Joslin v. State

Bonnie Katherine Joslin, Appellant-Defendant, v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff

No. 21A-CR-1356

Court of Appeals of Indiana

April 5, 2022

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

Appeal from the Madison Circuit Court The Honorable Angela Sims Judge Trial Court Cause No. 48C01-1907-MR-1803

Attorney for Appellant Spenser G. Benge, Esq. The Law Office of Spenser G. Benge Anderson, Indiana

Attorneys for Appellee Theodore E. Rokita Attorney General of Indiana Kelly A. Loy Assistant Section Chief, Criminal Appeals Indianapolis, Indiana

MEMORANDUM DECISION

MAY, JUDGE

[¶1] Bonnie Katherine Joslin appeals her aggregate sentence of sixty-five years for murder, ^[1] Level 6 felony auto theft, ^[2] Level 6 felony identity deception, ^[3] and Class B misdemeanor false informing.^[4] Joslin argues the trial court abused its discretion when it did not properly consider her proffered mitigators. Additionally, she contends her sentence is inappropriate based on the nature of the offenses and her character. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History^[5]

[¶2] On June 5, 2019, Joslin went to the apartment of her mother, Mona Davis, in Anderson, Indiana. While at the apartment, Joslin and Davis smoked "Katy^[6]" together. (Tr. Vol. I at 166.) Joslin and Davis began to argue because Davis told Joslin that Joslin's children were "tainted," which Joslin took to mean that "her children had been sexually abused." (Id. at 195-6.) Joslin became upset, "took a pillow from the couch and held it over, uh, [Davis's] face, um, and held it there until she suffocated." (Id. at 196.) Joslin reported she "watch[ed] television" while she held the pillow over Davis's face and until Joslin heard a "death gurgle." (App. Vol. II at 33.) Joslin realized Davis was dead and "moved the body from the couch to the floor." (Tr. Vol. I at 196.)

[¶3] Prior to her death, Davis had borrowed a vehicle from her friend, Peggy Coryn. After killing Davis, Joslin drove from Davis's apartment in Coryn's vehicle. On June 12, 2019, Joslin called the Madison County Central Dispatch and told the operator that "she was [Davis] and was near Springfield IL . . . and said she [Davis] was moving to Tallahassee Florida. She [Davis] had a new job with Florida INDOT, and that she [Davis] was okay." (App. Vol. II at 32.) Around the same time, Davis's co-workers texted Davis's phone, and Joslin responded to them, posing as Davis. Joslin also called Davis's employer, posing as Davis, and indicated Davis had moved to Florida.

[¶4] Around the same time, police located Coryn's vehicle at Joslin's address in New Castle. Police arrested Joslin for auto theft and placed her in the Madison County Jail pending trial. On June 20, 2019, the police conducted a welfare check at Davis's apartment. Upon arriving at the apartment police smelled what they believed to be a dead body. Officers obtained a search warrant, and inside the apartment they discovered:

There were some, one (1), white surgical masks, uh, laying very close to the body there. This was before COVID protocol so, that was a, a [sic] odd find for us. There was [sic] some cleaning supplies, um, and rags. Looked like there had been intent to clean up, um, a mess of some kind. There was also a very strong odor of a decomposed body coming from the apartment. Uh, the air conditioning was found turned on high. Uh, the windows were, were cracked open to allow odor to escape. Um, just the, the scene was, was very clear that they were trying to mask, uh, the odor that was coming from the apartment.

The body was located, uh, just inside the little, uh, just inside the little, uh, kitchen area on the kitchen linoleum. The body had been folded with the knees drawn up to the chest, um, wrapped and placed inside of large, uh, what I would describe as plastic garbage, almost like the ones that you would use to bag leaves. They were extra large size.

Yes. There, there were uh, there was a towel that was in there that was soiled. Um, it appeared that the body had been moved because there were other items in the apartment itself that were soiled. There was a pillow that had, um, bodily fluids on it, a rug that had some bodily fluids on it. So, it was evident that the body had been in several locations inside of the apartment prior to when we, the location we found it.

(Tr. Vol. I at 189-90.) In the trash can at Davis's apartment, officers also found a Walmart receipt indicating someone sold a cell phone at a kiosk there on June 16, 2019. After an investigation, police discovered Joslin sold Davis's work-issued cell phone at the kiosk.

