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State v. Nieves4/15/2004
Maria de Lourdes Nieves appeals her conviction for first-degree premeditated murder. She claims that the trial court committed reversible error by finding sufficient evidence, other than her own statements, to establish her guilt. For the following reasons, we reverse Nieves's conviction and resulting sentence.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
2 The charge against Nieves resulted from the death of her ten-month-old daughter, Michelle. On the night Michelle died, Nieves told Pastora Elba Talavera that Michelle died in her sleep. [FN1] About two weeks later, however, Nieves told Pastora Talavera a different version of events. Nieves confessed that after apologizing to Michelle, she covered the baby's nose and mouth with her hand until the baby stopped breathing. Nieves told Pastora Talavera that she killed Michelle because her husband, Nelson, had said during an argument several days before Michelle's death that he was going to leave Nieves and take the baby with him. Pastora Talavera thought overnight about what to do with this information, then told her husband, Juan, what Nieves had told her. Juan called the police.
FN1. Elba Talavera and her husband Juan are both ordained ministers and preside over a nondenominational congregation in the Phoenix area.
3 In response to Juan Talavera's call, two police officers met with Nieves at the church that night. Detective Jose Cisneros testified that when he asked Nieves to come with them to the police station, she said, "I did it out of frustration. I didn't mean to do it." Nieves agreed to go to the police station, and Pastora Talavera accompanied her.
4 At the station, Nieves told Detective Cisneros that she covered Michelle's mouth and nose with one hand, which prevented the baby from breathing. She then let go, left the room, and began cleaning the apartment. When she returned to check on Michelle shortly thereafter, the baby was dead. Nieves called Blanca Beceira, her husband's adult daughter from a previous relationship, and asked her to come as quickly as she could. Nieves then called her husband. After they arrived, someone called 9-1-1. Paramedics responded to the call and Michelle was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
**853 *440 5 The State charged Nieves with first-degree murder. After holding a pretrial voluntariness hearing, the trial court found that Nieves's statements to Detective Cisneros were voluntary. The jury found Nieves guilty, and the trial court sentenced her to life in prison with the possibility of parole after thirty-five years. Nieves filed a timely notice of appeal, and we have jurisdiction pursuant to the Arizona Constitution, Article 6, Section 9, and Arizona Revised Statutes ("A.R.S.") sections 12- 120.21(A)(1) (2003), 13-4031 (2001) and 13-4033(A) (2001).
ANALYSIS
The Trial Court Erred by Finding that Evidence Independent of Nieves's Statements Established the Corpus Delicti.
6 Before trial, Nieves filed a motion to dismiss challenging the admissibility of her statements to Pastora Talavera and Detective Cisneros. Nieves contended that without those statements, the State could not establish the corpus delicti. On appeal, Nieves assigns error to the trial court's ruling on her motion to dismiss. She contends that absent her admissions, there was no evidence giving rise to a reasonable inference that Michelle's death was the result of a crime. The State responds that Michelle's body and her unexplained death constituted sufficient circumstantial evidence to satisfy the corpus delicti rule. We disagree. [FN2]
FN2. Based on our disposition of this issue, we decline to address the other issues Nieves raises on appeal.
7 "A defendant may not be convicted of a crime based upon an uncorroborated confes
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