State v. Simms

630 S.W.3d 870

STATE of Missouri, Respondent,

v.Marcus SIMMS, Appellant.

WD 83422

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.

Opinion filed: July 27, 2021

Gregory L. Barnes, Jefferson City, for Respondent.

Annette M. Wallace, for Appellant.

Division Three: Edward R. Ardini, Jr., Presiding Judge, Mark D. Pfeiffer, Judge and W. Douglas Thomson, Judge

EDWARD R. ARDINI, JR., JUDGE

Marcus Simms appeals the convictions entered against him by the Circuit Court of Clay County, Missouri, after a jury trial, for one count of first-degree murder, one count of armed criminal action, and one count of first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle. Simms argues that the trial court abused its discretion in overruling his requests for a trial continuance and mistrial, asserting that he was incompetent to stand trial. He additionally argues that the trial court abused its discretion by allowing the State to repeatedly question him on cross-examination about his attempts—or lack thereof—to help the murder victim, his girlfriend Michelle Boldridge. For the reasons described below, we affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background¹

On the morning of April 30, 2014, Simms, who worked the overnight shift at a grocery store, was driven home by a co-worker. Simms arrived at the apartment he shared with his girlfriend, Michelle Boldridge, at approximately 6:10 a.m. Soon after, Simms stabbed Boldridge repeatedly as she lay prone in a closet. Simms stabbed her in the breast, shoulder, leg, arms, hands, neck, forehead, head, face, and ear, and he removed her right eyeball. The medical examiner determined Boldridge died of a combination of "atlanto-occipital dislocation"—internal decapitation or severing of the spine from the skull—and "multiple sharp-force injuries."

Police were dispatched to the apartment complex at approximately 6:56 a.m. in response to calls that a naked male, "covered in blood," was "running through the parking lots." Officers found Simms's North Kansas City Community Center membership ID card in the parking lot. An officer "ran [Simms's] name" and the computer search "located a report that associated him to a Michelle Boldridge" and revealed their apartment address. Police went to their apartment and observed blood on the door knob. The door was locked, but the officers were able to obtain a key from a maintenance worker and let themselves in.

The officers found Boldridge dead in the closet. The closet door had been closed, and someone had placed a shoebox over her face. Officers also found a bloody, bent knife in the bedroom. Similar knives—although not in the same condition—were found in a kitchen drawer. Officers did not observe signs of a struggle elsewhere in the apartment, nor did they find signs of a home invasion or forced entry. The front door to the apartment, which was locked when officers arrived, could only be locked from the outside with a key.

In the kitchen, on a magnetic white board on the refrigerator, there was a note written by Boldridge. The note read: "Not Happy. A relationship is 50/50. Not 90/10. Everyone has dilemmas in life. One person cannot give/pair by themselves. It takes two in my feelings. As usual, tired of being ignored, tired of being stressed/upset. Therapy session for myself. Time to end the many faces of time for honesty."

Tony Howard lived in the same apartment complex as Simms and Boldridge, and usually did not keep his car locked. He went to his car "midday" on April 30, 2014, and found inside Simms's clothes and shoes, blood, and Boldridge's eyeball. The inside of the car had been damaged: "the steering column looked like it was busted open, like someone attempted to start it."

After Simms was unable to start Tony Howard's car, he used Boldridge's keys and drove away in her green Ford Focus.² At approximately 7:15 that morning, Scott Hunter—who did not know Simms—opened his garage door to take out the trash and encountered Simms, naked in his driveway. Simms said: "Help me. Help me. They're coming for me. They killed my girlfriend. Can I come in?" Hunter refused to let him in, but advised he would call for help. Hunter backed inside of his garage while Simms lay down in the driveway. Hunter called the police, and went to the front door to observe Simms. Hunter saw him "driving down the street in a small light-green-colored vehicle."

Simms abandoned the Ford Focus near the Liberty Schools bus barn—where school buses were housed—and ran through the bus lot. A bus driver saw Simms and contacted her supervisor, who called 911. Simms found an unlocked Chrysler Town and Country minivan in the bus barn. The keys to the vehicle were "down in the floor board."³ Simms drove the minivan out of the bus barn.

