Court Opinion

ID: 9840542
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-19 13:03:54.992774+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:35:40.055243
License: Public Domain

NOTICE: This opinion is subject to modification resulting from motions for reconsideration under Supreme Court
Rule 27, the Court’s reconsideration, and editorial revisions by the Reporter of Decisions. The version of the
opinion published in the Advance Sheets for the Georgia Reports, designated as the “Final Copy,” will replace any
prior version on the Court’s website and docket. A bound volume of the Georgia Reports will contain the final and
official text of the opinion.

In the Supreme Court of Georgia

                                                   Decided: September 19, 2023

                     S23A0433. SALVESEN v. THE STATE.

       BETHEL, Justice.

       Walter G. Salvesen, III, was convicted of malice murder and

other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Johnathan

Martin.1 On appeal, Salvesen contends that: (1) the trial court

admitted unduly prejudicial photographs from Martin’s autopsy and

       1 The crimes occurred sometime between mid-June and mid-August,
2015. On December 1, 2015, a Richmond County grand jury indicted Salvesen
for malice murder (Count 1), felony murder predicated on the aggravated
assault of Martin (Count 2), and possession of a firearm during the commission
of a crime (Count 3). At a trial held from August 14 to August 16, 2017, a jury
found Salvesen guilty on all counts. The trial court sentenced Salvesen to serve
life in prison without parole on Count 1 and five consecutive years in prison on
Count 3. The trial court purported to merge the felony murder count (Count 2)
into the malice murder count (Count 1), but the sentence with regard to Count
2 was actually vacated by operation of law. See Heade v. State, 312 Ga. 19, 29-
30 (6) (860 SE2d 509) (2021).
        Salvesen filed a timely motion for new trial, which he amended twice
through new counsel. Following a hearing on June 28, 2022, the trial court
denied Salvesen’s amended motion on November 22, 2022. Salvesen then filed
a timely notice of appeal, and his case was docketed to the April 2023 term of
this Court and submitted for a decision on the briefs.
the scene where Martin’s body was found; (2) the trial court erred by

failing to recharge the jury on the lesser offenses of voluntary and

involuntary manslaughter when it recharged on malice murder and

felony murder; and (3) trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance

to the extent the foregoing alleged errors were not preserved for

appellate review.

     For reasons more fully explained below, these claims fail

because: (1) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting

the photographs; (2) the trial court acted within its discretion in

solely recharging the jury on the definitions it requested and not the

lesser offenses; and (3) Salvesen has not demonstrated that his trial

counsel was deficient. We therefore affirm Salvesen’s convictions.

     1. The evidence presented at trial showed as follows. Salvesen

and Martin were friends who occasionally experienced “falling outs.”

For example, in 2014, Martin brandished a firearm at Salvesen and

threatened him and his family because Martin was under the

impression that Salvesen “had s[n]itched on him for something[.]”

Despite this turmoil, the two maintained their friendship.

                                  2
     Sometime in 2015, Martin was kicked out of his parents’ house,

and Salvesen offered to let Martin live with him in his mobile home.

At some point in June 2015, Salvesen began moving out of the home.

Salvesen’s mother testified that she went to the home to assist

Salvesen and discovered Martin hiding behind a shower curtain in

the bathroom. Salvesen’s mother told Martin that he was not

supposed to be at the residence. Martin was asked to leave.

     Salvesen testified that, a day later, Martin returned to the

home, and the two men got into a “long argument” that “lasted over

an hour[.]” Salvesen claimed that he attempted to “deescalate” the

situation, but Martin continued arguing and eventually began

making threats against Salvesen and his family. Salvesen testified

that Martin became agitated, threatened to “bust [him] with the

forty,” and looked toward a firearm that was laying on a nearby

table. According to Salvesen, he “didn’t know whether [the gun] was

loaded or not” but was afraid that Martin would get the gun first. As

Martin “went to go reach” for the gun, Salvesen grabbed the gun and

started firing. Salvesen believed the first shot struck Martin in the

                                 3
chest, but he kept firing because Martin was still moving towards

him. Salvesen fired a total of five rounds. Three bullets hit a wall.

