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Willsey v. State of Indiana9/1/1998
Supreme Court
APPEAL FROM THE VERMILLION CIRCUIT COURT
The Honorable Bruce V. Stengel, Judge
ON DIRECT APPEAL
In this direct appeal from a conviction for murder Debra J. Willsey contends that:
1) statements Willsey made to police during custodial interrogation should have been suppressed;
2) the State made impermissible use of Willsey's invocation of her Miranda rights;
3) bank records should not have been admitted into evidence;
4) her counsel rendered ineffective assistance; and
5) her sentence was manifestly unreasonable.
We affirm the trial court.
Factual Background
On February 24, 1995 Debra Willsey contacted police to report the death of Robert E. Biddle. At the time of his death the sixty-eight year old Biddle suffered from heart and lung disease, diabetes, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. He was living with Willsey, age forty, and April York, nineteen. He had known these two women only a short time. Authorities did not suspect foul play until months later, when they were prompted to investigate by one of Biddle's sisters who had belatedly learned of his death.
The Investigation
Police soon uncovered several suspicious facts. The night Biddle died, Willsey and York had taken him to the emergency room at Union Hospital in Terre Haute where he complained of shortness of breath. Doctors had performed a variety of tests and determined that he was fit to be released. Linda Palmer, a registered nurse, told police that as she was discharging Biddle he said he did not want to go home with Willsey and York because the two forced him to live in a filthy environment and had stolen his money. When Palmer asked Biddle why he did not tell the two to leave, he said he was afraid that if he did they would harm him. Police also learned that during Biddle's short association with Willsey and York his bank account balance of over $12,000 had been depleted. According to the funeral home that handled Biddle's burial, two months before his death Biddle had gone to the funeral home with Willsey and made changes in his funeral arrangements that put Willsey in charge of his burial. An official at the funeral home told police that the day of Biddle's death Willsey called the funeral home, told them not to publish an obituary, and assured them that she would inform Biddle's family of his death. Police had been told by the family that they had never heard from Willsey and had learned of the death only months later from the published notice of Willsey's attempt to probate Biddle's will. Police also discovered that York had signed Biddle's interment papers posing as Biddle's granddaughter.
Based on this and other information, police picked York up for questioning. York told police that after she, Willsey, and Biddle had returned from the hospital, she had gone to sleep and was wakened by a moaning sound. She looked into Biddle's bedroom and saw that Willsey had pinned Biddle to the bed and was suffocating him with a pillow. Police arrested Willsey that same day. Additional information was uncovered after the arrest. Based on Biddle's voiced concerns at the hospital on the night of his death, Nurse Palmer had requested that Sheriff Pete Jackson send someone from the Adult Services Department to visit Biddle at home the next day. Sheriff Jackson had responded to Palmer's call by telephoning the hospital where he spoke with Willsey and told her that someone from Adult Services would visit the next day. Police also learned that at the hospital Biddle had accused Willsey of taking $200 from his wallet.
April York's
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