William Mattingly v. Commonwealth of Kentucky ( 2020 )

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RENDERED: APRIL 30, 2020
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
Supreme Court of Kentucky
2019-SC-000242-MR
WILLIAM MATTINGLY APPELLANT
ON APPEAL FROM JEFFERSON CIRCUIT COURT
V. HONORABLE JUDITH E. MCDONALD-BURKMAN, JUDGE
NO. 15-CR-003102
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY APPELLEE
MEMORANDUM OPINION OF THE COURT
AFFIRMING
William Mattingly was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and
attempted second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to twenty years in
accordance with the jury’s finding that he was a first-degree persistent felony
offender (PFO). Mattingly now appeals his convictions to this Court. After
review, we affirm.
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Mattingly and the victims in this case, Tommy Grismer (Tommy) and
Chris Bloyd (Chris), met during a short stint in a rehabilitation center for drug
addiction. Tommy and Chris were released from the center a week before
Mattingly. The day Mattingly left the center he contacted Chris and they got a
hotel room for the night where they intended to hang out and do drugs. Chris
and Mattingly bought some methamphetamine (meth) and began drinking
alcohol and smoking meth in the hotel room.
Shortly thereafter Chris asked his friend Toby Clark (Toby) and his fiancé
Crystal Dishon (Crystal) to come to the hotel. Toby had been Chris’ friend
since childhood but Mattingly did not know Toby or Crystal. Crystal was the
only one in the group with a vehicle, so she later went to pick up Tommy.
Tommy brought a hypodermic needle with him, and the group began to “shoot”
the meth intravenously.
Both Chris and Crystal1 testified that when Mattingly shot the meth, his
demeanor instantly changed. Prior to that the mood in the room was light and
everyone was “having a good time.” But when Mattingly shot up, he instantly
became paranoid and violent. Mattingly grabbed Tommy and put him in a
standing chokehold while holding a glass beer bottle in his other hand.
Mattingly commanded that no one move, or he would kill Tommy. Mattingly
also started asking why they were all out to get him and made them lift up
their shirts to prove that none of them had a gun. Mattingly then demanded
that Chris walk into the bathroom with him and Tommy.
Mattingly, with Tommy still in a chokehold, and Chris walked into the
bathroom. Mattingly made Chris close the door and stand with his hands
against the door with his back to Mattingly. Chris tried to convince Mattingly
that no one was going to hurt him, but he would not listen. Chris turned and
saw Mattingly choke Tommy to death and drop him. Mattingly then put Chris
in a chokehold and commanded that Toby and Crystal slide a phone under the
bathroom door. Mattingly called 911 and told them Tommy was overdosing.
When responding officer Jason Hilliard arrived on scene, he had to break
the bathroom door to get in. Ofc. Hilliard testified that when he got into the
1 Investigating officers were unsuccessful in locating Toby to testify.
bathroom, he saw three men stacked on top of each other. Tommy was on the
bottom of the pile, blue and unresponsive. Mattingly was in the middle with
his back on Tommy, and Chris was on top. Mattingly had Chris in a
chokehold, which he refused to release until Ofc. Hilliard pointed a gun at him.
After his arrest, Mattingly requested to be examined by EMS personnel at
the crime scene because he had an elevated heartrate. The paramedic who
assessed him said he believed Mattingly was under the influence of meth based
on his observations of Mattingly’s elevated heartrate, dilated pupils, paranoia,
agitation, and nervousness. The paramedic further stated that Mattingly was
not able to make medically informed decisions and was therefore transported to
the hospital. Mattingly’s primary diagnosis was rhabdomyolysis2 with a
secondary diagnosis of acute meth intoxication.
At trial, Mattingly conceded that he killed Tommy and attempted to kill
Chris. However, he asserted that he had a drug-induced, truly held yet
mistaken belief that he needed to use force in self-defense against Tommy and
Chris. There was no evidence presented that anyone actually intended to harm
Mattingly in any way that evening.
Additional facts are discussed below as necessary.
II. ANALYSIS
Mattingly asserts four arguments on appeal. First, that he was denied
his due process right to present a defense when the trial court ruled that a
2 Rhabdomyolysis is “the destruction or degeneration of muscle
tissue…accompanied by the release of breakdown products into the bloodstream and
sometimes leading to acute renal failure.” https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/rhabdomyolysis?src=search-dict-box (last visited March 3,
2020).
mental health expert could not testify that he was legally insane during the
offenses. Next, that the trial court erred by not suppressing his post-arrest
statement to the police. Third, that two statements made by the
Commonwealth during its closing argument violated his right to a fair trial.