The other two struck Martin, one in the head and the other in the

chest, one or both of which resulted in his death.2 Salvesen testified

that, after the shooting, he was “freaking out” and “didn’t know what

to do,” so he called his sister, who offered to help the following day.

      According to Salvesen, when his sister arrived with her

boyfriend’s truck, Salvesen wrapped Martin’s body in a tarp, and he

and his sister loaded Martin’s body into the truck. They then drove

to Burke County and dumped Martin’s body in the woods. Salvesen

testified that, at some point, he plugged the bullet holes in the wall, 3

cleaned up the blood, and disposed of the gun. Salvesen’s sister’s

boyfriend testified that, in June 2015, he visited Salvesen’s house,

noticed a “real bad smell,” and saw Salvesen shampooing the

      2 Due to the decomposed nature of the body when it was recovered,
including deterioration of the internal organs, the medical examiner was
unable to determine which injury was the cause of Martin’s death.
      3 Salvesen’s testimony indicated that his sister helped plug the bullet

holes. Salvesen’s sister disputed that allegation. She was not charged for her
actions and was a witness for the State at trial.
                                      4
carpets.

      In August 2015, a Burke County landowner discovered what

was later identified as Martin’s body wrapped in tarp and resting on

a moving dolly. 4 Sometime later, Salvesen’s sister told their mother

about what Salvesen had done, and Salvesen’s mother contacted law

enforcement. At trial, Salvesen asserted that he acted in self-

defense, but the jury found him guilty of all counts.

      2. Salvesen contends that the trial court abused its discretion

by admitting into evidence, over his objection, photographs taken by

a crime scene investigator at the location where Martin’s body was

discovered and photographs taken during Martin’s autopsy.5 The

record reflects that the photographs at issue were admitted in

connection with the testimony of the medical examiner and a crime

scene investigator. These photographs generally depict Martin’s

      4 Salvesen’s father testified that the moving dolly was his and that, when

he asked Salvesen about the dolly, Salvesen claimed that it was at his sister’s
house.
      5 Salvesen specifically takes issue with State’s Exhibits 14, 15, and 17-

47. Because State’s Exhibit 34 was neither tendered nor admitted, however,
our analysis of this issue does not address Exhibit 34.
                                       5
wounds, as shown at the crime scene where Martin’s body was

recovered and during the autopsy; Martin’s body as it was received

by the medical examiner; and Martin’s body as shown at the crime

scene where it was recovered.6 While Salvesen concedes that this

photographic evidence was “technically relevant” to show that

Martin died, he argues that the photographs should have been

excluded under OCGA § 24-4-403 because, he says, they were

cumulative of other evidence given that he did not dispute the cause

or fact of Martin’s death and because they were gruesome. These

arguments are unavailing.

      The admissibility of crime scene and victim injury and
      autopsy photographs is generally governed by OCGA §
      24-4-401, which defines “relevant evidence” as “evidence
      having any tendency to make the existence of any fact
      that is of consequence to the determination of the action
      more probable or less probable than it would be without
      the evidence”; by OCGA § 24-4-402, which provides that
      “all relevant evidence shall be admissible, except as

      6 Based on some ambiguous concessions at trial, there is some question

as to whether Salvesen preserved his objections to the admission of the
photographs showing Martin’s wounds, Martin’s wrapped body at the scene
and as it was received by the medical examiner, and the materials wrapped
around Martin’s body were preserved. But we need not resolve this question
because, as discussed below, the trial court acted well within its discretion in
admitting these particular photographs.
                                       6
     limited by constitutional requirements or as otherwise
     provided by law or by other rules”; and by OCGA § 24-4-
     403 (“Rule 403”), which provides that “relevant evidence
     may be excluded if its probative value is substantially
     outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion
     of the issues, or misleading the jury or by considerations
     of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of
     cumulative evidence.”

