Argued
January 11, 2019
Appeal
from the Superior Court in the judicial district of
Waterbury, Cremins, J.
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[Copyrighted Material Omitted]
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[Copyrighted Material Omitted]
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Mark
Rademacher, assistant public defender, for the appellant
(defendant).
Ronald
G. Weller, senior assistant states attorney, with whom, on
the brief, were Maureen Platt, states attorney, and Terence
D. Mariani and Cynthia S. Serafini, senior assistant states
attorneys, for the appellee (state).
Lavine,
Prescott and Bright, Js.
OPINION
LAVINE,
J.
[190
Conn.App. 695] This case tragically exemplifies the adage
that no good deed goes unpunished. In February, 2012, Donna
Bouffard invited a homeless couple, the defendant, Elizabeth
K. Turner, and her husband, Claude
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Turner, to live with her in her home.[1] In June of the same
year, Turner brutally murdered both Bouffard and her adult
son, Michael Perkins, in Bouffards Watertown home. The
defendant appeals from the judgments of conviction, rendered
after a jury trial, of two counts of felony murder in
violation of [190 Conn.App. 696] General Statutes §
53a-54c,[2] one count of criminal attempt to
possess narcotics in violation of General Statutes § 53a-49
and General Statutes (Rev. to 2011) § 21a-279 (a), one count
of larceny in the third degree in violation of General
Statutes § 53a-124 (a), one count of burglary in the third
degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-103 (a), one
count of hindering prosecution in the second degree in
violation of General Statutes § 53a-166 (a), two counts of
forgery in the second degree in violation of General Statutes
§ 53a-139 (a) (1), two counts of robbery in the first degree
in violation of General Statutes § 53a-134 (a) (1), one count
of robbery in the first degree in violation of § 53a-134 (a)
(3), one count of conspiracy to commit robbery in the first
degree in violation of General Statutes § § 53a-48 (a) and
53a-134 (a), one count of tampering with evidence in
violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 2011) § 53a-155 (a)
(1), one count of conspiracy to commit larceny in the third
degree in violation of § § 53a-48 and 53a-124, one count of
accessory to larceny in the third degree in violation of
General Statutes § § 53a-8 and 53a-124, one count of larceny
in the second degree in violation of General Statutes §
53a-123, and one count of using a motor vehicle without the
owners permission in violation of General Statutes §
53a-119b. On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) the trial
court improperly allowed the jury to consider a legally
invalid but factually supported theory for the robbery and
felony murder convictions, specifically, that a larceny by
false pretenses that is part of a continuous course of
larcenous conduct culminating in a murder can provide the
predicate felony for a robbery and felony murder, and (2)
there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction of
attempted possession of narcotics. We affirm the judgments of
the trial court.
[190
Conn.App. 697] The record discloses the following facts that
the jury reasonably could have found on the basis of the
evidence presented at trial. In February, 2012, Christine
Perkins, Bouffards daughter, and Christine Perkins then
husband, David Ortiz, met the Turners at the Waterbury mall.
Christine Perkins recognized Turner from previously having
seen him in a Salvation Army food line. As the defendant was
noticeably pregnant at the time, Christine Perkins and Ortiz
invited her and Turner to stay with them in Bouffards home.
As a result, the Turners moved into Bouffards home.
Eventually, the relationship between the Turners and Bouffard
deepened, and the defendant and Turner started calling
Bouffard, "mom."
In
April, 2012, Bouffard received a disability settlement of
$13,000, which she put in an envelope that she hid under her
mattress. When money began to disappear from the envelope,
she moved it into a safe. Her relationship with the Turners
soured, and Bouffard accused the defendant of stealing from
her. On April 19, 2012, the same day that she left for
vacation, Bouffard served eviction papers on
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Christine Perkins and Ortiz so that Michael Perkins, who had
moved out of her house due to a conflict with Ortiz, could
return to the home.
At the
end of April, 2012, upon returning from vacation, Bouffard
noticed that the safe had been moved and pried open, and
approximately $6000 was missing. Bouffard accused the
defendant of taking the money. The defendant later admitted
to police that she had told Turner to take money from under
the mattress and from the safe. The defendant explained that
Turner did everything for her, that he did all he could to
try to keep her happy, that she and Turner used the stolen
money to buy drugs, and that she was "in her
glory."
As
indicated, the relationship between Bouffard and the Turners
deteriorated. The defendant, on more than one occasion,
expressed her desire to put rat poison [190 Conn.App. 698]
into Bouffards and Michael Perkins food because they were
"always in her business." The defendant also
mentioned to a stranger that she and Turner didnt like
Bouffard and Michael Perkins. After Bouffard had been killed,
the defendant explained to police that Bouffard would lecture
her about how she, Bouffard, was unhappy, which the defendant
described as "[c]ondescending. Poor me, poor me....
Everyone needs to wait on me." The defendant admitted to
having arguments with Bouffard, and that when Bouffard would
start "running her mouth," the defendant would
"usually go upstairs because [she didnt] want to hear
it because [she would] cuss [Bouffard] out and make her
cry." Bouffard asked the defendant and Turner to leave
in May, 2012, but they did not.
In
June, 2012, only Bouffard, Michael Perkins, Turner, and the
defendant lived in the home. On June 28, 2012, the defendant
directed Turner to tell Bouffard that she was in jail and
needed $50 for bail, which was untrue. After Bouffard gave
Turner the $50, Turner and the defendant used the money to
buy drugs. The defendant and Turner performed the ruse one
more time that evening, with Turner explaining to Bouffard
that the bond was actually $100, and he needed another $50 to
get the defendant out of jail. Bouffard gave Turner the
additional $50.[3]
When
the Turners returned to Bouffards home in the early hours of
June 29, 2012, Michael Perkins was asleep on the couch and
Bouffard was awake in her bedroom. The defendant later stated
to police that Bouffard was "running her mouth" and
"she didnt want to listen to [Bouffard] run her mouth,
so she went upstairs, but she was curious about what might be
taking place downstairs, so she lowered the sound on the
television so [190 Conn.App. 699] that she could listen
in." She heard some banging and Michael Perkins yelling,
and went downstairs. She saw Turner stabbing Michael Perkins
in the stomach, but did not protest or intercede. Michael
Perkins was saying, "please stop, I love you."
Bouffard did not come out of her room, which led the
defendant to believe that Turner had already killed her.
Turner told the defendant to go back upstairs, which she did.
A short while later, Turner went upstairs and handed the
defendant Bouffards purse. The defendant went through the
purse and took money, gift cards, and the ...