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Commonwealth v. Boczkowski3/23/2004
McCormick but one which, if not excluded, may go to the very heart of the Commonwealth's burden in a murder prosecution.
Moreover, the defendant does not have to actually forward a formal defense of accident, or even present an argument along those lines, before the Commonwealth may have a practical need to exclude the theory of accidental death. This case provides a practical example. Certain of the evidence available to the Commonwealth here was suggestive that Maryann's death could have been accidental, even if appellant did not affirmatively argue that inference. Illustrative are the facts that appellant told paramedics at the scene that on the night she died Maryann had consumed fourteen beers; that he and Maryann had been celebrating an upcoming event; that he had left her in the hot tub while he went to take a shower; and that, upon returning, he found her unconscious and face up in the hot tub. This account clearly suggested an accidental death and it was certainly relevant for the Commonwealth to prove both the existence of the account and then to demonstrate its implausibility -- since the very implausibility of the account by the person in the best position to know how the victim died was probative of guilt. Even if appellant did not intend to affirmatively argue this evidence or to explicitly forward a defense of accident, it was still a matter the jury might consider, and the Commonwealth properly could eliminate that consideration. Nor should the Commonwealth be forced to dilute the evidence available to it by being deprived of the ability to prove the implausibility of appellant's explanation by relevant evidence tending to show the absence of accident.
Given the remarkable similarity between the manner in which both of appellant's wives were killed, evidence concerning the circumstances of Elaine's death supported a reasonable inference that Maryann's death was not accidental, but rather, was a result of appellant's deliberate act. We agree with the Superior Court that the evidence was highly relevant and that its probative value outweighed any potential for unfair prejudice. As to the last point, we note that the trial court repeatedly and clearly charged the jury that the evidence was admitted for the limited purpose of excluding accident as the manner of death, and could not be considered for any other purpose. Spotz, 756 A.2d at 1153 (fact that trial court clearly instructed jury that it could only consider other crimes evidence for relevant limited purposes and not merely as evidence of appellant's propensity to commit crimes weighed against claim of error). Accordingly, this claim fails.
Appellant's final claim arising out of the pre-trial appeal is that the Superior Court erred in supposedly creating a per se exception to the general proscription against the admission of prior bad acts. The unpublished Superior Court decision below creates no such per se exception. The Superior Court did not innovate some new rule of evidence:
Absence of accident is a recognized exception to the proscription appellant invokes. Because we have determined that the evidence at issue was properly admitted in the Commonwealth's case-in-chief in this matter, this claim fails.
Appellant next raises three claims relating to the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence. Because the Commonwealth prevailed in the suppression court, we may consider only the Commonwealth's evidence and so much of the evidence for the defense as remains uncontradicted when read in the context of the record as a whole. Where the record supports the factual findings of the trial court, we are bound by those facts and may reverse only if the legal conclusions drawn ther
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