(Punctuation omitted.) Perez v. State, 309 Ga. 687, 694-695 (3) (848

SE2d 395) (2020). In reviewing the admission of evidence “under

Rule 403, we look at the evidence in a light most favorable to its

admission, maximizing its probative value and minimizing its

undue prejudicial impact.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.)

Favors v. State, 305 Ga. 366, 368-369 (2) (b) (825 SE2d 164) (2019).

And it is well settled that “[t]he application of Rule 403 is a matter

committed principally to the discretion of the trial courts, and the

exclusion of evidence under Rule 403 is an extraordinary remedy

which should be used only sparingly.” (Citation and punctuation

omitted.) Id. at 369 (2) (b).

     Because Salvesen concedes that the photographs were

relevant, the only question before us is whether their probative

                                  7
value was substantially outweighed by their prejudicial effect.

Salvesen argues, as he did below, that the photographs were

gruesome and needlessly cumulative because he admitted shooting

Martin such that cause of death was not at issue. But because “the

State was not required to stipulate to the cause of death and the

circumstances surrounding the murder [ ],” this argument misses

the mark. Morgan v. State, 307 Ga. 889, 896 (3) (b) (838 SE2d 878)

(2020). Indeed, “a criminal defendant may not stipulate or admit his

way out of the full evidentiary force of the case as the State chooses

to present it.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Id. And the mere

fact that the photographs were gruesome does not, as a general

matter, render them inadmissible under Rule 403. See Plez v. State,

300 Ga. 505, 508 (3) (796 SE2d 704) (2017) (“[P]hotographic evidence

that fairly and accurately depicts a body or crime scene and is

offered for a relevant purpose is not generally inadmissible under

Rule 403 merely because it is gruesome.”).

     First, the photographs showing Martin’s wounds were not

unduly prejudicial. These photographs depict the nature and

                                  8
location of Martin’s injuries and corroborated the State’s evidence

regarding the circumstances of the killing. Moreover, the wound

pictures were useful for the jury to understand why the medical

examiner was unable to determine which gunshot wound caused

Martin’s death. See Allen v. State, 307 Ga. 707, 710 (3) (838 SE2d

301) (2020) (“Autopsy photographs may be relevant and probative to

show the nature and location of a victim’s injuries, even if the cause

of death is not disputed.”); Albury v. State, 314 Ga. 459, 462 (3) (877

SE2d 548) (2022) (no abuse of discretion in admitting post-incision

autopsy photograph showing an injury to the victim’s head after the

skin of his scalp and face had been peeled back to show the nature

of the victim’s injuries in support of the State’s theory that the

appellant participated in the crimes); Flowers v. State, 307 Ga. 618,

624 (3) (837 SE2d 824) (2020) (admission of photograph of victim’s

brain not an abuse of discretion where it was relevant to show an

injury’s severity). Accordingly, Salvesen has failed to show that

these photographs should have been excluded under Rule 403 and

that the trial court abused its broad discretion in admitting them.

                                  9
See Favors, 305 Ga. at 369 (2) (b); Evans v. State, 306 Ga. 403, 412

(2) (c) (831 SE2d 818) (2019) (“a trial court has broad discretion in

balancing the probative and prejudicial nature of crime scene

photos”).

     We turn next to consider several photographs from the medical

examiner’s office and the crime scene. These photographs show the

material wrapped around Martin’s body, the wrapped body itself,

the area where Martin’s body was discovered, and evidence at the

scene. As these photographs were “neither especially gory nor

gruesome,” Lanier v. State, 310 Ga. 520, 527 (4) (852 SE2d 509)

(2020), we see no substantial risk of unfair prejudice flowing from

any of these pictures. Salvesen thus has failed to show that these

photographs should have been excluded under Rule 403 or that the

trial court abused its broad discretion in admitting them.

