a year and a half after her death, Carl found an undated suicide note written by Elizabeth. 9 The authenticity of the note was not challenged. 11 Contradictions permeate evidence of Elizabeth's physical and psychological condition. Elizabeth and Carl were married for twenty-five years, were business partners, and were described by a number of witnesses as a loving and devoted couple. Elizabeth was happy about Chris' recent marriage and excited about the honeymoon cruise. But numerous indicators point to Elizabeth's deep distress over her medical and financial problems. 12 Elizabeth suffered from a variety of physical maladies. 10 She was treated for years with a variety of pain killers, and eventually became a prescription drug addict. In 1987, Elizabeth suffered respiratory arrest as a result of a self-induced drug overdose. Psychiatrists suspected a suicide attempt, but Elizabeth steadfastly refused to admit she was depressed and checked out of the hospital against medical advice. An addictionologist concluded that Elizabeth eventually became desperate for drugs as evidenced by stockpiling her supply, forging a prescription, obtaining drugs in her father's name, and trying to manipulate a nurse and another friend into providing her with drugs illegally. The expert postulated that she took most or all of the drugs in her system near the time of death. He concluded that the sudden infusion of alcohol and prescription drugs was consistent with suicide by overdose. But with a delay of fifteen to sixty minutes between taking the drugs and becoming incapacitated by their effect, considering her tolerance level, Elizabeth was probably able to set a simple fire and negotiate the stairs in the house (or operate the elevator) for some period of time after taking the drugs. The government's expert believed that given her level of drug intoxication, Elizabeth was not ambulatory during the time in which the fire must have been set. 13 In addition to being chemically dependent, Elizabeth was deeply troubled about what seemed to be impending financial ruin. She needed money for drugs and was trying to keep her dependency a secret. The Veltmann's corporation filed for bankruptcy in December, 1989. Their home, built in 1985 with Elizabeth as general contractor, was on the market. In the months preceding her death, Elizabeth tried to borrow money from a number of people. 14 The most telling indicator of Elizabeth's monetary dilemma and mental state was not admitted into evidence. In a videotaped deposition, Carl Engstrom testified that Elizabeth extracted $500,000 from him over the past twenty-five to thirty years. She was apparently blackmailing him based on their brief affair that took place when she was married to her first husband. Engstrom believed that Elizabeth would eventually pay him back because she frequently promised to do so. A few months before she died, Elizabeth talked to Engstrom about the possibility of her death, and instructed him to see Chris about being paid when she was gone. She mentioned suicide several times. In early December, 1989, Engstrom sent money which Elizabeth never picked up. She called him again for money on December 31 or January 1st, from Miami, where she was waiting to board the cruise ship. She called him collect from the Cayman Islands on January 6th, again demanding money. He refused. On January 7th, just one hour after returning home from the cruise, Elizabeth called Engstrom. She told him she had $275,000 for him, and needed money to come to Chicago to make payment. 11 He told her to mail a check and refused in no uncertain terms to send her anymore money. Her response was, Well, I'm all washed up then. Def. Ex. VV. The conversation lasted two minutes. She did not threaten suicide in that call. 15 An addictionologist testified that suicidal ideation typically develops over two or three years, and that Elizabeth's earlier suicide threats to Engstrom were evidence of suicidal thinking. In the expert's view, Engstrom's cutting off of funds that Elizabeth could use for drugs was the major precipitating event in her suicide. 16 The financial picture was not entirely gloomy. The Veltmanns were willing to accept an incoming offer of $1,200,000 for the house and an adjacent lot. Carl testified that this money would be used to pay off mortgages with the balance infused into their failing corporation. But Elizabeth told friends that she did not want to live any longer, and that no one would have her house after she was gone; she believed Carl would remarry after her death, but another Mrs. Veltmann would not have what she had. Elizabeth said she would destroy everything. 17