Finally, that he is entitled to a new penalty phase hearing.
A. THE TRIAL COURT DID NOT ERR BY FORBIDDING TESTIMONY THAT
MATTINGLY WAS LEGALLY INSANE DURING THE CRIMES
Before trial, the defense retained a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr.
Wayne Herner, to evaluate Mattingly’s criminal responsibility. The trial court
ultimately ruled that Dr. Herner could testify, but he could not testify that
Mattingly was legally insane at the time of the offenses. Mattingly’s first
assertion to this Court is that limiting Dr. Herner’s testimony in this manner
denied Mattingly his due process right to present a defense.3 This Court
reviews a trial court’s ruling on the admission of evidence for abuse of
discretion.4 A trial court abuses its discretion when it rules in a way that is
arbitrary, unreasonable, unfair, or unsupported by sound legal principles.5
Mattingly insists that Dr. Herner’s report concluded that Mattingly was
legally insane at the time of the offenses, and that Dr. Herner should therefore
have been permitted to testify to that effect. We disagree. The relevant portion
of Dr. Herner’s report states:
Based on all the available data, it is this psychologist
(sic) opinion with a reasonable degree of psychological
certainty that Mr. Mattingly was indeed suffering an
3 This argument was properly preserved for appeal. Based on the court’s ruling,
the defense did not call Dr. Herner to testify at trial. The defense informed the court
that, had Dr. Herner testified, he would have discussed Mattingly’s significant
psychiatric history and that Mattingly was not guilty due to insanity because of meth
intoxication and rhabdomyolysis. See Kentucky Rule of Evidence (KRE) 103(a)(2).
4 Holt v. Commonwealth, 250 S.W.3d 647, 652 (Ky. 2008).
5 Commonwealth v. English, 993 S.W.2d 941, 945 (Ky. 1999).
acute psychotic paranoid episode at the time of
the index offense, precipitated by acute
polysubstance abuse (methamphetamine, MDMA,
and heroin) with increased confusion compounded
by the rhabdomyolysis.
Review of all of the witness reports are essentially
consistent in the description of how the offense
unfolded, describing the irrational paranoia and
hypervigilance displayed by Mr. Mattingly. All the
available information indicates that Mr. Mattingly
was in all psychological certainly laboring under a
drug induced irrational psychotic/delusional
system during the time of the index offense
preventing him from appreciating the nature of his
acts or controlling his actions. Admittedly his
action were only two (sic) “protect himself” from a
perceived threat.6
Clearly, Dr. Herner did in fact believe Mattingly was having a psychotic episode
during the offenses. However, Dr. Herner concluded that the episode was
drug-induced, and not the result of a mental illness or defect.
Kentucky’s insanity statute, when satisfied, absolves a criminal
defendant of all culpability for a crime if, “at the time of such conduct, as a
result of mental illness or intellectual disability, he lacks substantial capacity
either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to
the requirements of law.”7 In that vein, this Court has previously held that,
“[d]rug addiction, by itself, is not a disease constituting or leading to ‘mental
illness,’ and “[t]he legislature of this state has not expressed any intention that
drug addiction arising from the voluntary ingestion of drugs, by itself, affords a
defense to a criminal charge based on mental illness.”8
6 Emphasis added.
7 Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 504.020(1) (emphasis added).
8 Lickliter v. Commonwealth, 142 S.W.3d 65, 68 (Ky. 2004) (citing
Commonwealth v. Tate, 893 S.W.2d 368 (Ky. 1995)).
Therefore, Dr. Herner could not testify that Mattingly was insane during
the offense. The fact that Mattingly was also diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis
does not change this conclusion. The trial court did not err by limiting Dr.
Herner’s testimony accordingly.
B. THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED HARMLESS ERROR WHEN IT FAILED
TO SUPPRESS MATTINGLY’S POST-ARREST INTERVIEWS
Mattingly was taken directly to the hospital from the crime scene.
Shortly after Mattingly arrived at the hospital, Detective Leigh Maroni and
Lieutenant Donny Burbrink interviewed him. At that time the officers were still
uncertain about Tommy’s cause of death, but Mattingly was in custody for
possession of a controlled substance. Mattingly was therefore handcuffed to
the bed throughout the questioning. Det. Maroni read Mattingly his “Miranda
rights” before questioning him first for approximately fifty-four minutes, and Lt.