     The remaining photographs, which show the unwrapping of

Martin’s body at the scene in greater detail and the condition of

Martin’s body as it was received by the medical examiner, include

images of insect activity and depict the biological processes

                                 10
associated with decomposition. Many of these pictures can be fairly

described as gruesome or gory. And the emotional response some

jurors may have experienced when confronted by such images

carries some risk of unfair prejudice. But, as mentioned above, Rule

403 requires the trial court to determine whether the risk of unfair

prejudice “substantially” outweighs the probative value of the

evidence. See Anglin v. State, 302 Ga. 333, 337 (806 SE2d 573)

(2017) (“[I]n a criminal trial, inculpatory evidence is inherently

prejudicial; it is only when unfair prejudice substantially outweighs

probative value that the rule permits exclusion.” (citation and

punctuation omitted; emphasis supplied)). And though some of us

could have reached a different conclusion about the admissibility of

these photographs had the inquiry been put to us in the first

instance, we cannot say that the trial court abused its broad

discretion by finding that the pictures’ probative value was not

substantially outweighed by any unfair prejudice.

     Here, the State was required to disprove Salvesen’s claim of

self-defense, and its need for evidence probative on that question

                                 11
was heightened in light of Salvesen’s testimony that Martin was the

aggressor. These photographs, which provided a concrete depiction

of Salvesen’s considerable efforts to conceal his act of shooting and

killing Martin, rebutted Salvesen’s claim of self-defense by allowing

the jury to infer that Salvesen “believed he had done something

wrong.” Bannister v. State, 306 Ga. 289, 300 (5) (a) (830 SE2d 79)

(2019). See also Early v. State, 313 Ga. 667, 671 (2) (b) (872 SE2d

705) (2022). Indeed, these photographs were probative of Salvesen’s

guilt. See Richardson v. State, 308 Ga. 70, 72 (3) (838 SE2d 759)

(2020) (evidence of appellant’s “attempt to conceal his involvement

in the crimes was evidence of his guilt”); State v. Orr, 305 Ga. 729,

741 (4) (a) (827 SE2d 892) (2019) (“[I]t is today universally conceded

that the fact of an accused’s . . . concealment . . . and related conduct

is admissible as evidence of consciousness of guilt, and thus of guilt

itself.” (citation and punctuation omitted)). Thus, while these

photographs carried some risk of unfair prejudice, we cannot say,

under the circumstances present here, that the trial court abused its

broad discretion in finding that the probative value of the challenged

                                   12
photographs was not substantially outweighed by the risk of unfair

prejudice. See Favors, 305 Ga. 369 (2) (b); Evans, 306 Ga. at 412 (2)

(c). Accordingly, this enumeration of error fails.

     3. Salvesen argues next that the trial court plainly erred when

it failed to recharge the jury on the lesser offenses of voluntary

manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter when recharging on

malice murder and felony murder. We disagree.

     The record shows that the trial court charged the jury on

malice murder and felony murder, as well as the lesser offenses of

voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.7 During deliberations, the

jury submitted a note asking the trial court to “define (1) malice

murder [and] (2) felony murder[.]” The trial court reviewed the note

with the State and Salvesen. Neither the State nor Salvesen opposed

a recharge on malice murder and felony murder, and Salvesen did

not ask the trial court to recharge the jury on voluntary

manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter, either before or after

     7 We express no opinion as to whether the evidence in this case supported

jury charges for voluntary or involuntary manslaughter. Cf. Martin v. State,
306 Ga. 538, 545-546 (5) (832 SE2d 402) (2019).
                                     13
the trial court recharged the jury. 8 The court subsequently

reinstructed the jury on both malice murder and felony murder.

     As the State correctly points out,

     [a] trial court has a duty to recharge the jury on issues for
     which the jury requests a recharge. As a general matter,
     however, where no such request has been made, the need,
     breadth, and formation of additional jury instructions are
     left to the sound discretion of the trial court.