18 The evidence against the defendants is entirely circumstantial. The government argued that the arson and murder were motivated by greed 12 , and that defendants had the opportunity and knowledge to commit the crime. 19 On the date of the fire, the two Veltmann couples returned from the honeymoon cruise. Elizabeth had a migraine early in the morning hours of January 7th, and received a shot of Demoral from the ship's doctor before disembarking. She was also suffering from dysentery. Chris and his wife were dropped off at their nearby home, and Carl and Elizabeth returned to the Veltmann residence at about 3:30 p.m. A witness saw Chris' car parked in their driveway at around 6:00 p.m. There is little agreement about what happened next. 20 Chris did not testify at trial, but he made a statement to investigators that was audiotaped and played for the jury. According to Chris, he stopped by his parent's home around 6:30-7:00 p.m. after going by the post office. He intended to check on his mother, knowing she was not well. When he got there, Carl was preparing to leave for a hunting trip in Montana and Elizabeth was resting in bed. Chris visited with his parents and returned to his home at around 8:00 or 8:30 p.m. According to Chris, Carl showed up at his house sometime later, visited for a hour or so and then left. 21 The remainder of the case against Chris rests on his knowledge of the alarm system, his role in making insurance claims, his receipt of some insurance proceeds, and conflicting testimony about his emotional reaction to news of his mother's death. It was Chris who found Elizabeth's missing purse and keys in the trunk of a car in the garage. Additionally, David Meehan, Chris' cellmate, testified to admissions allegedly made by Chris while in custody. According to Meehan, Chris said the fire was started in two places; Chris started the kitchen fire and turned on the range, and Carl started the fire in the foyer with paper and lighter fluid after taking the tops off the smoke detector batteries. 13 Chris allegedly said he and Carl watched the wallpaper in the hallway catch fire before leaving through the garage, and that Carl visited his home for only a few minutes before driving to the Tampa airport and flying out to go hunting. 22 Carl made statements to fire, police, and insurance investigators, and testified at trial. He said he left the residence at about 9:00 p.m. with Chris, leaving Elizabeth resting in bed. He followed Chris to his house and visited until approximately 10:30 p.m. He then left to go hunting and attempt to raise money in Montana, intending to get the car serviced and meet with his bankruptcy attorney en route. He decided to make this trip on the spur of the moment, testifying at trial for the first time that he did not simply spend the night in his house because Elizabeth was ragging on him about their finances. He spent the night in a motel. He did not have appointments with the lawyer or car dealership, but the lawyer testified that he did expect Carl in his office on the afternoon of the January 8th. In Montana, Carl planned to visit an acquaintance. This man testified that he had not heard from Carl since 1971, no longer owned the property on which Carl had hunted, and would not have loaned him money. 23 Carl called Chris on the morning of January 8th only to learn of Elizabeth's death. He returned home and met with the police. His statement was somewhat vague regarding his actions prior to leaving the house, but was quite specific about his trip after leaving Chris'. Carl also testified that when he found the suicide note in October 1991, he dated it January 7, 1990, because that was the date of Elizabeth's death. 24 Terry Price, Carl's cellmate, testified that Carl told him the fire was set with lighter fluid, but that he left for Montana the day before the fire and was hunting when the fire started. Carl allegedly told Price he went to Montana to hunt and raise money, and that the alarm and smoke detectors were not working. Price also overheard Carl talking on the phone to someone about Chris, saying I told him to keep his mouth shut. Price testified that Carl said he dated the suicide note January 7, 1990 because the insurance companies would not pay off otherwise; presumably Carl believed that the note should be dated, and that the date of death was most likely to promote payment by the insurers. 25 A business associate of the Veltmanns testified that Carl once suggested to him that he simply burn down a problem piece of property, and that Carl explained to him how to set the fire, while cautioning him to establish a good alibi. The jury also heard about previous fires on property owned by defendants. In the early 1970's, a vacant house owned by Elizabeth and Carl was destroyed in a fire. In 1985, the cottage owned by the Veltmanns on property adjacent to the residence that is the subject of this case was also destroyed by fire. 14 The cottage was rented to a former housekeeper of the Veltmanns who claimed that the Veltmanns caused the fire. Neither of these fires resulted in charges being filed against any of the Veltmanns. 26 Carl denied having anything to do with the arson to his residence and with the death of his wife. Both defendants were convicted on all counts and sentenced to life in prison.