Burbrink arrived towards the end of the interview. Twenty minutes after the
first interview ended, Lt. Burbrink, with Det. Maroni present, conducted the
second interview which lasted about thirty-two minutes. The interviews, which
are audio only, were conducted somewhere between four and five hours after
Mattingly last ingested meth.
Mattingly asserts that the trial court committed reversible error when it
denied his motion to suppress these post-arrest interviews because they were
not given voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently.9 This Court’s review of a
trial court’s ruling on the suppression of evidence is a two-part inquiry: “we
review the trial court's factual findings for clear error, and deem conclusive the
9 This error was properly preserved by Mattingly’s pre-trial motion to suppress.
Kentucky Rule of Criminal Procedure (RCr) 9.22.
trial court's factual findings if supported by substantial evidence. The trial
court's application of the law to the facts we review de novo.”10
Whether a statement during a custodial interrogation was given
voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently, as required by Miranda v. Arizona,11
has two distinct components:
First, the relinquishment of the right must have been
voluntary in the sense that it was the product of a free
and deliberate choice rather than intimidation,
coercion, or deception. Second, the waiver must have
been made with a full awareness of both the nature of
the right being abandoned and the consequences of
the decision to abandon it. Only if the totality of the
circumstances surrounding the interrogation reveal
both an uncoerced choice and the requisite level of
comprehension may a court properly conclude that the
Miranda rights have been waived.12
Here, the trial court found that Mattingly’s statement was voluntary
based on its finding that “[t]here [was] no indication that Maroni or Burbrink
used any threatening or coercive tactics to get Defendant to talk. Their tone of
voice, choice of words and subject matter were devoid of deception, threats, or
lies. Defendant consistently wanted to speak with Maroni.” We hold there was
no error in this factual finding, nor with the resulting legal conclusion that
Mattingly voluntarily gave his statement. Review of the interview recordings
demonstrates that Mattingly wanted to talk to the officers. Several times
throughout the interviews Mattingly asks the officers if they are going to talk to
10 Williams v. Commonwealth, 364 S.W.3d 65, 68 (Ky. 2011).
11 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
12 Moran v. Burbine, 475 U.S. 412, 421 (1986) (internal quotation marks and
cites omitted).
him and listen to him, and there is no indication that Mattingly’s “will was
overborne” by the officers in any way.13
Regarding whether Mattingly’s waiver was knowing and intelligent, the
trial court stated:
The court has considered the totality of the
circumstances leading up to his recorded interview,
including his drug use, his compliance when arrested,
his request for medical attention, his improved
condition as the morning progressed, his consistent
requests to speak to detectives, his ability to recall
events of the evening and morning, his theory of being
set up by the other two men, and his concern for his
children. Despite some bizarre comments during the
interview, he was able to understand and respond
coherently.
Most of the facts cited by the trial court certainly have support from the record.
However, after review of the interview recordings, we hold that the trial court
erred by finding that Mattingly’s waiver was knowing and intelligent.
To begin, it is abundantly clear that Mattingly was still highly intoxicated
during the interviews: his speech was slurred, he was difficult to understand,
he asked the detectives the same questions repeatedly as though he did not
remember asking them before, and he would go off on repetitive, odd, rambling
tangents that had no correlation to the questions he was asked. The officers
had to ask him to focus numerous times and had to ask the same leading
questions multiple times to get any sort of answer. More often than not
Mattingly didn’t respond meaningfully to the questions the officers asked. The
foregoing can be said about the entirety of both interviews.
13 Soto v. Commonwealth, 139 S.W.3d 827, 847 (Ky. 2004) (internal citations
and quotation marks omitted).
Further, at least once during both interviews, a doctor came in the room
to check on Mattingly. Mattingly did not seem to understand that the doctors
were trying to give him medical treatment and would not respond meaningfully
to their questions either. Mattingly was in fact so out of it that at one point
after a doctor left the room Det. Burbrink seemed to get exasperated with him
and said, “Tony.14 Look at me. Nobody…is going…to hurt you. Here’s the
deal, he is a doctor, Tony. Nobody is going to hurt you. You have to
understand this. Nobody, while we are in this room with you is going to hurt
you.” The fact that Mattingly was unable to understand the role of a treating
physician while he was a patient in a hospital room calls into question whether
he truly understood the purpose and gravity of his interview with the officers.
