State v. Walker

2020 Ohio 1581

STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. THOMAS WALKER, Defendant-Appellant.

APPEAL NO. C-190193

COURT OF APPEALS FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO

April 22, 2020

TRIAL NO. B-1603076

OPINION.

Criminal Appeal From: Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas

Judgment Appealed From Is: Affirmed

Joseph T. Deters, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney, and Philip R. Cummings, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Plaintiff-Appellee,

Timothy J. McKenna, for Defendant-Appellant.

MOCK, Presiding Judge.

{¶1} Following a jury trial, defendant-appellant Thomas Walker was convicted of murder under R.C. 2903.02(A), gross abuse of a corpse under R.C. 2927.01(B), tampering with evidence under R.C. 2921.12(A)(1), and having weapons while under a disability under R.C. 2923.13(A)(3). The trial court ordered the sentences on all four counts to be served consecutively, for a total sentence of 25 years to life in prison. We find no merit in Walker's six assignments of error, and we affirm his convictions.

I. Factual Background

A. Walker Reports the Shooting to Police

{¶2} The record shows that on Monday, May 30, 2016, at about 10:30 p.m., Cincinnati Police Officer Barnabus Blank was working the front desk at District One when Walker walked in and announced that "I got into it with my girl and I shot and killed her." Walker gave him a house key and said, "You will need this to get to the body."

{¶3} Officer Blank went into the lobby and put handcuffs on Walker. Blank described Walker as calm, but also "sweaty and clammy," and "a little bit out of breath." Blank saw that Walker had a gunshot wound to his left leg, so he called an ambulance.

{¶4} Walker told Blank that the police would find the body at 705 Glenwood Avenue on the second floor. Blank recognized the address that Walker gave him as being located in District Four. He arranged for a squad to respond to that address, and also called District Four to give them "a heads up."

{¶5} Police Officer Alisha Bruewer was standing near the front desk when Walker walked into District One. She said that Walker was sweating profusely and appeared to be nervous. Walker stated that "it took him a little while because he had to work himself up to bring himself down to the district," and that "he and his wife got into an altercation and he had a bullet stuck in his leg." He also stated that the shooting had occurred on the Saturday before.

{¶6} Sergeant John Hein was also present at District One. He photographed the gunshot wound when the paramedics cut off Walker's pants leg. Hein said that "the coloring was definitely of interest," the wound was not bleeding, and it appeared to be "scabbed over already." The bullet was still underneath the skin, and the colors of the bruises indicated that some time had elapsed since the wound had been inflicted.

{¶7} Lieutenant William Feckter of the Cincinnati Fire Department was an EMT who came to treat Walker's gunshot wound. He said that there was already bruising around the entry point, and the entry point was "dried, with no blood or secretions." A paramedic prepared a report about the incident. The report stated, "the patient * * * said that his wife had the gun, he didn't know if she was going to shoot herself or him, so he tried to grab it * * * and it shot him in the leg."

B. The Scene of the Crime

{¶8} Police officers went to 705 Glenwood Avenue at approximately 10:43 p.m. Upon entering the residence, they immediately smelled the decomposing body of Necole Craig, also known as Necole Jones. Rigor mortis had set in, and she was covered in dried blood and flies. Her shirt was pulled over her head. They found a gun on the couch in the living room. Written on the bedroom wall was "NecoleJones, 1974-2016 7:12 AM * * * Her fam did everything they could to see us unhappy. They won!!"

{¶9} Criminalist Kim Horning processed the bedroom, where the victim's body was found. She noticed that the sheets and rugs were soaked in blood. There was dried vomit with what appeared to be pills in it on the floor. A roll of duct tape was found on the bed. In the living room, there was a cell phone under the couch, which was later determined to be Necole's. There was also a gun on the couch and ammunition on the coffee table. The television was on and tuned to a channel that showed true-crime shows.

{¶10} Criminalist Jimmy Pham also processed the scene. Pham did not find any cartridge casings, spent bullets, or bullet holes in the apartment. Walker's fingerprints were found on a box of ammunition. That box held 50 cartridges. Thirty-nine cartridges were found inside of the box, ten were found in a baggie, and a spent bullet was later removed from Walker's leg. Pham later went back to the scene with the investigating detective to search for a cartridge casing that may have been thrown into the backyard, but he did not find anything.

