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Washington v. Janes2/3/1992
Andrew G. Janes appeals his conviction for the second degree murder of his stepfather, Walter Jaloveckas, and for two counts of second degree assault. He assigns error to the trial court's failure to allow an instruction on self-defense and to various evidentiary rulings excluding expert testimony regarding the battered child syndrome that he contends would have been relevant to establishing that defense. Appellant further challenges the information charging assault as constitutionally defective for failing to allege the element of intent. We agree that he should have been permitted to present evidence of the battered child syndrome and reverse.
On August 30, 1988, the appellant, Andrew Janes (Andy), shot and killed his stepfather, Walter Jaloveckas, as Jaloveckas walked through the front door of their home. Andy then triggered the alarm system in the home to summon the police and fire department. When police arrived,
Andy fired at them, as well as at some empty cars and at the telephone in his house. Mountlake Terrace Police Officer James Blackburn and a bystander, Eve Flores, were slightly injured in the shooting.
Andy was charged by information with one count of murder in the first degree (premeditated), and two counts of assault in the second degree. He was found guilty of the lesser included offense of murder in the second degree and of both assault charges. The trial court found that Andy had suffered a pattern of ongoing abuse at the hands of the decedent and imposed an exceptional sentence of 10 years on the murder conviction. Andy appeals his conviction with respect to all three counts.
An understanding of the nature of the relationship between Andy and his stepfather is important to an understanding of our decision. Jaloveckas moved in with the Janes family in November 1978 when Andy was 7 years old, after Andy's biological father abandoned the family earlier that year. After the family moved into a home of their own in 1980, Jaloveckas became increasingly abusive and subject to unpredictable and sometimes physically violent outbursts of anger. There is extensive testimony in the record with respect to the details of the abuse, which included incidents where Jaloveckas beat or hit Andy, his brother and Gale Janes, their mother, smashed a stereo and bicycles with a sledgehammer, and threatened to torture, kill, or send the boys away for such transgressions as being tardy in completing chores or taking some of his marijuana. While Jaloveckas' actions were reported to Child Protective
Services (CPS) on three occasions, CPS did not follow up on those reports. On at least two of the three occasions Ms. Janes or Andy requested that CPS not follow up out of fear of reprisal by Jaloveckas.
On the evening of August 29, an incident occurred that the appellant contends triggered the events of the next day. After a loud argument during which Jaloveckas yelled angrily at Ms. Janes for about 45 minutes, Jaloveckas stopped by Andy's room and spoke to him in a low tone. Ms. Janes testified that when Jaloveckas used a low tone, it usually meant that he was making a threat. She did not hear what he actually said, and Andy could not remember what was said. The next morning Ms. Janes woke Andy after Jaloveckas left for work and told him that he should be sure to get all his work done because Jaloveckas was still angry.
One of Andy's school friends testified that he stopped by Andy's home on the way to school. Andy brought out a shotgun and loaded it, showed it to his friend and told him he was going to kill Jaloveckas. Andy left the shotgun under some clothes in his room, went to school and left after two classes. After retu
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