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North Carolina v. Harris9/7/1988
Defendant brings forth twelve assignments of error with respect to his trial. For the reasons stated below, we hold that defendant received a fair trial free from prejudicial error.
The state's evidence tended to show the following:
On the evening of 5 April 1987 defendant and his housemate Eddie Neil patronized Jerry's Lounge, a bar on Old Cherry Point Highway near New Bern. Defendant and Neil soon became acquainted with another patron -- the victim, Ernest Hardy. The men conversed while defendant and Hardy took turns buying rounds of drinks. Throughout the evening, Hardy watched the clock, stating that he had "a meeting down the road." Sometime after midnight defendant indicated that he was going to give Hardy a ride but would return to the bar shortly. Defendant, Neil, and Hardy then left. Half an hour later, defendant and Neil returned.
Defendant responded to inquiries as to Hardy's whereabouts by explaining that he had "taken him down the road to the Exxon." He further stated that Hardy had asked him to wait a few minutes and had gotten into a black Cadillac with two black men. Defendant said he got nervous and left. Defendant appeared calm during this explanation, although he expressed some concern as to whether he had done the right thing in leaving Hardy alone with the men. During defendant's explanations, Neil nodded in agreement but did not contribute anything.
On 8 April Hardy's sister filed a missing person's report with the Craven County Sheriff's Department. On 9 April Investigator David Arthur interviewed defendant and Neil about the case. Defendant told the story of Hardy's "meeting" at the Exxon while Neil quietly concurred. On 10 April defendant talked with Investigator Bob Brown, reiterating the story.
On 24 April Investigator Arthur met with Neil at Neil's request. Neil stated that defendant had killed Hardy and was planning to leave the jurisdiction. Neil then led police officers to a gravel lot two and one-half miles east of New Bern, diagonally across Highway 70 from the fairgrounds.
Ernest Hardy's remains were found in the surrounding wooded area, sixty-nine feet from the edge of the gravel lot. The land sloped so the body could not easily be seen from the lot. The body lay face up. It was substantially decomposed and partially skeletonized where the flesh had been consumed by scavengers. The fly on the victim's pants was open and his right pocket turned inside out. The victim's lower jawbone rested some twenty-five yards away from the body. Three human teeth, the victim's bloodstained baseball cap, and a wooden club with a metal end and the trade name "Tire Billy" printed on it were found on the site. An autopsy performed by Dr. Darlene Thorn, forensic pathologist, revealed several significant skull injuries. Dr. Thorn noted multiple fractures inflicted by at least five major blows with a blunt instrument. There was a large hole in the left forehead area where a portion of the skull was missing. The cause of death was blunt trauma injury to the brain and skull.
Both defendant and Neil were arrested and charged, respectively, with murder in the first degree and accessory after the fact. Upon arrest defendant repeated the story about the mysterious
black men in spite of Investigator's Arthur's indication that Neil had implicated him.
On 27 April Investigator Arthur responded to a message from the county jail that defendant wanted to talk to him. Defendant stated that he wanted to "get straight and tell the truth," then blamed Neil for the murder. Investigator Arthur later confronted Neil with defendant's accusations. Neil made another statement which included pre
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