Garcia v. State (150 S.W.3d 598, 2004)

Citations

150 S.W.3d 598

Full opinion text

OPINION

Opinion by

KAREN ANGELINI, Justice.

Daniel D. Garcia was convicted of murdering his wife and was sentenced to ninety-nine years imprisonment. On appeal, Garcia brings sixty-five issues. Because Garcia’s tenth issue has merit, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the cause to the trial court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

BACKGROUND

In December 1993, Lesa and Daniel “Danny” Garcia met through a dating service. Six months later, Danny moved into Lesa’s home and in January 1995, Lesa and Danny married. At the end of that year, they moved into a new home on Falcon Oak Drive in San Antonio, Texas. On May 15, 1996, Lesa and Danny’s first child, Daniel, was born. Throughout the next year, 1997, Lesa and Danny sought marriage counseling from Mary Torres. On August 27, 1997, Lesa and Danny’s second child, Ian, was born. Ian had significant medical problems that caused stress in Lesa and Danny’s marriage.

Another stress in their marriage was Danny’s wish to move to his parent’s property. Danny’s parents, Sally Garcia and Dr. Daniel Garcia, owned a home located on twenty-five acres near Leon Springs, Texas, just northwest of San Antonio. The Garcia family referred to these twenty-five acres as the “family compound.” Sally and Daniel Garcia had allocated each of their three children five acres on which to build a home. Lesa and Danny walked the property and cleared three separate building sites. Lesa, however, was reluctant to move onto the family compound, afraid that it would give Danny too much leverage in the event of a divorce.

On Sunday May 24, 1998, Lesa, Danny, and their two small children went to the family compound for dinner at Danny’s parent’s home. That evening, on the way home from the family dinner, Danny and Lesa argued in the car about moving to the family compound. Danny stopped the car on Loop 1604 and forced Lesa out of the car. He then drove away. Lesa walked about two miles to a grocery store and called her sister, Laura Jacobs, to pick her up. Lesa then spent the night at her sister’s home. Five days later, Lesa reported the incident to Officer Marquin of the San Antonio Police Department. Because of the incident, Lesa and Danny separated for two and a half months, reconciling in August 1998. Danny and Lesa continued to undergo marriage counseling. They stopped seeing Mary Wells and began seeing Father Tom Picton at the Catholic Counseling Center. When Father Pic-ton retired, they began seeing Dr. Richard Theis.

On July 29, 1999, Lesa and Danny went to an appointment with Dr. Theis. During this session, the “car dumping” incident of May 1998 was discussed. According to Dr. Theis, the “car dumping” incident was a recurring theme of discussion during the counseling sessions. During the July 29th session, the topic of divorce was broached, at which time Danny shook his finger at Lesa and said that divorce was not an option. Dr. Theis understood Danny’s statement to be a reminder to Lesa of her devout Catholic beliefs. Also during the session, Danny admitted that he could become physical with Lesa if she pushed him. According to Dr. Theis, Danny stated that “everyone has their breaking point and that if Lesa nagged and nagged him, [] he could become physical with her.” Dr. Theis assumed Danny’s statement meant the end of the marriage. The following morning, Dr. Theis called Lesa and recommended that she file for divorce. He also recommended that she obtain counsel and a protective order.

On August 6, 1999, Lesa hired Sara Hermann as her attorney. Plans were made to serve Danny on the evening of August 9, 1999, Lesa’s birthday. At approximately 6:45 p.m. on August 9th, Mitchell Cromwell served Danny with divorce papers. Cromwell informed Danny that the divorce papers included a court order ordering Danny to vacate the home by 9:00 p.m. that same evening. According to Cromwell, Danny responded by stating, “That bitch will pay.” Danny called his father, Dr. Daniel Garcia, for help moving his belongings. Shortly before the 9:00 p.m. deadline, Danny and his father finished loading Danny’s belongings onto a flatbed trailer, and they arrived at the family compound after 9:00 p.m. According to Danny’s family, he was not angry with Lesa that evening, but was sad that they were divorcing.

