Evidence of a Murder Which Was Not Connected to the Defendant Properly Admitted to Explain Relevant Events—Probative Value Outweighed Prejudicial Effect

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Pigott, determined that evidence of a murder which was not connected to the defendant was properly admitted in defendant’s witness-tampering prosecution. Defendant was awaiting trial on a murder charge. Three teenaged girls and a man named Bobby Gibson were eyewitnesses. Defendant allegedly developed relationships with the three girls and paid them money. The girls recanted their identifications of the defendant. Then, on the day before the trial, Bobby Gibson was shot and killed outside the apartment of one of the girls. The girls then went to the police and told the police why they had recanted. The girls were placed in protective custody.  A man who was apparently not connected with the defendant, confessed to killing Bobby Gibson. The Court of Appeals determined evidence of Bobby Gibson’s death was properly admitted in the witness-tampering trial to explain the girls’ actions. The trial judge gave the jury a limiting instruction emphasizing that there was no evidence connecting the defendant to the Gibson murder:

Generally, “all relevant evidence is admissible unless its admission violates some exclusionary rule” … . “Evidence is relevant if it has any tendency in reason to prove the existence of any material fact” … . However, “[e]ven where relevant evidence is admissible, it may still be excluded in the exercise of the trial court’s discretion if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the potential for prejudice” … .

Here, the evidence of Gibson’s murder was relevant for several reasons. It showed the state of mind of the three girls and provided an explanation as to why they abandoned their recantations and told police about their deal with defendant. It also explained why the girls were placed in protective custody prior to the trial. Additionally, it allowed the jury to have all of the relevant facts before it to decide whether to credit defense counsel’s arguments or the three girls’ testimony concerning the charges against defendant.

While possible prejudice could arise from the testimony in that the jury might link defendant to the Gibson murder, that prejudice was minimized by the court’s limiting instruction. The court, in its final charge, made clear that defendant had not been charged with causing the death of Gibson. In addition, the prosecutor had stated plainly in his opening statement and [*2]summation that there was no evidence that defendant was involved. Thus, we conclude that the court’s decision to admit the evidence of Gibson’s murder was not an abuse of discretion. People v Harris, 2015 NY Slip Op 07528, CtApp 10-15-15