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Freeman v. State3/27/2002
hen he heard more gunshots. Then Martin ran out of the house towards the neighbors, Beth and Sam Strange.
After Martin told Beth and Sam Strange that Freeman had shot J.I., Sam Strange thought there had been an accident involving a gun. He ran over to the Freeman house to offer help. Strange knocked on the door, and no one answered. Strange opened the door and immediately noticed the strong smell of gun powder. Strange then saw Freeman holding a large pistol in his right hand. Freeman's left hand was covered in blood. Strange remembered Freeman being fully clothed. As Freeman walked towards Strange, Freeman said "it was all over." Strange felt threatened and quickly ran back towards his house without saying anything to Freeman. As he ran away from the Freeman residence, Freeman yelled at him to stop and said "if you run, I'll pop you."
Police forced Freeman out of the house using a pepper-spray canister nearly two hours after Christensen called 911. When he was arrested, he was only wearing his underwear. His clothes were found in his bedroom. Freeman disputed whether any blood was found on his clothing (his clothing was not tested for the presence of blood at the crime lab). Freeman had dried blood on his hands.
Freeman denied arguing with J.I. the night of the shootings. He testified that J.I. was upset because Ed Minimon, a former boyfriend, had apparently attempted to run her over with his truck earlier in the evening. When Freeman walked into the house he talked with J.I., but proceeded straight to his bedroom. Freeman testified that he was in his bedroom when he heard gunshots from the kitchen. He did not immediately investigate because he thought J.I. was shooting at a tree from the kitchen. About ten minutes after hearing the shots, Freeman heard voices outside, got up, walked into the kitchen, and saw J.I. lying on the kitchen floor. Freeman initially thought that J.I. had been shot accidentally and reached down to see if she was alive. Freeman saw his pistol on the kitchen counter and picked it up. At that moment, Freeman heard Strange knock on the door. Freeman testified that when he told Strange that he would "pop" him, he meant he would slap him to make him quit panicking.
Freeman's blood alcohol level was .150 percent four hours after he was arrested. Dr. Norman Thompson, a forensic pathologist, testified that at the time of the shootings, Freeman's blood alcohol level would have been approximately between .210 and .240 percent.
Both women died of two gunshot wounds. J.I. was shot once in the neck and once in the left hip. Eason was shot once in the chest and once in the abdomen. J.I.'s body was found in the kitchen, and Eason's body was found in the bedroom.
J.I.'s blood alcohol level was .127 percent and the presence of marijuana was found in her blood. Eason's blood alcohol level was .035 percent. No other non-prescription drugs were found in Eason's system.
In his defense, Freeman attempted to convince the jury that someone other than Freeman - Ed Minimon, William Edwards, or some other unknown third person - killed J.I. and Eason. A jury convicted Freeman of two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of third-degree assault. Judge Link sentenced Freeman to a composite sentence of 213 years, 15 years concurrent - 198 years to serve.
Judge Link's Refusal to Require Martin to Undergo a Psychological Evaluation
Martin suffered from serious behavioral problems. He had most recently been evaluated by a child psychologist, Dr. Robert Wald, on July 8, 1998, nine days before the shootings. Cheryl Toppa, a nurse clinician, had evaluated both J.I. and Martin.
Freeman
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