State v. Todd

613 S.W.3d 92

STATE of Missouri, Respondent,

v.Justin Andrew TODD, Appellant.

WD 82819

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.

OPINION FILED: December 1, 2020

Karen L. Kramer, Jefferson City, MO, for respondent.

James C. Egan, Columbia, MO, for appellant.

Before Division Four: Cynthia L. Martin, Chief Judge, Presiding, Karen King Mitchell, Judge and Anthony Rex Gabbert, Judge

Cynthia L. Martin, Judge

Justin Andrew Todd ("Todd") appeals his convictions of one count of kidnapping in the first degree, two counts of rape in the first degree, and one count of sodomy in the first degree following a jury trial. Todd asserts that the trial court erred in overruling his motion for a mistrial based on alleged juror misconduct, and in permitting the admission of testimony and an exhibit suggesting that Todd may have multiple personalities. Finding no error, we affirm.

Factual and Procedural History

Todd does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions of one count of kidnapping in the first degree, two counts of rape in the first degree, and one count of sodomy in the first degree. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict,¹ the evidence established that, in May 2017, M.M. ("Victim") was eighteen years old, lived in Mexico, Missouri, and worked at Walmart as a cashier. While working at Walmart, Victim met Danielle Todd ("Danielle"),² Todd's wife. Victim offered to babysit for Danielle's three children in the future.

On the evening of Friday, May 26, 2017, Victim went to Danielle's house in Mexico, Missouri to babysit the children. Danielle left, and while she was gone, Danielle contacted Victim to ask whether Victim could help move some boxes. Victim agreed. Danielle returned late Friday night or during the early hours of Saturday morning with a man Victim did not know. The man then stayed with Danielle's children, and Victim left with Danielle in a minivan. The passenger seat and the middle row of the minivan Danielle was driving were filled with large items, so Victim sat in the back seat of the minivan, next to Todd. Victim had never met Todd before, so Danielle introduced him to Victim. As Danielle started to drive away from her home, Victim put her hand down on the seat and felt a gun next to her. Todd told Victim that he used the gun for protection.

Victim noticed that Danielle was "kind of out of it" and was swerving all over the road. Danielle stopped at a gas station in Centralia, Missouri. Todd convinced Victim to drive because he could not drive and Danielle did not seem able to drive. Victim initially told Todd that she was not comfortable driving at night, but she eventually relented. Neither Todd nor Danielle told Victim where they were going. Instead, Todd gave Victim directions while Todd and Danielle sat in the back seat of the minivan and giggled. Victim felt nervous and uncomfortable.

The trio eventually arrived at a trailer located in a trailer park on Brown Station Road in Columbia, Missouri. Kate Carter ("Carter"), a woman with whom Todd had a romantic relationship, lived in the trailer. However, Carter was not home, as she was working as a nurse that evening for Sleep Diagnostic Services in Wentzville, Missouri.

Victim did not know where she was or to whom the trailer belonged. Todd and Danielle exited the minivan. Victim stayed behind momentarily and sent messages to her friend, Eduardo Rodriguez Velez ("Rodriguez Velez"), because she felt uncomfortable and "had a really bad feeling." Those messages, sent around 4:20 A.M. on Saturday, May 27, 2017, alarmed Rodriguez Velez, so he forwarded the messages to Victim's mother, S.B. ("Mother"), and asked whether Mother had heard from Victim.

Victim got out of the minivan and went into the trailer, where she found Danielle lying on the couch. Victim checked on Danielle because she "seemed really out of it" and was not acting normally. Todd told Victim that the stuff that needed to be moved was in the back bedroom, located just off the kitchen. Victim went to the back bedroom, where she saw an animal cage, a bed, a chair, and a dresser. Todd told Victim that the items that needed to be moved were in the closet, and then left the room.

When Todd returned, he closed the door and was holding a gun behind his back. Victim asked what was going on. Todd then gave Victim a cup and told her to drink its contents or he would shoot her. Victim described the liquid inside the cup as appearing "cloudy," as if it contained crushed up pills. In an effort to avoid drinking the liquid, Victim lied, telling Todd that she was pregnant so that she needed to know what was in the cup. Rather than answer her question, Todd told Victim that the drink was his "own little concoction," and that it would be fine. Victim drank the liquid, which she described as tasting "chalky" and "gross."

