PER CURIAM.
Clemente Javier Aguirre-Jarquin ("Aguirre") appeals the denial of his motions to vacate his conviction of first-degree murder and sentence of death filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851, and he also petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus.
In 2006, Aguirre was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2004 murders of Cheryl Williams and Carol Bareis, who were stabbed to death in their home. Aguirre-Jarquin v. State, 9 So.3d 593 (Fla.2009). In its opinion in Aguirre's direct appeal, this Court explained the evidence presented at trial as follows:
Id. at 598-600 (two footnotes omitted).
Aguirre's jury convicted him of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary with an assault or battery. Id. at 600. Following the penalty phase presentation, the jury recommended the death sentence for the murder of Cheryl Williams by a vote of 7 to 5 and recommended the death sentence for the murder of Carol Bareis by a vote of 9 to 3. Id. After holding a Spencer
This Court affirmed Aguirre's convictions and sentences on direct appeal.
In 2011, Aguirre filed his initial 3.851 postconviction motion, raising (among other claims) that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate alternate suspects, including Samantha Williams. Subsequently, Aguirre amended his initial postconviction motion multiple times, adding additional allegations regarding Samantha as an alternative suspect, including (after DNA testing) that multiple bloodstains containing Samantha's DNA (but not Aguirre's) were found at the crime scene near the victims' blood, and that Samantha had stated that demons made her kill her family. Following an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court denied relief on all claims, and Aguirre appealed to this Court.
While Aguirre's appeal of the denial of his initial postconviction motion was pending in this Court, in 2014, Aguirre filed a successive postconviction motion in the circuit court alleging that he is entitled to a new trial based upon newly discovered evidence regarding Samantha that first came
In so ruling, the circuit court concluded that Aguirre's successive postconviction motion constituted an abuse of process because, in the court's view, Aguirre should have sought leave to amend his initial postconviction motion to address the additional statements in which Samantha admitted to killing her mother and grandmother. However, the circuit court also addressed the merits, ruling that Samantha's statements are inadmissible hearsay and that her statements also fail to satisfy the requirements of Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973), for admitting a third-party's hearsay confession. Alternatively, the circuit court concluded that, "[e]ven if the various statements made by Samantha Williams were found to be admissible, when viewed in light of all the evidence presented at the evidentiary hearing during the [initial postconviction] proceedings and the evidence presented at trial, they are not likely to produce an acquittal." In support of its ruling, the circuit court found that Samantha's statements are either "more in line with expressions of survivor's guilt than expressions of guilt [for] murder[ ]," or "more likely attempts to frighten individuals who had upset her rather than true confessions to the crimes." The circuit court also accepted the testimony of the State's experts that the forensic evidence is inconsistent with Aguirre's claim that he found the victims' bodies over the testimony of Aguirre's postconviction experts that the evidence is consistent with Aguirre's claim. The circuit court further concluded that none of the evidence weakened Samantha's alibi, which was provided by Samantha's then-boyfriend who testified that Samantha was asleep with him at his parents' home, but also acknowledged that he was "dead to the world" asleep most of the night.
Aguirre raises four issues in his appeal of the denial of his initial and successive postconviction motions, including that the cumulative effect of the newly discovered evidence requires a new trial. In addition, he petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus. We agree with Aguirre that the cumulative effect of the newly discovered evidence requires a new trial and therefore limit our review to that diapositive issue.
This Court has explained that the following two requirements must be met to set aside a conviction on the basis of newly discovered evidence;
Because there is no dispute that the DNA evidence and confessions at issue in Aguirre's case are newly discovered evidence within the meaning of the first prong, the only question is whether this evidence satisfies the second prong. In evaluating whether the second prong is satisfied, this Court has explained that
Id.; see also Jones II, 709 So.2d at 522 ("Because this appeal involves a second evidentiary hearing in which claims of newly discovered evidence were presented and evaluated by a trial judge, we must evaluate all the admissible newly discovered evidence at this hearing in conjunction with newly discovered evidence at the prior evidentiary hearing and then compare it with the evidence that was introduced at trial."); Swafford v. State, 125 So.3d 760, 775-76 (Fla.2013) ("The Jones standard requires that, in considering the effect of the newly discovered evidence, we consider all of the admissible evidence that could be introduced at a new trial. In determining the impact of the newly discovered evidence, the Court must conduct a cumulative analysis of all the evidence so that there is a `total picture' of the case and `all the circumstances of the case.'" (quoting Armstrong v. State, 642 So.2d 730, 735 (Fla.1994))).
Further, when, as in Aguirre's case, the circuit court rules on a newly discovered evidence claim after an evidentiary hearing, this Court "review[s] the trial court's findings on questions of fact, the credibility of witnesses, and the weight of the evidence for competent, substantial evidence." Green v. State, 975 So.2d 1090, 1100 (Fla.2008). This Court "review[s] the trial court's application of the law to the facts de novo." Id.
