COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Willis, Annunziata and Bumgardner
Argued at Alexandria, Virginia
WILLIAM ALAN PRESLEY
MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
v. Record No. 2265-96-4 JUDGE JERE M. H. WILLIS, JR.
JANUARY 20, 1998
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LOUDOUN COUNTY
Thomas D. Horne, Judge
Charles A. Anderson for appellant.
Kathleen B. Martin, Assistant Attorney
General (Richard Cullen, Attorney General, on
brief), for appellee.
On appeal from his conviction for voluntary manslaughter,
William Alan Presley contends that the evidence was insufficient
to support his conviction. We agree and reverse and dismiss the
conviction.
"On appeal, we review the evidence in the light most
favorable to the Commonwealth, granting to it all reasonable
inferences fairly deducible therefrom. The jury's verdict will
not be disturbed on appeal unless it is plainly wrong or without
evidence to support it." Maynard v. Commonwealth, 11 Va. App.
437, 439, 399 S.E.2d 635, 637 (1990) (en banc) (citations
omitted). See Horsley v. Commonwealth, 2 Va. App. 335, 339, 343
S.E.2d 389, 391 (1986) ("The credibility of the expert witness
and the weight to be accorded the evidence were matters within
*
Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not
designated for publication.
the province of the jury."). When the sufficiency of the
evidence is challenged on appeal, "it is our duty to look to that
evidence which tends to support the verdict and to permit the
verdict to stand unless plainly wrong." Snyder v. Commonwealth,
202 Va. 1009, 1016, 121 S.E.2d 452, 457 (1961).
Presley lived with Sandra Laing and William Rossbach in a
Loudoun County residence owned by Presley's father. Although
involved in an intimate relationship, Laing and Presley
maintained separate bedrooms. In the early morning of August 1,
1995, Presley called the Virginia State Police and requested that
they "kick" Laing out of the house. Trooper Alvin Blankenship
advised Presley "to go to bed, get some sleep, and go to the
magistrate's office the next day."
Rossbach testified that during that night, he heard banging
noises and an argument between Laing and Presley. At one point,
he entered the room where Laing and Presley were arguing and saw
Presley's hand around Laing's throat. Presley removed his hands
and said: "Sorry, God. I really messed up." Presley then
telephoned for an ambulance. Laing was taken to Loudoun Hospital
Center, where she died at 4:14 a.m.
The autopsy of Laing's body revealed a subdural hemorrhage
on the left side and top of her head. Dr. Frances Fields,
Assistant Chief Medical Examiner, testified that Laing's death
resulted from this hematoma, which had been caused by blunt force
trauma occurring within twenty-four hours prior to death. No
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external bruise was found over the hematoma. However, a bruise
was noted on Laing's right eyelid and a "small reddish abrasion"
was seen on her left forehead.
Presley told Sergeant Eric Noble that he "beat the hell out
of [Laing]" and that he had hit her with a chair. A broken chair
was found near Laing. Presley admitted to Deputy Clete Kresge
that he had hit Laing and that "[s]he had pissed me off tonight."
Four defense witnesses testified to Laing's poor motor
coordination, which caused her to suffer frequent falls and
bruises. Rossbach testified that Laing had stumbled and hit her
face on a doorknob on the morning before she died.
Dr. Nicholas Lappes, a toxicologist, testified that the
cumulative effect of the drugs in Laing's system was consistent
with death by a drug overdose. Dr. John Adams, a forensic
pathologist, testified that Laing's death was related to a
congenital deformity of her spine and skull and to chronic liver
disease. The spinal deformity caused her frequent falls and
caused chronic pain in her neck and arms. The liver condition
prevented proper blood clotting, causing abnormal bruising. Dr.
Adams testified that Laing's subdural hematoma was at least
twelve-hours old and that parts of it may have been seventy-two
hours old. While noting that the subdural hematoma resulted from
a combination of blunt force trauma and drugs and alcohol, he
opined that it could have developed spontaneously due to improper
blood clotting.
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Dr. John H. Lossing, a neurologist, testified that Laing
died of suffocation because emergency room personnel were unable
to intubate her successfully due to the deformity of her cervical
spine. He opined that Laing's breathing difficulty resulted from
excessive ingested medications. He opined that the hematoma
caused a headache, which in turn led Laing to increase the dosage
of her prescribed pain medicine, which may have produced an
overdose.
Viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the
evidence failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Presley
intentionally killed Laing in the sudden heat of passion upon
reasonable provocation. See Barrett v. Commonwealth, 231 Va.
102, 105-06, 341 S.E.2d 190, 192 (1986). Although he beat her,
the evidence failed to prove that he inflicted the mortal injury.
The medical examiner was unable to attribute Laing's subdural
hematoma to Presley. She was unable to identify its cause. She
acknowledged it could have occurred prior to the altercation
between Laing and Presley. It could have resulted from Laing's
prior accidental fall. See Hughes v. Commonwealth, 18 Va. App.
510, 518-19, 446 S.E.2d 451, 457 (1994) (en banc) (citation
omitted).
Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is reversed and
the charge is dismissed.
Reversed and dismissed.
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