Tidwell v. State

312 Ga. 459

863 S.E.2d 127

TIDWELL

v.The STATE.

S21A0739

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Decided: September 21, 2021

David Edward Clark, Clark & Towne, PC, 1755 North Brown Road, Suite 200, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, for Appellant.

Penny Alane Penn, District Attorney, Sandra Ann Partridge, Chief A.D.A., Forsyth County District Attorney's Office, 101 E. Courthouse Square, Ste 2075, Cumming, Georgia 30040, Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Deputy Attorney General, Paula Khristian Smith, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Matthew Blackwell Crowder, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law, 40 Capitol Square, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30334, Christopher M. Carr, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, 40 Capitol Square, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30334, for Appellee.

Colvin, Justice.

Following a jury trial, Tonya Tidwell was convicted of malice murder and aggravated battery in connection with the death of David Eric Guice.¹ On appeal, Tidwell claims that the trial court erred by failing to charge the jury on mutual combat and by failing to suppress evidence obtained during the post-incident search of the crime scene. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

The evidence presented at trial showed that, on the evening of December 30, 2016, Forsyth County officers arrested Ryan Spark, Tidwell, and Michael Smith² for possession of methamphetamine after conducting a routine traffic stop. In addition to finding methamphetamine in the vehicle, officers located several knives, paracord (also known as parachute cord), and a machete; officers confiscated only the methamphetamine, however, as they had no reason or cause to seize the other items at that time.

Approximately one week later, on January 5, 2017, Forsyth County 911 received an anonymous call. The caller told the dispatcher that he had seen a body at an abandoned mobile home about two hours prior, that the body was located by the back door of the residence, and that it was wrapped in blankets. Responding officers entered the residence and found Guice's dead body under a pile of blankets by the back door. Officers exited the mobile home, notified dispatch of their discovery, and obtained a search warrant.³

During a subsequent search of the mobile home, the crime scene investigator noted that Guice had rope tied around his neck and his left hand. Similar rope was found wrapped around the handle of the mobile home's back door. There was blood throughout the mobile home along with bloody drag marks, indicating that Guice had been dragged to different locations while bleeding. Drywall had been removed in sections of the mobile home, a section of the carpet had been cut out, and a pile of bloody towels was located in the closet behind the door of the master bedroom. Officers found a pair of Nike shoes on the floor of the master bedroom, an orange pipe,⁴ a blood-stained gray hoodie, a white glove in a trash bag, and a broom that had blood on the handle.

The coroner noted multiple injuries to the back of Guice's head, numerous injuries to his face, and cut marks to his hands. After conducting an autopsy, the medical examiner opined that Guice had suffered several stab wounds as well as blunt force trauma all over his body. The medical examiner concluded that Guice died as a result of stab wounds to the neck and torso and multiple blunt force injuries.

Officers learned the identity of the January 5 tipster (Cameron McCallum) and interviewed him as a potential suspect. McCallum implicated Tidwell, Spark, and Jimmy Winkles in Guice's death.

Spark and Winkles were arrested at their respective residences. Officers searched Spark's home and located a bloody towel behind a bedroom door. Spark's white Dodge Ram, which was parked outside the residence, was seized and transported to the sheriff's office. During a search of the vehicle, officers found an empty water jug and a fixed-blade knife. Winkles and Spark were interviewed by officers; they confessed their involvement in Guice's murder and implicated Tidwell. Michael Smith was also interviewed, and he, too, implicated Winkles, Spark, and Tidwell in Guice's murder. Tidwell, who had not made bond from the drug arrest, was interviewed at the jail; she admitted to participating in Guice's killing. Also, while incarcerated, Tidwell admitted to fellow inmate, Christine Dutton, that she had beaten, robbed, and murdered a man because he had "ripped her off." Tidwell told Dutton she was going to claim at trial that she had been raped in order to avoid conviction.

After their interviews, officers took the defendants’ clothing and collected buccal swabs. Blood was found on all of the defendants’ shoes and was later matched to Guice's DNA. A swabbing from the orange pipe found at the scene also contained Guice's DNA. Officers returned to the crime scene to search for additional evidence based upon the new information they obtained during the defendants’ interviews. Inside the mobile home, officers collected a milk jug, some paracord, a hammer, and a door that did not belong to the residence.