Applying the applicable Jones II standard to Aguirre's case, we cannot agree with the circuit court's conclusion that the newly discovered evidence does not compel a new trial. Rather, when compared to the evidence introduced at trial, the newly discovered evidence placing Samantha's blood (rather than Aguirre's) at critical locations of the crime scene coupled with Samantha's numerous confessions to multiple individuals that she killed the victims "weakens the case against [Aguirre] so as to give rise to a reasonable doubt as to his culpability," entitling Aguirre to a new trial. Marek, 14 So.3d at 990 (quoting Jones v. State, 678 So.2d 309, 315 (Fla.1996)).
At the postconviction evidentiary hearing, Aguirre presented the results of DNA testing on 150 previously untested bloodstains from the crime scene. While the test results showed that Aguirre's DNA was not present, they revealed eight bloodstains that contained the DNA of someone else: Samantha Williams. These results were consistent with Aguirre's trial theory
Because Samantha also lived with the victims and testified at the postconviction evidentiary hearing that she had previously cut herself in their home, it is especially important that the eight bloodstains containing her DNA were all located in areas close to the victims' blood, in high-traffic areas, or the bathroom where the State argued at trial that the killer would have cleaned up after the murders. Specifically, one of the eight bloodstains was taken from the kitchen floor, which the record shows that Cheryl had just mopped the night before the bodies were discovered. Another was taken from the living room floor, near Cheryl's blood, on the way to the southeast bathroom where the State argued the killer cleaned up after the murders. Four more were taken from the southeast bathroom — one from the door and three from the floor, within inches of Cheryl's blood. The last two were taken from the half bathroom in Samantha's southwest bedroom — one from the wall near where Samantha insisted a full-length mirror was hanging when she and Van Sandt left the house the night before the bodies were discovered, and the other from the floor, next to where the mirror was found on top of a CD containing Cheryl's blood.
However, the newly discovered evidence is not limited to Samantha's blood at the crime scene. In addition, evidence presented at the postconviction evidentiary hearing establishes Samantha has confessed — on five different occasions to four different people — that she killed the victims.
Specifically, Samantha's friend, Nichole Casey, testified that she heard Samantha say, on two separate occasions in 2010, that "the demons in her head made her do it," meaning "[m]ade her kill her mom ... [a]nd her grandmother." On the second occasion, Casey testified that Samantha was crying and making "a stabbing motion towards her chest," and that Samantha told her "that the demons had made her do it" and that "she had hurt her mom." When asked, "Do you have any doubt whether or not [Samantha] told you that demons made her kill her family?" Casey answered, "No."
In addition to Samantha's two confessions to Casey, three of Samantha's former neighbors testified to three separate instances in which Samantha admitted to killing the victims. First, Samantha's former neighbor, Christine Laravuso testified that Samantha said, "I'm crazy, I'm evil, and I killed my grandmother and my mother" when Laravuso stopped Samantha from drinking directly from a liquor bottle at a March 2012 neighborhood barbeque. Second, in July 2012, Samantha told different neighbors, Marianne Laravuso and Michael Bowman, after they asked her to leave their property, that she "wasn't afraid" of them and that she had "killed [her] mom and grandma." Third, a few months later, when Marianne saw Samantha standing in her yard and asked Samantha to leave, Marianne testified that Samantha replied, "I'm not afraid of you guys ... I killed my mom, I killed my grandmother." All three of these statements occurred in close proximity to the postconviction DNA testing.
The State first urges us not to consider Samantha's three most recent confessions on abuse-of-process grounds, arguing (as the circuit court found) that, rather than file a successive postconviction motion to address them, Aguirre should have sought leave to amend his initial postconviction motion. We decline the invitation,
The State also argues (and the circuit court ruled) that Samantha's statements should not factor into our analysis because they would be inadmissible in a new trial, but that is incorrect. While Samantha's out of court confessions constitute hearsay,
This Court has since applied Chambers to consider whether a third party's hearsay confession is admissible as substantive evidence. See, e.g., Bearden v. State, 161 So.3d 1257, 1264 (Fla.2015). In Bearden, this Court explained that "[t]he Supreme Court evaluated Chambers' argument in light of four factors intended to evaluate the admissibility of an out-of-court statement: (1) the confession or statement was made spontaneously to a close acquaintance shortly after the crime occurred; (2) the confession or statement is corroborated by some other evidence in the case; (3) the confession or statement was self-incriminatory and unquestionably against interest; and (4) if there is any question about the truthfulness of the out-of[-]court confession or statement, the declarant must be available for cross-examination." Id. at 1265 (citing Chambers, 410 U.S. at 300-01, 93 S.Ct. 1038).
Applying the four Chambers factors to Samantha's statements compels their admission. First, while Samantha's confessions that she killed her mother and grandmother were not made shortly after the crime, they were spontaneous and not coerced, and they were made to people Samantha knew. Further, three of the statements (to Bowman and the Laravusos) were made in close proximity to the postconviction DNA testing, which Samantha knew was being conducted.