The next day, Lesa hired a locksmith to re-key her home. She also began communicating with Danny through emails. From August 1999 to February 2000, they communicated primarily via email. According to Danny, he wanted to communicate via email because he did not trust Lesa and wanted a record of their discussions. On August 21, 1999, Lesa had the alarm system in her home repaired and entered a new code to arm and disarm the system.

Lesa and Danny worked together regarding visitation of their children. At this time, Danny was about three and a half years old, and Ian was two years old. According to Danny, he would pick up his two children on Wednesday afternoons at day care and return them Thursday mornings. And on his weekends, he would pick them up on Friday evenings at day care and return them to day care on Monday mornings. The State, however, presented evidence that Danny would not return the children to day care on Monday mornings, but would instead return them to Lesa at the Falcon Oak residence on Sunday night.

In an attempt to avoid hefty legal fees, Lesa and Danny were also working on a divorce settlement. On November 5,1999, Danny’s attorney, Bob Estrada, sent Lesa’s attorney, Sara Hermann, a proposed divorce decree and property settlement reflecting the terms and conditions agreed to by Lesa and Danny. By early January 2000, Hermann had not responded to the proposed decree. Estrada sent discovery to Hermann and set trial for February 17, 2000. Hermann responded by seeking discovery of Danny’s retirement/brokerage account. On February 17, 2000, Lesa, Danny, Sara Hermann, and Bob Estrada met in a jury room at the Bexar County Courthouse, attempting to settle the divorce and property division. Hermann demanded $7500 of the approximately $100,000 that was in Danny’s brokerage account. According to Hermann, there had been some commingling of community funds. Danny and Estrada refused the demand. Estrada then exited the room because of a prior case held over from the day before. After Estrada left, Hermann praised both Lesa and Danny for setting their differences aside and working things out amicably. Because of the other case, Estrada entered and then exited the room several times. Danny became agitated with his attorney’s behavior and asked Hermann if Estrada’s behavior was appropriate. Hermann replied that it was not. Hermann and Lesa then exited the room, at which time Lesa told Her-mann that Danny was getting upset and that she was afraid of him again. When they entered the room, Danny, for the first time, offered to work less and take custody of the boys. Danny and Hermann then left to find Estrada. After finding Estrada in a courtroom, they reset the case for February 23, 2000.

On Friday February 18, 2000, Lesa called Danny and asked to have the boys for the weekend. Danny refused, saying that it was his weekend. Lesa then asked if Danny would take the boys to a birthday party on Saturday. According to Danny, he refused because he already had plans to take the boys to a family wedding on Saturday. Laura Ellison, Lesa’s co-worker, heard Lesa’s portion of the phone call. According to Ellison, Lesa was upset because she thought it was her weekend to have the boys and because Danny refused to take the boys to the birthday party.

Also on Friday February 18th, Danny fired Estrada as his divorce attorney and hired Elizabeth Lindell. Later that Friday, Danny picked the boys up at day care and took them to his mobile home on the family compound. On Saturday, Danny had planned to take the boys to the family wedding, but Danny’s plans changed when Daniel, the eldest boy, got sick and soiled his dress clothes. Instead, Danny and the boys spent the day at the family compound.

On Sunday, February 20, 2000, Danny took the boys to Brackenridge Park, returning to the family compound before 6:00 p.m. for the traditional family dinner. Several members of the Garcia family were present for the family dinner: (1) Danny, (2) his two boys, (3) Danny’s parents, Sally Garcia and Dr. Daniel Garcia, (4) Danny’s sister, Cathy Garcia, and her husband Dr. Louis Garcia, (5) Danny’s other sister, Debbie Sigoloff, Debbie’s husband, Nelson Sigoloff, and their son, Sam Sigoloff, and (6) Ben Hicks, a friend of Sam Sigoloff. Sam Sigoloff and Ben Hicks, both teenagers, were going to camp on the family compound with Brian Sigo-loff, Sam’s cousin. At dinner, the boys’ camping plans were discussed. After dinner, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Nelson, Debbie, Sam, and Ben left Sally and Dr. Daniel Garcia’s home for their home, also situated on the family compound. Danny and his two boys also left for the mobile home. According to Danny, when he left his parents’ home, he was carrying Ian, his youngest son, in his left arm, holding the children’s diaper bag in his right hand, and walking with Daniel. As Danny approached the corner of the mobile home closest to his parents’ home, he put Ian down on the ground. His knee gave way and he tripped on something and fell backward and to his right, hitting the ground with the back, right side of his right hand. Danny believes that he either tripped on the trenches that had been dug for the sewer, electrical, and water connections for the mobile home or on rough hill country terrain. Danny testified that as a result of the fall, he bruised his right hand.

