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State v. Owens4/10/2002
South Dakota Supreme Court Appeal from the Circuit Court of The Second Judicial Circuit Minnehaha County, South Dakota Hon. Joseph Neiles, Judge
Considered on Briefs August 29, 2001
[ .] Lavance Owens (Owens) appeals from his conviction of the murder of Marvene Ross (Ross). We affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
[ .] On September 2, 1999, Owens came home from work around 4:00 p.m. He shared the home with his girlfriend, Amber Poppenga (Poppenga) and their child. Charles Tillman (Tillman), Carrie Tschetter (Tschetter), and Tschetter's two children also resided in this home.
[ .] Shortly after Owens arrived, Owens and Tillman left to purchase cigarettes for Poppenga. The men did not, however, come directly home. Instead, they went to a bar. Tillman believed both men were intoxicated when they finally returned around 2:00 a.m. on September 3.
[ .] When they arrived, an argument broke out between Owens and Poppenga. Poppenga testified that Owens struck her in the face and back. Owens also put his arm around her neck and put his hands on her mouth. Owens opened Poppenga's mouth in a way that she could not scream or make any noise. Moreover, while this assault was taking place, Owens told Poppenga to "shut up"; he threatened that if she "wasn't quiet, he was going to hurt worse than what he was doing." Poppenga ultimately blacked out.
[ .] When Poppenga regained consciousness, she told Tschetter and Tillman what had occurred. Tillman testified that the right side of Poppenga's face, eye and lip were swollen, and the white of her eye was purple and red. Tillman and Owens then began to argue. Tillman asked Owens to leave. When Owens refused, a fight broke out between the two, and Tschetter left to call the police. Tillman again asked Owens to leave, but he refused. The fighting continued, and Owens ultimately left the home running as the police pulled into the driveway. Owens was not apprehended, and he did not return to the home until approximately 9:00 a.m. that morning of September 3.
[ .] Shortly after he returned around 9:00 a.m., Owens was detained for his assault on Poppenga. Owens agreed to go to the police station for questioning. He was subsequently arrested for the assault. During the booking process, Owens' personal property was inventoried. Two rings were recovered from Owens' pocket. These rings were later determined to belong to the decedent Ross.
[ .] Earlier that morning of September 3, at 5:30 a.m., Ross' body was discovered near some railroad tracks. A police officer testified that her body was found in a location under weeds where it was hard to see. It appeared that Ross' body was intentionally placed there to be out of view. The body was nude from the waist down.
[ .] The coroner, Dr. Randall, discovered large rocks inside Ross' mouth. Dr. Randall testified that the cause of Ross' death was either "obstruction of the airway from foreign objects being placed in the mouth or from obstruction from the neck, the voice box, in either an asphixial or strangulation process from injury to the neck, or both." Dr. Randall estimated that the time of death was between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on September 3.
[ .] On the evening of September 4, Joe Russell called the police after he watched a news report of Ross' death. Russell informed the police that he had observed Ross and Owens together near a Get-N-Go convenience store around 3:30 a.m. on the morning of September 3. A clerk at the Get-N-Go also testified that Ross and Owens were together that morning. A security camera in the store confirmed that Ross and Owens were both at the store at 3:37 a.m.
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