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Hollaway v. State8/23/2000
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Whiting died two weeks after the strangling. The doctor who performed the autopsy found that she had died from asphyxiation due to strangulation and that her brain had liquefied due to lack of blood supply.
A LVMPD detective conducted an audiotaped interview of Hollaway the night of his arrest. The detective testified regarding the interview, but the tape was not played during the guilt phase. The detective told the jury that Hollaway said he and Whiting "had been drinking and arguing and at a point he snapped and said, 'Fuck it, you gotta die.'" Hollaway said that they had been arguing for several days and that Whiting had been comparing him to her ex-husband, which he hated. He stated that he first choked her with his hands, then resorted to an electrical cord, and stopped only when he was exhausted. When the detective asked if alcohol had impaired his thinking, Hollaway said, "'No, I ain't copping that plea.'"
Whiting's mother testified. During her testimony, she stated that she and Hollaway had exchanged letters after her daughter's death and that Hollaway "admitted what he did and he was sorry."
The jury found Hollaway guilty of first-degree murder. The penalty hearing was held the next day, October 29, 1997. The State first played the entire tape of the 911 call and then the tape of the interview of Hollaway by the detective . The complete tapes contained additional statements of Hollaway demonstrating his appreciation of the consequences of his conduct and his desire to face up to what he had done, as well as more details about the arguments and drinking that preceded the strangulation. (911 Tape)
"Hollaway: Miss. Look, I know I'm going to prison. I have the door open. It's not locked. Police can come in. I'm not violent.
911 Operator: I just hope your wife's not dead.
Hollaway: Well, truth to tell, now, I kinda hope she ain't either. (Voluntary Statement)
Hollaway: We had been arguing for several days. Although today was . . . I never actually planned on killin' her 'til tonight. And then she . . . Fuck, I just had enough. Fuck it. I just killed her.
Detective : Are you remorseful about what happened?
Hollaway: I don't know, I think I'm still in kind of in shock.
Detective : Okay. Have you been drinkin' tonight?
Hollaway: Yes, I have.
Detective : Okay. When had you stopped drinkin' prior to the, uh, fight? How long had it been since your last drink before the fight?
Hollaway: Well, we sit . . . we were both sittin' in the house havin' a beer.
Detective : So you were drinking up to the time—
Hollaway: Right.
Detective : --right to the fight.
Hollaway: Correct.
Detective : Okay. Once again, is there anything else you'd like to add to this that I may not have asked you? That may clear this up? Before we conclude the interview.
Hollaway: What is there to clear up? You know, there ain't nothin'.
Detective : Okay.
Hollaway: Stupid fucked up. Now I pay the price."
Joanna Stutheit, a friend of Whiting's, testified. She worked at a bar and liquor store and saw Whiting and Hollaway daily. On two occasions, she saw Hollaway grab Whiting's throat and choke her. One time was at the bar; Whiting was angry with Hollaway and argued with him for forty-five minutes to an hour before he attacked her; another man pulled Hollaway away. Stutheit could not remember why the other incident, at the liquor store, occurred; Hollaway stopped choking Whiting after other people told him to. Stutheit said that Whiting was sometimes
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