After he entered the mobile home, Danny took off his long-sleeved sweatshirt and bathed his children. According to Danny, when he was picking Daniel up out of the bathtub, he lost control of Daniel who started to slide. Daniel then grabbed for Danny’s neck and scratched Danny’s chest.

Also around 8:30 p.m., Dr. Louis Garcia left the home to rent a movie for the family.

Around 9:00 p.m., Lesa’s next door neighbor, Lamerie Sheffield, saw Lesa in her back yard watering her lawn.

At about 9:30 p.m., Dr. Louis Garcia returned to Sally and Dr. Daniel Garcia’s home with the video rental. Sam Sigoloff and Ben Hicks had taken sleeping bags out to the campsite behind the Sigoloff home and some distance away from the mobile home. Sam Sigoloff saw some headlights coming into the family compound and believed it was his “Uncle Louis” returning with the movie. Around 11:00 p.m., Brian Sigoloff arrived at the Sigoloff home. All three teenage boys, Brian, Sam, and Ben, went to the campsite for the night.

Around 1:00 a.m., the family finished watching the movie. Cathy and Dr. Louis Garcia left Sally and Dr. Daniel Garcia’s home. The Garcia family home has a “dinger,” a hose that runs across the drive at the front gate. When a car runs over the “dinger,” a loud bell sounds in the Garcia home. The purpose of the “dinger” is to indicate when someone enters the family compound. Neither Sally nor Dr. Daniel Garcia heard the dinger ring after 1:00 a.m.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Ben Hicks saw some car headlights enter the property and go over to Danny’s mobile home. Ben Hicks testified that he heard a car door open and close. Ben asked Sam, “Who is it?” According to Ben, Sam replied, “Oh, it’s just my uncle.” Ben believed that he saw the headlights around 3:00 a.m. However, Ben was not wearing a watch; he was estimating the time based on his own belief. Neither Sam Sigoloff nor Brian Sigoloff saw these headlights heading to Danny’s mobile home. They did not hear Danny’s pick-up truck that night, nor did they hear car doors opening and closing. Moreover, Sam and Brian testified that all three boys had been drinking beer that night at the campsite. Although Ben Hicks admitted that he had drunk beer before at the campsite, he denied drinking beer on that occasion.

At around 7:30 a.m. on Monday, February 21, 2000, Danny dropped off his two sons at daycare. He gave the boys their breakfast and then filled out the medication sheet for the daycare workers. Danny, an engineer, then left for work.

That same morning, Patricia Bach, one of Lesa’s friends and co-workers, called Lesa at work. Lesa was not there. Bach called the daycare and was told that Lesa’s boys were present. Bach then drove over to Lesa’s house to check on her. When Patricia arrived, she noticed that Lesa’s red Suburban was “backed in” the driveway. The exterior lights to the house and the soaker hoses were still on. She rang the doorbell, but no one responded. Patricia walked around to the back of Lesa’s house, and looked into a window. She saw Lesa’s purse sitting on the kitchen counter, but did not see Lesa. Patricia then walked back to the front of the house and felt the hood of the Suburban. The hood was cool to the touch. Patricia then drove home and called Lesa’s employer, suggesting that the employer contact Lesa’s stepfather, Ken Cadena.

Someone at Lesa’s place of work contacted Ken Cadena. Ken obtained the keys to Lesa’s house and accompanied by his secretary, drove to Lesa’s house. Like Patricia, Ken noticed that the Suburban had been backed in. Ken thought this was unusual as Lesa did not usually park her car in that manner. Ken placed a key in the top bolt lock, but could not remember if the door was locked or not. He then inserted the same key into the button lock on the door knob and opened the front door. When the door opened, the alarm began sounding. Ken could not disable the alarm. He then saw Lesa’s body, only covered by a shirt, lying just inside the front door at the foot of the stairs. Surrounding her body were sheets and a pillow.

