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State v. Schad12/14/1989
The defendant, Edward Harold Schad, Jr., was convicted by a Yavapai County jury of first degree murder and sentenced to death. State v. Schad, 129 Ariz. 557, 633 P.2d 366 (1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 983, 102 S.Ct. 1492, 71 L.Ed.2d 693 (1982). On the defendant's petition for post-conviction relief, this court reversed the conviction, holding that the trial court committed fundamental error by instructing the jury on felony murder without defining the elements of the underlying felony. State v. Schad, 142 Ariz. 619, 691 P.2d 710 (1984). On remand, the defendant was again convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. This appeal followed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-4031.
The facts of this case are fully set forth in our 1981 opinion, supra. Briefly summarized, the following facts led to the defendant's conviction in the second trial.
The victim, Lorimer "Leroy" Grove, was last seen alive on August 1, 1978, when he left Bisbee, Arizona for Everett, Washington in his new Cadillac. His body was discovered August 9, 1978, off the highway just south of Prescott. The corpse was not identified until October 11, 1978, after the defendant's arrest. The killer had strangled the victim to death with a small rope tied around his neck.
The defendant's connection with the homicide is established only by circumstantial evidence. Beginning with the day after the victim left Bisbee, the defendant made numerous purchases with the victim's credit cards. The police recovered credit cards from the defendant's wallet after his arrest. The state also introduced a forged check drawn on the victim's bank account and made to the defendant's order for "wages." A car the defendant had rented, but never returned, was discovered in Flagstaff in early August, 1978. Discovered in this car was a "unique mirror contraption" designed and built by the victim. On September 3, 1978, New York authorities issued the defendant a speeding ticket for an offense he committed while driving the victim's Cadillac. The defendant explained to the citing officer that the car belonged to his friend Leroy Grove. Later in September, the defendant drove the Cadillac to Salt Lake City, Utah. While he was in Utah, the Salt Lake City police arrested the defendant for investigation of a possible parole violation and possession of a stolen vehicle. During his incarceration in the Salt Lake City jail, the defendant spoke with John Duncan and made several inculpatory statements. Thereafter, a Yavapai County Grand Jury indicted the defendant for the murder of Lorimer Grove and the authorities extradited the defendant to Arizona to stand trial.
The defendant raises the following issues for our consideration:
1. Did admitting statements that the defendant made to John Duncan in the
Salt Lake City jail violate the defendant's constitutional rights?
2. Was the defendant denied a fair trial when the state failed to preserve the victim's clothing and preserve fingerprint impressions on items found with the body and on the mirror contraption?
3. Did the trial court commit error by failing to instruct the jury on, and provide a form of verdict for, the lesser-included offense of robbery?
4. Did the trial court err when it refused to give forms of verdict for both premeditated murder and felony murder?
5. Was it proper to use the defendant's prior murder conviction as an aggravating factor?
6. Were the defendant
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