IRELAND, C.J.
On December 19, 2007, a jury convicted the defendant, Stevie Walker, of murder in the first degree on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty.
1. Motion to suppress. a. Standard of review and background. Prior to trial, the defendant moved to suppress statements he made on November 6, 2005, to police on his arrival at a Boston police station as well as during a tape recorded interview with homicide detectives shortly thereafter, claiming that all of his statements were obtained in violation of various State and Federal constitutional rights. Specifically, as relevant here, the defendant argued that he had not knowingly, willingly, and intelligently waived his Miranda rights; his statements were not voluntarily made due to his impaired physical and mental condition; he did not knowingly, willingly, and intelligently waive his right to a prompt arraignment pursuant to Commonwealth v. Rosario, 422 Mass. 48, 56 (1996) (Rosario);
We summarize the judge's findings of fact, supplemented with uncontested testimony adduced at the evidentiary hearing that was implicitly credited by the judge. See Commonwealth v. Isaiah I., 448 Mass. 334, 337 (2007), and cases cited. On November 4, 2005, at approximately 3:10 P.M., Boston police Detectives William E. Doogan and Brian Black responded to the report of a fatal stabbing. In the victim's apartment, police observed reddish-brown stains on a living room carpet, in the foyer, on a bathroom door, and in a bedroom. They saw a "dreadlock" of human hair on the foyer floor. A witness informed them that the assailant had fled the building.
Further investigation indicated that the defendant, who wore his hair in dreadlocks, had completed the sign-in sheet and entered the building that day to visit a female friend, Phyllis Calvey, who lived in an apartment below the victim's. The defendant was with Calvey on Thursday, November 3, 2005. On that day, with Calvey and another individual, the defendant smoked "crack" cocaine in Calvey's apartment. That night, the group heard noises coming from an apartment upstairs. Calvey commented that a "retarded person" lived above her. The next morning, the group smoked more crack cocaine then returned to bed. Calvey woke the defendant up at approximately 1:45 P.M. Although the defendant was tired, he did not appear to be intoxicated or impaired. He left the apartment twenty minutes later. About fifteen minutes after he had departed, Calvey heard noises from the upstairs apartment. The defendant was expected to return to Calvey's apartment, but he never did. Based in part on some of this information, the police focused on the defendant as a suspect. A flyer naming the defendant as a suspect subsequently was distributed to police in the area of the District 4 or "D-4" (D-4) police station.
On Sunday, November 6, at approximately 5 A.M., the defendant
Because the defendant's hands were underneath a newspaper, Officer Yanovitch asked him to show his hands. The defendant complied; there appeared to be blood on his hands, and he held an empty candy wrapper. Officer Yanovitch informed the defendant that he would be placing him in handcuffs. As he did, at approximately 5:05 A.M., Officer Yanovitch verbally recited the Miranda warnings to the defendant from memory.
The officers escorted the defendant to the booking area, where he fully cooperated with them. They did not observe any evidence that the defendant was impaired in any way. Officer Yanovitch asked the defendant where he had been during the past few days. The defendant stated he had been inside a garage. The defendant was placed in a holding cell to await the arrival of homicide detectives.
A uniformed police officer brought the defendant into the homicide unit's interview room, where Detectives Doogan and Black were waiting. The defendant had no trouble walking into the room. His handcuffs were removed, and he sat down at a table with the detectives. He did not appear to them to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was cooperative and calm.
Detective Doogan began the interview at approximately 8:45 A.M., by informing the defendant that they had to "go over" some matters. The defendant responded affirmatively that he understood. Using a preprinted form that was placed where both he and the defendant could see it, Detective Black read to the defendant the Miranda warnings verbatim from the form. After each warning, Detective Black stopped and asked the defendant whether he understood the individual warning. The defendant responded that he understood and initialed the appropriate line next to each warning. Detective Black asked the defendant whether he was willing to waive his rights and make a statement without a lawyer being present. The defendant printed his name on the form on a blank space and agreed to waive his rights. The defendant signed the form and Detective Doogan also signed it as a witness. The defendant then agreed to have the interview electronically recorded and signed a consent form to that effect.
The detectives tape recorded the entire interview, beginning with a recital of the Miranda warnings from the preprinted form for a second time. Detective Black asked the defendant whether he understood the warnings and the defendant answered affirmatively. At approximately 10:50 A.M., Detective Doogan interrupted the interview by presenting the defendant with a form regarding the waiver of his right to a prompt arraignment. Detective Doogan explained that he was required to inform a suspect of these rights after the expiration of a certain amount of time. Detective Doogan read the form aloud while the defendant read along. The defendant hesitated for a moment before
During the interview, the defendant did not confess to stabbing the victim. He stated that, earlier that morning, he awoke inside a locked storage room in a hotel parking garage. He had to break out by kicking a metal screen. He went to the police station to find out whether something had happened because there was "blood all over [him]." He admitted to visiting Calvey "a few days ago." He informed the detectives that he had a "rock" cocaine habit and that, a "few days ago," he had smoked cocaine with Calvey. He had no memory of any events occurring in between smoking the cocaine and waking up in the storage room.
