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Massie v. State5/26/1998
In this certiorari review of a conviction for murder the issue is whether the trial court abused its discretion in permitting a forensics employee of the investigating police department, who was not a doctor of medicine, to opine as to the time of the victim's death.
The petitioner, Timothy Lorne Massie, Sr. (Massie), was convicted by a jury in the Circuit Court for Washington County of second-degree murder and sentenced to thirty years imprisonment. That judgment was affirmed by the Court of Special Appeals in an unreported opinion.
The victim was Massie's estranged wife, Debra Massie (Mrs. Massie). The murder was committed sometime on February 14 (Valentine's Day) in 1995. It was undisputed that the cause of death was strangulation and that Mrs. Massie was killed where her body was found, in the living room of the residence at 311 Jefferson Boulevard in Hagerstown where she resided with the Massies' twin, eight year old sons. Prior to the Massies' separation, the premises were the marital abode. To the rear of the dwelling house was a garage which Massie, the owner of a towing service, and his employees continued to use occasionally for the maintenance and repair of the tow trucks which were principally garaged elsewhere. Following the Massies' separation the dwelling house was "off limits" to Massie and his employees.
Mrs. Massie was last seen alive by her stepmother at the latter's home when Mrs. Massie dropped off valentines between 11:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. on February 14, 1995.
On the day of the murder one of Massie's employee's, Daryl Moser (Moser), was working on a tow truck in the garage. He had arrived there between 11:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. He did not see Mrs. Massie at any time that day. Moser testified that Massie arrived at the garage between 11:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., remained for approximately ten minutes, and left. At 11:45 a.m., Moser heard a truck pull up to the garage. When no one entered, Moser looked outside and saw Massie inside the fenced-in yard of the dwelling, walking toward the rear of the house. Massie signaled to Moser that he would be back in a minute or two, and Moser went back to work. Five to eight minutes later, Massie returned from the house, had a two- to five-minute conversation with Moser in the garage, and drove off. Some time after Massie had left, a call came in from Massie's mother over the radio in the tow truck, "hollering for Tim." Moser looked at the truck's clock which, he recalled, read approximately 12:30 p.m.
At approximately 12:15 p.m. on February 14, 1995, Sergeant Richard C. Moyer (Moyer) of the Washington County Sheriff's Department telephoned Massie about some vehicles which Massie's company had towed at the request of the Sheriff's Department and which were stored at 30 Baltimore Street in Hagerstown. Moyer reached Massie's answering service, and Massie returned the call approximately ten minutes later. He sounded agitated. During that telephone conversation, Massie reported that wheels and tires had been stolen from one of the stored vehicles. Moyer advised Massie to speak with the Hagerstown police.
At 1:13 p.m., Sergeant William C. Wright, III (Wright) of the Hagerstown Police Department responded to the reported theft. He arrived at the storage lot at 30 Baltimore Street at 1:18 p.m. and was met by Massie. Wright remained with Massie until approximately 1:50 p.m., when Massie went to the Hagerstown Police Station. Four officers, as well as the front desk receptionist, testified that Massie was at the police station from approximately 2:00 p.m. until 2:30 p.m.
Mrs. Massie had not appeared at the Valentine's Day party that began at 12:45 p.m. at her sons' school. A
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