Of course, a defendant’s intoxication alone does not render his statement
inadmissible.15 “[A] confession may be suppressed when the defendant was
intoxicated to the degree of mania or was hallucinating, functionally insane, or
otherwise unable to understand the meaning of his statements.”16 Here,
Mattingly was very obviously suffering from some form of delusion throughout
the course of the interviews. He stated numerous times during both interviews
that he had the ability to see things before they happened; that either God, his
late father, or his late brother spoke to him and told him the future before it
occurred. He seemed to imply that he believed someone or something spoke to
him that night and told him he was being set up, but his statements are so
incoherent it is difficult to discern.
14 Mattingly goes by the name Tony.
15 Id. at 848 (citing Britt v. Commonwealth, 512 S.W.2d 496 (Ky. 1974)).
16 Smith v. Commonwealth, 410 S.W.3d 160, 164 (Ky. 2013) (internal quotation
marks omitted).
Accordingly, based on the foregoing totality of the circumstances, we hold
that the trial court erred by failing to suppress Mattingly’s post-arrest
interviews.
But that is not the stopping point of our analysis. When a trial court
fails to suppress a statement taken in violation of Miranda, “[r]eversal is not
required if the error complained of is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.”17
In this case, we hold that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt
because the jury ultimately returned one of the verdicts Mattingly requested.
At trial, the jury was instructed on murder and attempted murder, first-
degree manslaughter and attempted first-degree manslaughter, second-degree
manslaughter and attempted second-degree manslaughter, and reckless
homicide and attempted reckless homicide.
As previously mentioned, Mattingly conceded all of the actus reus
elements for these offenses: he did not dispute that he killed Tommy and
attempted to kill Chris. However, the point of contention between the
Commonwealth’s case and the defense’s case was that Mattingly did not have
the requisite mens rea for murder and attempted murder or first-degree
manslaughter and attempted first-degree manslaughter. The reason being that
these offenses did not allow the jury to find that Mattingly had a truly held, yet
mistaken belief that he needed to use force against Tommy and Chris for his
own protection. But second-degree manslaughter and attempted second-
degree manslaughter as well as reckless homicide and attempted reckless
homicide did allow for that finding. Because of this, the defense specifically
stated at least twice in its closing argument that the jury, by law, had to find
17 Id.Mattingly guilty of either second-degree manslaughter and attempted second
degree manslaughter or reckless homicide and attempted reckless homicide.
Ultimately, the defense got what it requested when the jury found
Mattingly guilty of second-degree manslaughter and attempted second-degree
manslaughter. Thus, playing Mattingly’s statements for the jury was harmless
beyond a reasonable doubt. It had no prejudicial effect on the jury’s ability to
find that Mattingly had a truly held yet mistaken belief he needed to use force
to protect himself from Tommy and Chris.
C. THE COMMONWEALTH’S CLOSING ARGUMENT DID NOT VIOLATE
MATTINGLY’S RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL
Next, Mattingly argues that two statements made by the Commonwealth
during its closing argument violated his right to a fair trial.18 Regarding the
first statement, the Commonwealth began by going into great detail about how
manual strangulation by chokehold is a painful way to die. Then the
Commonwealth said the following:
Now, why did I just go on and on about this? Alright, I
went on and on about this because this is the reality of
this case. This is the reality about what happened to
Tommy Grismer (gesturing to the gallery) a son, a
mother, an uncle, a human being.19 It’s not easy, it’s
hard for me as a parent to stand up in front of these
parents (gesturing to the gallery again).
The defense objected to this statement, arguing that the Commonwealth was
making an emotional appeal to the jurors. Later, in the second statement at
issue in this appeal, the Commonwealth argued:
18 This alleged error was preserved by the defense’s contemporaneous objection
to the statements. RCr 9.22.
19 On the first day of trial, Tommy’s brother testified that many members of
Tommy’s family were in the gallery to watch the trial. Though closing arguments
occurred on the third day of trial, we presume that those family members were still
present.
The defendant claims that this is not murder. He
claims that this is not murder. If this is not murder,
what is murder? Our laws do not permit, and our
society is not ready to allow someone who chooses to
consume illegal drugs, put these drugs into his body,
get high, and now claim no responsibility—
At this point the defense objected and requested a mistrial on the grounds that
the Commonwealth was asking the jury to send a message about what we as a
society will not tolerate, and that she was not arguing the law.