[¶5] Around July 14, 2019, while in the Madison County Jail, Joslin told her cellmate, Stacy Butler, that Joslin had killed Davis and "had folded [Davis] in half and placed in her a bag." (Id. at 194.) Butler reported Joslin told her information about Davis's murder "almost in a um, a proud manor [sic], kind of a joking manner that, uh, she felt like the police didn't have all the information and hadn't figured things out yet uh, and was really kinda bragging about how she had done some things to [Davis] at the time." (Id. at 194-5.) Butler told police that Joslin told her that

[Joslin] left, uh, [Davis's] body there for three (3) days, returned three (3) days later and found that [Davis] at that time had, uh, started some decomposition of the body. Some fluids had started leaking onto the floor, so [Joslin] moved [Davis's] body from that location to the kitchen. [Joslin] had tried to clean up the fluids that were on the carpet in a um, in the living room area. The odor had began to, to stick a little bit and . . . [Joslin] had to open up the windows, turn the air conditioning on high. . . . [Joslin] left for another three (3) day period and returned after that and found this time that [Davis's] body had, um, completely decomposed. [Joslin] described . . . that [Davis's] skin had blisters all over it that were seeping and leaking, that [Davis] was, um, leaking from the head, that [Davis's] skin and, um, color of her body had turned completely black.

(Id. at 196-7.)

[¶6] On July 30, 2019, the State charged Joslin with murder, Level 6 felony auto theft, ^[7] Level 6 felony identity deception, and Class B misdemeanor false informing. On October 5, 2020, Joslin filed a notice of defense of mental disease, defect, and/or competency. On October 20, 2020, the trial court appointed Dr. George Parker to examine Joslin and report findings and conclusions regarding any mental disease or defect. On November 9, 2020, the trial court also appointed Dr. Carrie Dixon to examine Joslin and report findings and conclusions regarding any mental disease or defect.

[¶7] After the evaluations, Joslin told her cellmate Butler that, when she was assessed by mental health providers, she tried "to make that doctor believe she was suffering from a mental illness." (Id. at 198.) Joslin claimed to have no memory of killing Davis because she "blacked out[.]" (Id. at 200.) While in jail awaiting trial, Joslin was prescribed Seroquel to "control[] the voices" and Lithium to "stabilize[] her moods." (Ex. Vol. II at 54.) When evaluating Joslin and preparing their recommendations, Dr. Parker and Dr. Dixon investigated Joslin's past diagnosis and treatment. They discovered Joslin had been hospitalized for mental illness on multiple occasions, she had been diagnosed with bipolar I disorder and intermittent explosive disorder in the past, and she had engaged in mental health treatment over the years, though seemingly not in a consistent manner. At the time of the alleged crime, Joslin was prescribed Wellbutrin, Prozac, and Buspar, but had stopped taking them just prior to the incident because she "felt like [she] didn't need them." (Id. at 47.)

[¶8] Dr. Parker diagnosed Joslin with cannabis use disorder, alcohol use disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, and possible post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dr. Parker opined

with reasonable medical certainty, that the primary influence on Ms. Joslin's behavior at the time of the alleged offenses was her anger, possibly exacerbated by a voluntary intoxication on Katie [sic]. It is further my opinion with reasonable medical certainty, that Ms. Joslin did appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions at the time of the alleged offenses.

(Id. at 51.) Dr. Dixon reported Joslin was "deemed competent to stand trial" and "[i]n reference to her state of mind at the time of the alleged crime, [Joslin] was, more likely than not, mentally competent." (Id. at 56.) Dr. Dixon additionally noted:

[Joslin] exhibited signs of good reality contact. Although she complained of auditory hallucinations, psychosis was not evident during this evaluation. [Joslin] did not exhibit signs of experiencing auditory hallucinations. . . . [Joslin] complains of memory lapse recalling the events of the alleged crime. [Joslin] did not exhibit recall problems during this evaluation.

[Joslin] complained of rage related homicidal attempts associated with amnesia episodes. This examiner could not find clinical evidence to substantiate this claim. [Joslin's] mental health records from Kane Loveridege Wellness Group gave no diagnosis of nor mentioning of a memory problem. [Joslin's] description of her memory lapse symptoms only remotely suggest a Dissociative Amnesia Disorder as listed in the DSM-5. Clinically, [Joslin] does not appear to fit the specific criteria of "significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning". [sic] According to the police records, [Joslin] was capable of purposeful thoughts,

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