At approximately 8:05 a.m., police were dispatched to a one-vehicle accident in Parkville, Missouri. Simms had failed to navigate a turn and had driven off the highway and into a field. Officers placed Simms under arrest at the scene and he was taken to the hospital. There, an investigator collected swabs of blood found on Simms. Simms also provided a buccal swab, which was used by investigators to conduct DNA analysis.

Simms's DNA was found in blood on the wall of the closet where Boldridge was killed and in Tony Howard's car. Both Simms's and Boldridge's DNA were present on the bloody, bent knife found in the bedroom. Boldridge's DNA was found in the blood on Simms's left knee.

The State charged Simms with one count of first-degree murder and one count of armed criminal action related to the death of Boldridge, and one count of first-degree tampering for operating the minivan without the owner's consent.

Trial Continuances and Simms's Competency

Simms's trial date was originally set for April 18, 2016. At the request of defense counsel, the trial was continued multiple times. In a motion for continuance filed on October 24, 2016, defense counsel advised that she had been "recently diagnosed with Stage III, grade 1 uterine cancer and [was] undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment for the same." In a motion filed April 12, 2017, defense counsel advised that she was "three weeks out of treatment and [was] not prepared to start trying cases." In a motion filed July 19, 2017, defense counsel sought a trial continuance "[d]ue to [Simm's] medical and mental condition." In a motion filed February 5, 2018, defense counsel advised that Simms "was indicted on January 30, 2018 for another Murder in the First degree charge, allegedly occurring in the Clay County jail," that she had "been trying to get medical records from the Clay County Detention Center since June of 2017, in order to have a mental health evaluation completed," and that she "ha[d] been told for six months that due to an ongoing investigation, they could not release them to defense counsel."

On May 28, 2019, the trial court held a conference call regarding another request to continue the trial. The trial court acknowledged that "the defense [was] wanting a mental exam, but nothing's been done towards that end, yet," so the trial court requested the State initiate the process of having the Department of Mental Health examine Simms. Later that day, the State filed a "Motion for Appointment of Department of Mental Health to Do Examination Under Section 552.020 RSMo." The State requested the trial court order the Department of Mental Health to examine Simms and render an opinion as to his mental fitness to proceed to trial. "Counsel for defense join[ed] in this request." The following day the trial court granted the motion, entered its Order for Psychiatric Examination, and continued the trial date to October 21, 2019.

On September 26, 2019, a mental evaluation report completed by Heather McMahon, Psy.D., was filed with the trial court.⁴ Dr. McMahon diagnosed Simms with Unspecified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorder but concluded that he had the capacity to understand the proceedings against him and to assist in his own defense. At an October 2019 status conference, defense counsel "object[ed] to the conclusions in the evaluation and ask[ed] for a hearing."

The trial court conducted a competency hearing on October 11, 2019. Defense counsel objected to the report and provided arguments as to why its findings should not be conclusive:

Every time I see him in court, Your Honor, and I think you've noticed it, as well, there always seems to be certainly some physical problem.

When I try to speak with him ... he seems more concerned about the people he can't see that are beating him up than wanting to talk about his case.

...

And again, just when I try to talk to him, it can be very difficult. He can't speak very loudly. He does seem to understand what I'm saying; I'm not really saying that. However, there does seem to be either some sort of psychological or medical issue with him. He can barely walk.

Yesterday in court I had to help him over, and I would have today, as well, but I think he can hear, and he's probably more comfortable over there in the jury box.

Your Honor, also, it seems like on page 5 of the report ... that he indicated to the doctor that he sees weird stuff, and that he's confused and in awe because he had not experienced anything similar to this before jail.

He stated that sometimes he sees sometimes [sic] people he knows, sometimes he just sees shadows.

And then the doctor indicates that it's unclear if these reports were the result of a delusional thought process, or if they were actual medical symptoms occurring. Because it's unclear, Your Honor, I think that she cannot give an accurate diagnosis, therefore.

...

She's also indicated on page 6 ... and these are related to some medical mental health records -- that while he's been incarcerated, he has exhibited delusions of others trying to kill him. The jail staff [h]as also interpreted many of his somatic concerns as related to a psychiatric illness, other than a medical one.

And then, if we go down a little bit further, it stated: Since the symptoms have been sporadic

...