But closing arguments are just that, arguments. They are not evidence.
Consequently, attorneys are given wide latitude in what they choose to argue.
Therefore, our review “must center on the essential fairness of the trial as a
whole, with reversal being justified only if the prosecutor's misconduct was so
improper, prejudicial, and egregious as to have undermined the overall fairness
of the proceedings.”20 Specifically, this Court may only reverse on the basis of
prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument “if the misconduct is
‘flagrant’ or if each of the following three conditions is satisfied: (1) Proof of
defendant's guilt is not overwhelming; (2) Defense counsel objected; and (3) The
trial court failed to cure the error with a sufficient admonishment to the
jury.”21
In this case, the Commonwealth’s closing argument does not satisfy the
test for flagrant misconduct because the proof of Mattingly’s guilt was
overwhelming. Again, Mattingly conceded that he killed Tommy and tried to
kill Chris, and the only issue for the jury to decide was what his state of mind
was during the commission of those crimes. And Mattingly received one of the
20 Dickerson v. Commonwealth, 485 S.W.3d 310, 329 (Ky. 2016) (internal
quotation marks omitted).
21 Barnes v. Commonwealth, 91 S.W.3d 564, 568 (Ky. 2002).
sentences he requested that the jury return. We therefore hold that the
Commonwealth’s closing argument did not “undermine the fairness of the
overall proceedings.”
D. MATTINGLY IS NOT ENTITLED TO A NEW SENTENCING HEARING
Mattingly’s final argument is that he is entitled to a new sentencing
hearing because the jury was incorrectly informed that he was previously
convicted for second-degree burglary, rather than his actual conviction of
third-degree burglary. He concedes this issue was not preserved for our
review, but requests palpable error review under RCr 10.26:
A palpable error which affects the substantial rights of
a party may be considered by the court on motion for a
new trial or by an appellate court on appeal, even
though insufficiently raised or preserved for review,
and appropriate relief may be granted upon a
determination that manifest injustice has resulted
from the error.
Accordingly, we may only grant Mattingly a new penalty phase if a manifest
injustice resulted from the alleged error.
During Mattingly’s sentencing hearing the Commonwealth sought to
prove that he qualified for first degree PFO status, meaning he had previously
been convicted of two or more felonies.22 The Commonwealth called Shawna
Farmer, a paralegal with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, to testify about
Mattingly’s prior convictions. On direct examination the Commonwealth had
the following exchange with Ms. Farmer:
CW: Alright, go on to the next conviction.
SF: Marion County Circuit Court, 96-CR-00040.
CW: And what was the offense date?
22 KRS 532.080(3).
SF: February 23, 1996.
CW: And what offense was he convicted of?
SF: Burglary second-degree and theft by unlawful taking over
$300.
CW: And were any of those crimes felonies?
SF: Both.
On cross-examination the defense corrected Ms. Farmer’s mistake:
D: And can you tell me what charge that actually says he pled
guilty to?
SF: Complicity to commit burg (sic) third, theft by unlawful taking
over three hundred.
D: So you just previously testified that he was convicted of
burglary in the second degree, is that correct?
SF: Yes.
D: Would you agree now that that is not correct?
SF: That’s correct.
Finally, the Commonwealth clarified on re-direct that both second-degree
burglary and third-degree burglary are felonies.23
Mattingly now argues, correctly, that a sentencing phase jury cannot
hear evidence of prior charges that were dismissed or amended down.24
However he concedes in his brief to this Court that “to be sure, the record does
not demonstrate this charge had been amended down.” After review, we agree
that the record does not suggest that Mattingly’s third-degree burglary charge
was amended down from a second-degree burglary charge. Instead, it appears
that Ms. Farmer misspoke, and her mistake was later corrected by the defense.
23 See KRS 511.030(2) and KRS 511.040(2), respectively.
24 Martin v. Commonwealth, 409 S.W.3d 340, 348 (Ky. 2013).
We accordingly hold that no manifest injustice resulted from Ms. Farmer’s
testimony.
III. CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, we affirm.
All sitting. All concur.
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT:
Joshua Michael Reho
Louisville Metro Public Defender
Leo Gerard Smith
Louisville Metro Public Defender
COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE:
Daniel Jay Cameron
Attorney General of Kentucky
Mark Barry
Assistant Attorney General