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McGowen v. State9/11/2003
no evidence of semen in or around Shelby's genitalia. McGowen maintained he did not have sex with Shelby and that he remained clothed the entire time he was with Shelby. Whatever the contact, Shelby told McGowen he was hurting her and began to scream. McGowen panicked and grabbed a piece of rope, the kind he used at work everyday to tie off cable. He formed a "Chinese finger" with the rope and began strangling Shelby. Believing he had killed her, McGowen put Shelby in his brother's truck and drove to a nearby wooded area. Along the way, Shelby regained consciousness and began crying. Further panicked, McGowen struck Shelby in the head with a small sledge hammer or mallet he found in his brother's truck. He left Shelby's body in the woods and returned to Charles's house.
. Charles was no longer in McGowen's truck when McGowen returned to Charles's residence. Upon waking from his stupor without keys to his house, Charles slept in a shed in his yard. McGowen retrieved his truck and returned to his residence. When he got home, McGowen realized he still had the rope and Shelby's blanket. He took the rope to a bridge and threw it over the side. He wrapped the blanket in a plastic bag and stuffed it in a mattress in his house.
. The trial began on January 15, 2002. The State called fourteen witnesses. Vicki McGowen was the State's first witness. Vicki testified that she kept Shelby the Saturday night Shelby was abducted. Vicki had taken Shelby and another grandchild to her grandson's basketball game and to the shopping mall during the day. That night, she put Shelby and the other grandchildren to bed around 10:00 p.m. and locked the door to her trailer home. When Shelby was missing the next morning, Vicki called 911. Vicki further testified that she received a letter addressed to her husband, Charles, from McGowen which attempted to shift the blame to Charles. Disguising her handwriting to look like her husband's, Vicki sent a one-line reply to McGowen, "Better thee than me. Ha! Ha!" hoping it would anger McGowen.
. The State's second witness was Miranda Tucker Tames, Shelby's mother. Miranda testified that her mother, Vicki, kept Shelby while she was working Saturday February 26, 2000. Over defense objection, Miranda also opined she believed McGowen murdered her daughter.
. Terry Dosher, who was the first responding officer to the scene, testified he filed the initial offense report. He also testified on cross-examination that Charles told him that McGowen "likes young girls."
. The State called two crime scene investigators, who assisted in photographing and searching for evidence in this case. Through the first investigator, Rodney Fountain, the State introduced a photograph of Shelby's face over defense counsel's objection and motion in limine for the photograph to be excluded from evidence. Defense counsel averred the photograph had no probative value, was gruesome, and would prejudice the jury. Defense counsel further contended the photograph should only be introduced, if at all, by the State's pathologist, Dr. Paul McGarry, who would make it as "gruesome as he possibly can," but should not be introduced by a non-medical expert. During the redirect examination of Investigator Fountain, the State made several references to digital and penile penetration and the presence or absence of seminal fluids in sexual assault investigations in general. Defense counsel objected repeatedly, but was consistently overruled by the trial judge. Through the second investigator, former Jackson County Sheriff's Deputy Dean Reiter, a mallet was marked for identification, but it was not admitted into evidence through Investigator Reiter.
. Next, the State cal
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