Barnes v. State, 305 Ga. 18, 23 (3) (823 SE2d 302) (2019). Here,

beyond the recharge on malice murder and felony murder, which the

jury requested by virtue of its note to the court asking for the

definitions of those crimes, the extent of any further recharge was

within the court’s discretion. See id. Indeed, the jury’s note did not

mention, much less request the definitions for, voluntary

manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter. It thus was “within the

court’s discretion whether to recharge the jury in full or only upon

the point or points requested by the jury,” and we cannot say that

     8 Salvesen acknowledges that he made no objection to the recharge and

argues for plain error review. But we need not decide whether plain error
review applies in such circumstances because we conclude that there was no
error, plain or otherwise.
                                   14
the trial court abused its discretion “in limiting the recharge to the

point[s] requested by the jury.” (Punctuation omitted.) Id. at 23 (3).

See also Dozier v. State, 306 Ga. 29, 32-33 (3) (829 SE2d 131) (2019)

(“[O]ur case law contains no general mandate requiring trial courts,

when responding to a jury’s request for a recharge on a particular

issue, to also recharge on all principles asserted in connection with

that issue.”); Sampson v. State, 279 Ga. 8, 10 (5) (608 SE2d 621)

(2005) (where the jury requested the legal definitions of murder,

felony murder, aggravated assault, and conspiracy, “it was within

the trial court’s discretion to limit the scope of the recharge to issues

pertinent to the jury’s request”); Salahuddin v. State, 277 Ga. 561,

564-565 (4) (592 SE2d 410) (2004) (“[W]here the jury requests

further instructions upon a particular phase of the case, the court in

its discretion may recharge them in full, or only upon the point or

points   requested.”     (punctuation     and    emphasis     omitted)).

Accordingly, the trial court acted within its discretion, and Salvesen

cannot show any error – let alone plain error. This enumeration

therefore fails. See Jackson v. State, 306 Ga. 475, 479 (3) (831 SE2d

                                   15
755) (2019) (no plain error where the trial court acted within its

discretion in recharging the jury).

     4. Finally, Salvesen argues that trial counsel was ineffective to

the extent that he failed to preserve for ordinary appellate review

objections to the admission of the photographs or to the trial court’s

failure to recharge the jury on the lesser offenses. We disagree.

     To succeed on a claim of ineffective assistance, a defendant

must establish both that his counsel’s performance was deficient

and that he was prejudiced as a result of that deficient performance.

See Washington v. State, 313 Ga. 771, 773 (3) (873 SE2d 132) (2022)

(citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668, 687 (104 SCt 2052,

80 LE2d 674) (1984)). “If [a defendant] fails to make a sufficient

showing on one part of the Strickland test, we need not address the

other part.” Id.

     Here, trial counsel did object to the admission of the

photographs at issue and obtained a ruling with respect to all of

them. Thus, Salvesen fails to show any deficiency in this respect.

See Hyden v. State, 308 Ga. 218, 227 (4) (839 SE2d 506) (2020)

                                 16
(rejecting ineffective assistance claim based on purported failure to

preserve errors where trial counsel properly preserved his argument

by making a timely objection below). Moreover, to the extent

Salvesen claims deficiency with respect to the alleged concession

related to some unspecified portion of the State’s exhibits, this claim

fails because we have concluded that the admission of these exhibits

was not error, and Salvesen cannot base his ineffectiveness claim on

a failure to preserve a meritless argument. See Walker v. State, 306

Ga. 637, 645 (2) (b) (832 SE2d 783) (2019) (“[T]he failure to make a

meritless objection is not deficient performance.”).

     Finally, as discussed in Division 3, the trial court did not err

by recharging the jury only on the points requested. Again, any

objection on these grounds would have been meritless, and

“[d]eficient performance is not shown by counsel’s failure to raise a

meritless objection.” Smith v. State, 300 Ga. 532, 536-537 (3) (b) (796

SE2d 671) (2017). Accordingly, his claim of ineffective assistance on

this ground fails, as well.

     Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.

                                  17