Spark and Winkles pled guilty prior to trial and testified as witnesses for the State.⁵ Specifically, Spark and Winkles told the jury that, on the day of the crimes, they were with Tidwell and had been using drugs when the group realized they were all mad at Guice for various reasons.⁶ The group decided to confront Guice over their respective grievances, so they drove to his mobile home and, when they entered the residence, they found Smith and Guice asleep. Although Smith woke up, Guice remained passed out in his bed. The group smoked some meth and decided that they needed to beat up Guice and "make him pay" for what he had done. Tidwell went into the bedroom where Guice was still sleeping, picked up a hatchet, and hit Guice in the head with the blunt side of the hatchet three or four times. Guice jumped up, and the group began beating him with heavy objects, such as a barbell and the orange pipe. Guice tried to defend himself and swung at his attackers, but he could not ward off the three by himself. Eventually, Guice fell to the ground, but he was able to grab a nearby door that was not hinged to the frame and pulled it over himself as a shield. Winkles pulled the door away; Guice tried to hit back, but Winkles punched Guice unconscious.

After a period of time, Guice regained consciousness, got up off the ground, and started swinging at Tidwell, who still had the hatchet in her hands. Tidwell, Spark, and Winkles resumed beating Guice with heavy objects (the hatchet, barbell, and a piece of lumber). Guice once again grabbed the door and used it as a shield while swinging it at his attackers, but the group was able to knock the door away and continue beating Guice. He fell unconscious again. After approximately fifteen minutes, Guice regained consciousness, and the group once again beat him with heavy objects. They eventually backed him into the kitchen corner and yelled at him for the wrongs he had allegedly committed. Guice apologized and offered to pay them back, but Tidwell exclaimed that she wanted to kill him. She ran into the bedroom, returned with a knife, and started punching, stabbing, and kicking Guice. She then grabbed some paracord, bound Guice's hands behind his back, and stabbed him again before cutting the paracord.

Guice did not regain consciousness again. Spark testified that he could hear Guice's shallow breathing, and it sounded as if he had "a bunch of fluid in his lungs." Tidwell removed Guice's jeans and told Spark to look through the pockets. During this time, Tidwell took a nearby broom and put it up Guice's rectum. Spark walked outside for a moment, and Winkles went into the bedroom where Smith was sitting. Tidwell closed the door to the bedroom, stating, "Y'all probably don't want to hear this." Winkles then heard a loud bang and something rattling on the floor. Smith heard gurgling coming from the kitchen, and Spark announced that Guice was "cold."

Tidwell, Winkles, and Spark cleaned the crime scene, cut out the blood-stained dry wall, cut out a piece of bloody carpet, and started a fire in the backyard so they could destroy the evidence. Tidwell had jugs of water in the house and used them to clean the scene, including her shoes, clothes, the hatchet, barbell, and orange pipe. At this point, Winkles decided he no longer wanted to be a part of the crimes and left the mobile home. Spark and Tidwell covered Guice's body in blankets. Tidwell changed out of her blood-covered Nike sneakers and her gray hoodie. She left the mobile home with Spark and Smith, and the three were on their way to take Smith home when they were pulled over by police. Spark testified that, after they were arrested on the drug charges, Tidwell told Spark to go back to the scene and "clean up the mess."⁷

1. Tidwell argues that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on mutual combat. Assuming without deciding that this claim was preserved for ordinary appellate review, it fails because Tidwell cannot show that the trial court erred by ruling that there was no evidence to support a charge on mutual combat. "To authorize a requested jury instruction, there need only be slight evidence to support the theory of the charge, and the necessary evidence may be presented by the State, the defendant, or both." (Punctuation omitted.) Collins v. State , 308 Ga. 515, 519 (2), 842 S.E.2d 275 (2020). "Whether the evidence presented is sufficient to authorize the giving of a charge is a question of law." (Citation and punctuation omitted.) McClure v. State , 306 Ga. 856, 863 (1), 834 S.E.2d 96 (2019).

Tidwell argues that she has met this standard because Spark testified that Guice charged toward Tidwell and her co-defendants each time he regained consciousness. However, "[t]he essential ingredient, mutual intent, in order to constitute mutual combat, must be a willingness, a readiness, and an intention upon the part of both parties to fight." (Citation and...