Toward the beginning of the interview, the defendant told the detectives that he was hungry. They offered him water, which he declined, and later a sports drink. About one and one-half hours into the interview, they offered him some snacks, and the defendant ate some of them. When he requested a sandwich, the detectives ordered one and encouraged him to eat in front of them. The defendant ate but did not devour the sandwich. During the interview, the defendant complained that his hand hurt. He had a visible cut on the knuckle of his middle finger of his left hand. One of the detectives asked whether the defendant needed immediate medical attention, offering to get an emergency medical technician. The defendant declined treatment for the small cut.
A few times during the questioning, the defendant said he was tired and closed his eyes before answering questions. The detectives told him to open his eyes and tried to have him focus on the question.
After the interview, the detectives brought the defendant to an area where he and his clothing were photographed. The defendant then was transported back to the D-4 station where he was booked at 3:13 P.M. After booking, the defendant was informed that he could make a telephone call, but he declined to do so.
b. Discussion. i. Waiver of Miranda rights. The defendant
The various facts that the defendant argues rendered the waiver of his Miranda rights involuntary do not require that conclusion. The judge's findings, which have an evidentiary basis in the record, support his conclusion that the defendant knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights.
Contrary to the defendant's suggestion, the judge properly considered the defendant's age, education, work experience, and prior experience in the criminal justice system, and the weight of that evidence was for him to decide. See Commonwealth v. Mandile, supra (in deciding voluntariness of Miranda waiver and voluntariness of statements, courts examine factors including "defendant's age, education, intelligence and emotional stability, experience with and in the criminal justice system"). See also E.C.O. v. Compton, 464 Mass. 558, 562 (2013) (deferring credibility determinations to motion judge who heard
The judge addressed the defendant's contentions that the defendant was hungry and tired, and properly concluded, based on his review of the recording and other record evidence he credited, that these factors did not require a determination that the defendant's will was overborne. Concerning the defendant's hunger, the judge based his conclusion on evidence showing that the defendant had been offered some food by the detectives and was selective in what he ate, not consuming it all. See Commonwealth v. Freeman, 430 Mass. 111, 115 (1999) (defendant's claim that waiver of Miranda rights was invalid based in part on extreme hunger undermined by fact that he did not finish food given to him). In addition, the judge credited evidence that the defendant had slept in Calvey's apartment on the morning of November 4, thereafter slept at various times in the garage storage unit, and had slept in the holding cell at the D-4
Further, the length of the interview did not render the defendant's Miranda waiver involuntary. See Commonwealth v. McCowen, 458 Mass. 461, 472 (2010) ("Although the six-hour period over which the interview unfolded was lengthy, there is nothing in the judge's findings or our own independent review of the record to suggest that the defendant's will was overborne to the extent that his statement was not the result of his free and voluntary act"); Commonwealth v. Durand, 457 Mass. 574, 596-597 (2010) (despite six-hour interview and use of improper interrogation tactics, defendant's statements were voluntary where "the totality of circumstances demonstrate[d] that the defendant's will was not overborne").
The defendant suggests that his confusion rendered his Miranda waiver invalid, and that he never unequivocally agreed to make a statement. The defendant isolates two remarks, made together after Detective Black repeated the Miranda warnings to him a second time, namely, his statements that "[maybe he would] make a statement," and that he did not know what was happening. Although the judge did not specifically address these isolated remarks, he reviewed the tape recording and concluded that there was nothing about the nature of the interview or the manner in which it was conducted to suggest that the defendant's will was overcome. The judge expressly found the defendant to be "aware of his predicament and his surroundings, capable of following the questions, and able to understand the choices he faced." The record demonstrates that the judge permissibly viewed the defendant's remarks in the context of the totality of the circumstances, and the judge's findings and conclusions are supported by the record.
ii. Voluntariness of statements. "Due process requires a
In contending that his statements were not voluntarily made, the defendant relies on the same arguments he presented in connection with the claim that he did not voluntarily waive his Miranda rights. In making his determination on voluntariness, the judge similarly relied on the factors he used in assessing the validity of the defendant's waiver of his Miranda rights. The judge also was influenced by the fact that, although the defendant had scratches on his hands and arms, and blood on his clothing, he nonetheless was able to provide the detectives with a self-serving version of the facts, including a lack of memory of what had occurred after he left Calvey's apartment and before he woke up in the storage room. See Commonwealth v. Vazquez, 387 Mass. 96, 100 (1982) (defendant's efforts to offer exculpatory facts support finding of awareness that statement could have adverse consequences). The judge's findings, which have an evidentiary basis in the record, support his conclusion that the defendant's statements were voluntarily made and we see no basis to disturb this ruling.
iii. Delay between arrest and arraignment. We reject the
iv. Right to a telephone call. There is no dispute that in violation of his statutory right, the defendant was not informed of his right to make a telephone call, see G. L. c. 276, § 33A,
2. Facts at trial. Based on the Commonwealth's evidence, the jury could have found the following. During the early afternoon of Thursday, November 3, 2005, the defendant visited Calvey, who lived in an apartment building in Boston that housed elderly and disabled persons.