The first police officer on the scene, Officer Hernandez, quickly ascertained that there had been no forced entry. Many other officers, detectives, and technicians arrived. Lesa’s partially nude body was videotaped and photographed. Her hands were bagged for DNA analysis. Lesa’s head was soaked with blood. Upstairs, there were blood splatters on the wall behind the bed in the master bedroom. Spots of blood in the carpet led from the master bedroom down the stairs to Lesa’s body.

Around 1:00 p.m., Detective Raymond Roberts, the lead detective, arrived on the scene. He spent a short amount of time downstairs, but did not go upstairs. He then met with Ken Cadena next door at Lamerie Sheffield’s residence. After speaking with Cadena, Detective Roberts, accompanied by Detective Gonzalez, drove to the family compound. When they arrived, Sally Garcia and Dr. Daniel Garcia, alerted by the “dinger,” met them outside. Roberts and Gonzalez informed the Garci-as that Lesa had been killed and that they needed to talk with Danny. Sally called Danny at his work and then put Gonzalez on the telephone. Gonzalez identified himself as a homicide investigator and obtained directions to Danny’s work. Gonzalez and Roberts then left for Danny’s work.

Shortly thereafter, Danny called his mother back and asked what was happening. Sally told Danny to wait for the officers because they needed to talk to him. At approximately 3:30 p.m., Detectives Gonzalez and Roberts arrived at Danny’s work. Danny met the detectives and showed them to a conference room. According to the detectives, Danny was relaxed and nonchalant. Because Danny’s shirt was not buttoned all the way to the top, Detective Roberts noticed two scratches below his adam’s apple on his neck. Danny was cooperative, but seemed unconcerned with the situation. He was not nervous. According to Detective Roberts, in an attempt to get an emotional response from Danny, he said, “Your fucking wife is dead.” Danny did not respond emotionally. Danny agreed to accompany the detectives downtown for questioning. He locked his office. When he came back downstairs to meet the detectives, the top button on his shirt was buttoned.

Danny accompanied the detectives downtown for questioning. He denied killing Lesa. Dr. Daniel Garcia, Nelson Sigo-loff, and Dr. Louis Garcia arrived at the police station. Dr. Daniel Garcia obtained permission to speak with Danny. Danny gave his father his keys to his pick-up truck, which was still parked at his workplace. Dr. Daniel Garcia, Nelson Sigoloff, and Dr. Louis Garcia left to get Danny’s truck and drive it back to the family compound.

When asked about the scratches on his neck, Danny said that he was playing with his kids and one of them scratched him. The detective then obtained a search warrant to photograph Danny and get blood, hair, and DNA samples. Around 8:30 p.m., Detectives Roberts and Gonzalez took Danny to a hospital. After arriving at the hospital, the detectives, for the first time, noticed bruising on Danny’s right hand. According to Detective Roberts, during questioning, Danny had his hands in his lap. And, Danny was not the type of person to speak using his hands. Photographs of the scratches on Danny’s neck and his bruised right hand were taken.

On February 22, 2000, an autopsy was performed on Lesa. According to Dr. Jan Garavaglia, a combination of strangulation and blunt head trauma caused Lesa’s death.

Legal Sufficiency of the Evidence

In his first three issues, Appellant Daniel Garcia (“Danny”) argues that the evidence is legally insufficient to support his conviction. In doing so, Danny argues that legal insufficiency must be measured under the reasonable hypothesis of guilt analytical construct which pre-existed Geesa v. State, 820 S.W.2d 154 (Tex.Crim.App.1991). We disagree.