Todd then forced Victim to lie on her stomach on the bed. Todd used zip ties to bind Victim's wrists behind her back and to bind her ankles together. Todd asked Victim what her biggest fear was. When Victim responded that her biggest fear was being killed, Todd told Victim that most people would say being raped. Todd then placed duct tape over Victim's mouth and around her head before leaving the room. While she was alone, Victim was able to remove the duct tape over her mouth using her teeth. Todd returned to the bedroom with a glass pipe. He lit the pipe and instructed Victim to inhale from the pipe three or four times. Todd told Victim to tell him when the effects of the smoke took effect, and left the room again. When Todd returned, he had Victim's cell phone and accused of her of revealing their location.

Todd then put Victim's head under a pillow and sat on top of her. Todd pulled down Victim's pants and inserted his penis into her vagina. Victim told Todd to stop and that she wanted to go home. Todd did not stop, and instead forced Victim to have vaginal intercourse while telling her that she was a good girl. While doing so, Todd had a gun touching Victim's lower back and moved it down to Victim's anus. After forcing Victim to have vaginal intercourse, Todd pulled up Victim's pants and left the room to check on Danielle. When Todd returned to the bedroom, he removed the zip ties from Victim and helped her to the bathroom connected to the bedroom. Victim obeyed Todd's instruction to take a shower. While in the shower, Victim began feeling numb and had trouble breathing. Todd gave Victim a towel after she exited the shower. Todd gave Victim different clothes to wear and took Victim's clothes, telling her that he "wasn't going to get caught for anything."

Victim dressed and then, as instructed by Todd, sat on the bed. Todd placed zip ties on Victim's ankles again. Todd retrieved the glass pipe and forced Victim to inhale several more times while holding a gun to her head. Todd told Victim that he "wanted to make her tired." Todd then went to the sink, and when he came back, he took off one of Victim's socks and injected something into her foot. Todd poured the remaining liquid from the syringe into a cup and forced Victim to drink the liquid. Todd told Victim that the liquid would make her "forget everything." Todd told Victim to tell him when she started feeling the effects of the substances he had forced her to ingest. After drinking the liquid, Victim began to feel ill, like she was going to vomit. Todd gave Victim a trash can and, at her request, removed the zip ties.

Todd then had Victim sit on a chair in the bedroom, and told her that she would have to do it again. Victim protested, telling Todd that she could not. At that point, Todd held a gun to Victim's head, pulled down his pants, and put his penis in Victim's mouth. While Victim was no longer bound by zip ties, she felt like she could not move her body. Todd then pulled Victim's pants down, and again he placed his penis in her vagina and forced Victim to have vaginal intercourse. Then Todd again ordered Victim to take a shower. After Victim followed his command, Todd placed Victim in zip ties again. Todd told Victim that "he wasn't a horrible guy." Victim responded by telling him that he had just raped her twice.

Throughout the evening of Friday, May 26, 2017, and into the early morning hours of Saturday, May 27, 2017, Todd had been sending text messages to Carter while she was at work. Todd told Carter that there was an emergency at her home and that she needed to return immediately. When Carter asked if it could wait until the end of her shift (at 6:30 on Saturday morning), Todd said that it could wait. Todd asked Carter "not [to] abandon him" and "not [to] forsake him." Todd told Carter that he needed her help and that he needed to know that she had his back. Carter responded that she did. Todd also sent a text message to Carter that asked whether phones keep records of text messages and told her that he was "involved in something bad" and that he "need[ed] a rescue."

At one point in his text messages to Carter, Todd stated that he was "Ash" and that he needed Carter's help. According to Carter, Todd claimed to have a multiple personality disorder and "Ash" spoke through Todd. Todd texted Carter to tell her that they would have "cleanup to do," and asked that Carter promise to help. She did. Later, Todd sent a text to Carter that said "[Oh my God] please hurry and [I']ve done something bad," and then asked her to tell him when she was on her way home. In the early morning hours of Saturday, May 27, 2017, Todd sent Carter a text message that said, "Ash fucked me over." Todd also told Carter to "think of his fantasy," and explained "[t]hat's what your [sic] walking into." Carter asked Todd who Ash "fuck[ed] over," and Todd answered, "[p]retty much all of us." Later, Todd sent Carter a text message that read, "We could zi[p] tie her up and fuck," and another that said, "[s]he has to get to a certain point before we could [cut] her loose." Todd told Carter that he was grabbing Carter's taser "in case [h...