Second, DNA results revealing Samantha's blood in key areas of the crime scene corroborate her confessions. So, too, does Aguirre's insistence that he did not kill the victims, as does testimony from Aguirre's postconviction forensic experts explaining that the killer could not have been wearing Aguirre's shorts and why the footwear impressions Aguirre left at the crime scene are consistent with his story of how he found the victims' bodies. Additional corroboration also exists in the sheer number
Third, Samantha's statements were plainly against her penal interest. Samantha unequivocally told Nichole Casey, Christine Laravuso, Marianne Laravuso, and Michael Bowman that she killed her mother and her grandmother.
Fourth, and finally, to the extent there is a question about the truthfulness of Samantha's statements, she is available to testify and be cross-examined. Samantha testified as a key witness for the State at Aguirre's trial, putting Aguirre in the victims' home, uninvited, prior to the murders.
Accordingly, Samantha's confessions that she killed her mother and grandmother are admissible as substantive evidence under Chambers. And they would also be admissible to impeach Samantha. See Livingston v. State, 678 So.2d 895, 897 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) ("Obviously, a defendant has a strong interest in discrediting a crucial state witness by showing bias, an interest in the outcome, or a possible ulterior motive for his in-court testimony."). Therefore, Samantha's confessions are properly considered in analyzing the cumulative effect of the newly discovered evidence.
The importance of the newly discovered evidence is plain when compared with the evidence that the State used to convict Aguirre — i.e., forensic evidence linking Aguirre to the murders and Samantha's testimony. As this Court explained in its decision on direct appeal, at trial, the State's case against Aguirre was based primarily on forensic evidence consisting of bloodstains on Aguirre's clothing and his footwear impressions at the crime scene. See, e.g., Aguirre, 9 So.3d at 609 (explaining that, in addition to Aguirre's admission that he went "inside the victims' home ... [and] handl[ed] the murder weapon, which the evidence indicated was missing from his place of employment[, t]here is also voluminous forensic evidence linking him to the murders," including that his clothes "were covered in the victims' blood," "[h]is shorts contained blood stains that were not contact stains and could have only arrived through motion," and "[b]loody footprints found inside the home match his shoes, and the blood of one of the victims was found on the soles of his shoes").
In addition to the forensic evidence, at trial, Samantha testified as a key witness against Aguirre. It was Samantha who put Aguirre in the victims' home uninvited, testifying that once, several months prior to the murders, she woke in the middle of the night to find Aguirre standing over her bed. See id. at 606-07 ("Samantha's testimony was relevant to prove that Aguirre did not have consent to walk into the victims' home whenever he pleased. Further, her testimony rebutted Aguirre's defense that he walked into the victims' home that fateful morning looking for a beer and did not need to knock because the door was partially open."). It was also Samantha who denied that her family owned a knife like the murder weapon — a common kitchen knife that was also of the type used and reportedly missing from the
However, adding the newly discovered evidence to the picture changes the focus entirely: No longer is Aguirre the creepy figure who appears over Samantha's bed in the middle of the night; he is now the scapegoat for her crimes. Viewed through this lens, the DNA evidence tending to exculpate Aguirre but inculpate Samantha substantially weakens the case against Aguirre. And when the DNA evidence is considered together with Samantha's numerous, unequivocal confessions, the result is reasonable doubt as to Aguirre's culpability.
However, the State would have us assuage this doubt by accepting the circuit court's conclusion that Samantha is a troubled young woman with survivor's guilt over her mother and grandmother's murders, crimes to which she is prone to confessing when she is either upset or threatening others. The State would further have us accept (as did the circuit court) its experts' opinions that the forensic evidence is inconsistent with Aguirre's story over the contrary opinions of Aguirre's postconviction experts. And (like the circuit court), the State would have us find diapositive Samantha's alibi for the night of the murders, even though it was provided by her then-boyfriend who has since admitted he was "dead to the world" asleep most of the night. While a second jury may ultimately resolve these (and other) conflicts in the evidence against Aguirre, they do not change the fact that the newly discovered evidence gives rise to a reasonable doubt as to his culpability. Accordingly, Aguirre is entitled to a new trial. See Marek, 14 So.3d at 990 ("Newly discovered evidence satisfies the second prong of the Jones II test if it `weakens the case against [the defendant] so as to give rise to a reasonable doubt as to his culpability.'" (quoting Jones, 678 So.2d at 315)).
For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the circuit court's orders denying Aguirre's postconviction motions, vacate Aguirre's convictions and sentences, and remand for a new trial.
It is so ordered.
LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY, POLSTON, and PERRY, JJ., concur.
The trial court found the following statutory mitigating circumstances: (1) under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance (moderate weight); (2) substantially impaired ability to appreciate the criminality of his conduct (moderate weight); and (3) age (24) (little weight). Id. In addition, the trial court found the following nonstatutory mitigating circumstances: (1) long term substance abuse problem (moderate weight); (2) dysfunctional family setting (little weight); (3) childhood abuse (little weight); (4) poor performance in school (little weight); and (5) brain damage from substance abuse (moderate weight). Id.
Id. at 600-01. In addition, Aguirre argued that Florida's death sentencing scheme is unconstitutional under Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002), that the bare majority vote for death is unconstitutional, and that the standard jury instructions for capital cases are unconstitutional. Id. at 601 n. 8, 122 S.Ct. 2428.