C. Scientific Evidence

{¶11} DNA swabs were taken from the trigger and the handle grip of the gun found at the scene. Because the samples on the two swabs were small, they were combined at the laboratory conducting the DNA analysis. Necole's DNA was identified from the combined samples, along with a minority DNA contributor, who could not be identified.

{¶12} The deputy coroner who examined the body found numerous old, irregular scars. Post-mortem changes to the body indicated Necole had been deceased for "a couple of days." There was a gunshot entrance wound on the rightside of her head and an exit wound on the left side of her head. There was no fouling or stippling or any other indication that the gun was fired from close or intermediate range.

{¶13} The coroner also found substantial bruising on the left side of Necole's head, near her temple, which was not caused by the gunshot wound. She also had bruises on her right arm and wrist. All of those bruises indicated blunt-force trauma. No pills were found in her stomach, but she tested positive for tramadol, a pain medication, as well as alcohol and cocaine.

{¶14} A firearm examiner testified that the gun found at the scene was a .32-caliber semiautomatic pistol, but it did not have a magazine. Therefore, the operator would have to manually insert the bullet in the chamber and pull the slide back. The ammunition found at the scene was also .32 caliber. The examiner test-fired the weapon using the ammunition from the scene and found it to be operable. He also determined that the bullet recovered from Walker's leg was fired from that gun.

{¶15} Officer Steven Villing of the forensic video unit, which handles all digital evidence, was given Walker's cell phone along with the cell phone found at the scene, which was later identified as Necole's. Necoles's phone contained numerous text messages from Walker which were abusive and crude. In several, he threatened to beat her or referenced times when he had beat her in the past.

D. Testimony of the Victim's Family

{¶16} Necole's mother, daughter, and sister testified at trial. They acknowledged that Necole was a drug addict who had prostituted herself for drug money. Stella Craig, Necole's mother, testified that they were a very close family. She described her daughter as "bubbly, silly, always liking to joke, laughing with herfamily, being around us." She also said that Necole was petite, and that she dressed "real cute," wore lipstick, and had her hair done.

{¶17} Stella testified that after Necole started dating Walker, she changed. She interacted less with her family and was no longer her "bubbly, silly" self. Her physical appearance changed, and she was not as "dainty and cute as she used to be." She also started wearing long sleeves and longer pants when she was around the family even when it was hot. When Necole wasn't covered, Stella noticed marks and scratches on her.

{¶18} Stella testified that Walker would often call her and that when he did, he was "angry and vulgar." He sent her texts calling her names, making threats, and degrading her daughter. He also sent her sexually-explicit photographs of her daughter. Stella turned these texts and photographs over to the police.

{¶19} Two months before Necole's death, Stella saw that Necole was missing a tooth, even though Necole had tried to hide it. Stella "flipped out" because she believed Walker had been responsible for the missing tooth. She said that Necole had tried to calm her and did not want her to be upset.

{¶20} Stella described a trip that the family, including Necole, had taken on May 27, 2016, shortly before Necole's death, to Lexington, Kentucky for a family graduation. She said that Necole seemed to be happy and having fun. A few days later, a police officer came to her door and notified her that her daughter had died. She was devastated and told the police officer, "He finally did it, * * * he killed her."

{¶21} Amanda Craig, Necole's daughter, testified that she and her mother were close, but that Necole had become distant after she starting dating Walker. She began to see bruising on Necole's back and thighs. Amanda stated that Necole would try to hide the bruises by wearing baggy clothes.

{¶22} In April 2019, Necole had failed to show up for Stella's wedding, so, the following day, Amanda and several other family members went to Necole's residence. They stood outside and called Necole's name for about 15 minutes. They could tell someone was in the house because they saw the curtains moving on the second floor.

{¶23} When Necole did not come out, they went to Stella's house, a few blocks away. A short time later, Necole called Amanda. Amanda said that Necole sounded "shaken" and "scared." Amanda and her brother went to get Necole and brought her to Stella's house. Amanda testified that her mother appeared tired, and "kept trying to cover her mouth" because her tooth was gone. Amanda learned that her mother had been prescribed pain medicine for the missing tooth.

{¶24} Amanda lived near Lexington. She testified that her mother came to Lexington for the...