In the late afternoon, Calvey and the defendant left the apartment to purchase hair products. By the time they returned, approximately one to two hours later, John Belcher, who had been living with Calvey, had arrived at the apartment. The three relaxed and watched television until approximately 10 P.M., at which time the defendant and Belcher left to purchase beer with money loaned to the defendant by Calvey.
At approximately 5 A.M., Calvey was awakened by a telephone call from a drug dealer known as "Dread." Dread arrived at
When Calvey woke up at approximately 12:30 P.M., she roused the defendant, who had been sleeping on a small couch in the living room. The defendant smoked a small piece of crack cocaine and then freshened up in the bathroom. Before leaving, he asked Calvey for some money for bus fare so he could go pick up his check. Calvey gave him two dollars, and informed him that she would be keeping his wallet as collateral. The defendant gave Calvey his wallet and told her that he would return. On his way out, he asked Dread if he would still be there when he came back, to which Dread replied that he did not know. The defendant left at about 2 or 3 P.M.
At approximately 3 P.M., two sixth-floor residents heard screaming and pleas for help coming from the victim's apartment.
The building manager saw a man, whom she recognized immediately as Calvey's friend (the defendant), in the bathroom. After briefly making eye contact with the building manager, the
The building manager returned to apartment 606, where the victim was lying on her back on the floor between the kitchen and the living room. Her eyes and mouth were open, her chest was covered with a small rug, and a large kitchen knife was protruding from her neck. An emergency medical technician tending to the victim felt a "very weak and erratic pulse." The victim was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The building manager went to see Calvey. She asked for the name of Calvey's friend "with the dreads." Calvey gave her the name "Stevie," but did not recall his last name. Calvey handed the building manager the license and social security card from the defendant's wallet. The building manager recognized the man depicted on the defendant's license as the man in the victim's apartment with whom she had fought.
The defendant fled to a storage closet at a nearby hotel parking garage and accidentally was locked inside. Two days later, at 5 A.M. on Sunday, November 6, the defendant broke out of the storage closet and went to the lobby of the D-4 police station to turn himself in. The evidence at trial concerning the circumstances surrounding, and content of, his statements to police was substantially similar to the facts established at the motion to suppress hearing and included admission of the recording of the defendant's interview.
The parties agreed to a stipulation that was admitted in evidence that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing revealed that DNA from a blood stain obtained from the defendant's T-shirt matched the victim's DNA. Also, the stipulation informed the jury that DNA from a blood stain on a curtain in the victim's bedroom and from a dreadlock recovered in her apartment matched the defendant's DNA.
The defendant did not testify. His trial counsel did not deny the fact that the defendant had stabbed the victim and caused her death. Rather, counsel argued that, when he did so, the defendant lacked the capacity to act with the criminal intent necessary for murder because of an underlying mental condition and due to a possible reaction to his crack cocaine use. In support of these contentions, the defendant presented two expert witnesses: Dr. Charles F. Carroll, a licensed psychologist who evaluated the defendant to determine whether he was competent to stand trial, and Dr. Montgomery C. Brower, a forensic psychologist hired by the defense to evaluate the defendant. Both witnesses diagnosed the defendant with having a personality disorder, not otherwise specified, with paranoid and schizoid or schiz-atypical traits.
a. Jury instructions. In her main charge, after explaining the elements of murder in the first degree committed by deliberate premeditation and with extreme atrocity or cruelty, the judge instructed the jury to consider any credible evidence of the
In her initial charge, in stating: "You may consider any credible evidence of mental impairment or voluntary consumption of drugs and/or whether the defendant acted in a cruel or atrocious manner in causing the death of the deceased," the judge should not have used the words "and/or." In the context of the entirety of her instructions, however, no reasonable juror could have used the instruction incorrectly because she did not repeat this language in her reinstruction or in response to the jury's question concerning the issue of intent under the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty. The error was no more than an isolated slip of the tongue and did not prejudice the defendant.
Turning to the issue of the relevance of evidence of the defendant's mental impairment or voluntary consumption of drugs, as those factors bore on murder committed with extreme atrocity or cruelty, the judge instructed the jury (with the one exception above noted) in conformity with our Model Jury Instructions on Homicide 62 (1999). We disagree that the judge's instructions on mental impairment and the voluntary consumption of drugs, as relating to murder committed with extreme atrocity or cruelty, only could have been construed as applying to the malice requirement. The judge's reinstructions, in particular, emphasized that such evidence could be considered not only in connection with "the full-blown malice definition," but also in connection with "whether the defendant acted in a cruel or atrocious manner in causing the death of the deceased." We previously rejected
3. Relief pursuant to G. L. c. 278, § 33E. We have examined the record pursuant to G. L. c. 278, § 33E, and discern no basis on which to grant the defendant relief.
Judgments affirmed.