Under the reasonable hypothesis of guilt analytical construct, the State in circumstantial evidence cases had to exclude all reasonable hypotheses, other than the defendant’s guilt, in order for the evidence to be legally sufficient. See Geesa v. State, 820 S.W.2d 154, 161 (Tex.Crim.App.1991). In Geesa v. State, 820 S.W.2d 154, 161-62 (Tex.Crim.App.1991), the court disregarded the reasonable hypothesis of guilt analytical construct all together, holding that the construct was inappropriate both as a jury instruction and as a standard of review. Geesa, however, did explain that the abrogation of the reasonable hypothesis of guilt analytical construct necessitated a jury instruction on reasonable doubt. Id. at 161. Nine years later, the court of criminal appeals overruled that portion of Geesa which required trial courts to instruct juries on the definition of “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Paulson v. State, 28 S.W.3d 570, 573 (Tex.Crim.App.2000).

Danny argues that we should interpret Paulson as a return to the pre-Geesa standard of review. We decline to do so. The Paulson court specifically limited its decision to that portion of Geesa which required trial courts to instruct juries on the definition of “beyond a reasonable doubt.” See id. at 573. The court of criminal appeals did not mention that portion of Geesa providing for the abrogation of the reasonable hypothesis of guilt analytical construct. Moreover, since Paul-son, the court of criminal appeals has reiterated the correct standard of review in circumstantial evidence cases:

In conducting a legal sufficiency review, this Court examines all the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict in order to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. This standard is the same in both direct and circumstantial evidence cases.

Burden v. State, 55 S.W.3d 608, 612-13 (Tex.Crim.App.2001) (citations omitted). We, therefore, will apply the standard of review reiterated by the court of criminal appeals in Burden.

Using the standard of review most recently reiterated by the court of criminal appeals in Burden, we hold that the evidence is legally sufficient. Danny was convicted of murdering Lesa. See Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 19.02 (Vernon 1994). Here, Danny does not dispute that Lesa was murdered; he disputes that he was the person who murdered her. The evidence, however, is legally sufficient to support his conviction. Danny had scratches on his chest. DNA found underneath Lesa’s fingernails was consistent with a mixture of Lesa’s and Danny’s DNA. And, there was testimony that the bruising on Lesa’s fingers was consistent with her fighting her attacker. Lesa’s body was beaten and bruised. Danny’s right hand was also bruised. And, according to the State’s experts, the injury to Danny’s hand was consistent with him striking an object or a person. It was not consistent with Danny falling down. Finally, Ben Hicks testified that in the middle of the night, he saw headlights come into the family compound and head to Danny’s trailer. And, when he asked Sam Sigoloff who was coming in, Sam responded, “Oh, it’s just my uncle.” Examining all the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, we hold that any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

The “Car Dumping” Incident

In his tenth issue, Danny argues that the trial court abused its discretion in overruling his objections and allowing the State to introduce evidence of the “car dumping” incident in violation of Texas Rules of Evidence 401, 403, and 404(b).

In its case-in-chief, the State elicited testimony about the “car dumping” incident through three witnesses: Dr. Richard Theis, Laura Jacobs, and Joan Wells. Additionally, during the defense’s case-in-chief, the State elicited testimony about the incident on cross-examination of Danny and his mother, Sally Garcia.

Danny and Lesa saw Dr. Richard Theis for marriage counseling. At trial, Dr. Theis testified that Danny and Lesa began seeing him in May of 1998 as a result of the “car dumping” incident:

Q: Had there been an event that precipitated them coming to see you back in May of 1998?

A: Yes.

Q: And what was that event?

A: they — Lesa termed it the car dumping. And the best of my recollection is that they were on, I believe [Loop] 1604, and Danny had forced Lesa out of the car. And there [were] some bruises on Lesa. And as — I think as a result of that, primarily, they were not living together at the time. They had seen a therapist prior to me at the Catholic Consultation Center, Father Tom Picton, and it was informed to me [sic] that they were not satisfied with their progress so they switched therapists to me.

Q: Did the defendant ever take responsibility for that car dumping incident?

A: He admitted that he did it.... Danny took responsibility for it. But he never took full responsibility for that incident.

Q: Did he, in fact, blame Lesa partially for that incident?

A: Partially.

Q: And was that a recurring theme in the counseling?

A: Yes ... Not every session, but it was brought up numerous times.

Laura Jacobs, Lesa’s sister, also testified about the “car dumping” incident. Laura testified that she received a phone call from Lesa between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in May of 1998. According to Laura, Lesa was upset and crying. Laura then testified about what Lesa had told her that night:

Q: And what did Lesa tell you happened?

A: She told me that she was returning home from a visit to Daniel’s parents and had argued with Daniel, and ... [s]he said that the argument deteriorated and that Daniel told her to shut — to shut the fuck up, or he would kick her out of the truck.

Q: When — Did she tell you the children were in the car or not?

A: Yes. The children were in the truck with them.

Q: And what did she tell you happened?

A: Well, evidently things couldn’t quiet down, so he pulled off of 1604 just past the Hausman exit, and shoved her out of the truck.

Q: And did she describe to you how that happened?

A: She — Yes, she did. She said that he pulled the car over, and brought it to a stop and reached over and opened the door, and shoved her out the door, but met resistance because her safety belt was still on. He shoved for a few minutes — well, not a few minutes, but it was a few seconds before he realized this, and unlatched her belt and continued to shove her until she fell out of the door without her purse. She was begging for her purse or a cell phone. This was a summer evening, she was in shorts and sandals and had nothing with her. And he dumped her on the side of the road and took off. Actually, the door was still open when he took off.

Laura then testified that Lesa walked 1.8 miles to a grocery store. Lesa called Laura from the grocery store. When Laura arrived at the grocery store, Lesa was “obviously very, very upset. She just was shaken and didn’t know what to do.” Lesa then spent the night at Laura’s home. Laura testified that Danny did not call to check on Lesa that night nor the next morning. Lesa and Danny then separated for the first time.

Joan Wells is a licensed counselor specializing in abusive relationships. She testified that Lesa was her client. She saw Lesa four times between June of 1998 and July of 1998. Joan Wells testified that Lesa came to see her following the “car dumping” incident and that she and Lesa discussed the incident. According to Wells, she was very concerned about Lesa’s safety and although she normally did not call her clients at home, she made an exception for Lesa because of her concern for Lesa’s safety.

Additionally, Danny was cross-examined by the State about the “car dumping” incident:

Q: You’ve heard testimony about when you pushed Lesa out of the car on 1604, haven’t you?

A: Yes, I have.

Ms. Skinner: May I approach the witness?

The Court: You may.

Q: I show you what’s been marked as State’s Exhibit Number 94. You’ve seen this before, haven’t you?

A: No. I haven’t actually read it, I’ve heard about it.

Q: Defense attorney never showed you that, and went over that with you?

A: No. I haven’t read this report at all.

But you are aware that Lesa did make a police report, documenting what happened when you pushed her out of the car on 1604? <©

Yes. I’m aware that she made a police report.

I can’t say for certain what she documented.

I don’t know what the police report says. I haven’t read it.

Let’s talk about the car dumping. O

Okay. <1

The children were in the car when you told Lesa to shut her fucking mouth or you were going to throw her out of the car. Isn’t that true? o

No, that’s not. i>

Yes. But I didn’t say that. i>

I didn’t say that. <1

So Laura Jacobs was lying when she testified to that, that that’s what Lesa told her? o

She wasn’t there. <3

But so Lesa was lying when she told Laura that? o

Possibly. <3

Well, if you didn’t say it, then Lesa would be lying about it? o

Apparently.

$ ⅜ ⅜

You were very angry, weren’t you, when you were driving home that night with Lesa and the kids? o

Yes, I did. I became very angry.

I stopped at 1604, yes. !>

And you slammed on the brakes? <£>

Yes. I stopped, slamming on my brakes, yes. í>

And you reached across Lesa, and you opened the door, and you started to try to push her out of the car, didn’t you? O

Yes. I think so. <1

And you — You think so or you did? O

No. I had to unbuckle her seat belt. She still had her seat belt. <⅜

Right. You unbuckled her seat belt, even though she’s begging you to stop? ¿O

Yeah. i>

And you pushed her out of the ear onto the side of the road, where she fell down? &

No. I actually pushed her hip.