State of Washington v. Cecil Emile Davis
Statement of Facts
On January 25, 1997, the body of sixty-five-year-old
Ms. Yoshiko Couch was discovered in the upstairs bathtub of her home in
Tacoma, Washington. Her body was found lying on its back, with the legs
apart, submerged in bloody water approximately five to six inches deep.
In the bathtub were biological tissue (blood clot), fecal matter, and Ms.
Couch's undergarment. Wet towels and clothing were piled on top of the
head and chest areas emitting a strong chemical odor. The body was not
clothed from the waist down. A gold wedding band Ms. Couch wore on her
left ring finger was missing.
The events surrounding Ms. Couch's death began the
night before on January 24, 1997. That night there was a gathering
of people at the house Appellant Davis lived in which was owned by his
mother, Ms. Cozetta L. Taylor, located at 2012 East 57th Street in
Tacoma, Washington. It was across the street and one house over from Ms.
Couch's residence at 2007 East 57th Street.
At approximately 2:30 o'clock the morning of January
25, 1997, Appellant, Co-defendant George Anthony Wilson, and Keith D.
Burks, Appellant's seventeen-year-old friend and a recent acquaintance
of Mr. Wilson, were smoking cigarettes on the porch of Ms. Taylor's
house.
Appellant was wearing brown suede gloves at the time.
In the presence of Mr. Wilson and Mr. Burks, Appellant said 'I need to
rob somebody,' as he looked in the direction of Ms. Couch's residence
across the street. Then Ms. Lisa R. Taylor, Appellant's sister, came
outside and told the men to come inside because she was locking the
house for the night. Shortly after that Appellant said 'I need to kill
me a motherfucker.' Mr. Burks went back inside the house, while
Appellant and Mr. Wilson remained outside.
About five or six minutes later, Mr. Wilson came to
the sliding glass door at the back of the house appearing wide-eyed and
scared. Mr. Burks unlocked the door and let him in. According to Mr.
Burks, Mr. Wilson told him he and Appellant 'went over there to rip the
lady off, but {Appellant} just kicked in the door and started beating on
her and rubbing {her} all over.'
Mr. Wilson told Mr. Burks the woman was coming down
the stairs, and that Appellant rubbed her breasts. He identified
Ms. Couch as 'the old woman across the street.' He also told Mr.
Burks that as soon as he realized what Appellant was doing to the woman,
he left the Couch residence. Mr. Burks went to sleep after listening to
Mr. Wilson's statements. At a later date, Mr. Burks made two statements
to police authorities.
Later that morning, at approximately 11:00 o'clock,
Jack A. Schauf and his wife, Ms. Asako Schauf, arrived at the Couch
residence. They were scheduled to pick Ms. Couch up to attend a dance
recital. Ordinarily she would be ready and waiting for them
whenever they gave her a ride. But on that day she was not waiting
for them.
The front door opened inward as Ms. Schauf knocked on
it. There was no damage to the front screen door. Mr. Schauf
entered the Couch residence with his wife. The Schaufs noticed
wood chips and a striker plate from the doorsill on the floor.
They went upstairs and took a cursory look around. Ms.
Schauf, followed by her husband, proceeded to check on the physically
disabled Richard Couch, husband of Ms. Couch, whose bedroom was located
downstairs. Mr. Schauf then went back upstairs and looked into a
bedroom and the living room and noticed a white-powdery substance
scattered around. Upon entering the bathroom adjacent to the
kitchen, he found the body of Ms. Couch in the bathtub. Mr. Schauf felt
Ms. Couch's stomach and concluded she was dead.
At the time of the incident, Mr. Couch had a heart
condition and was disabled from several strokes. The left side of his
body was paralyzed. He was only able to walk a few steps with assistance
and was not able to walk up the stairs. He also took prescribed
medication to help him sleep. He was not aware of what happened in
his home that morning. When Mr. Schauf went to use the telephone
in Mr. Couch's bedroom to call 911, he found the telephone, normally on
a table next to the bed, in a closet three to four feet away from the
bed. Mr. Couch was not informed of his wife's death until after
members of the Tacoma Fire Department Paramedic Unit arrived and
confirmed she was dead.
Richard Couch was retired from the United States Army.
His wife was a homemaker and his primary caregiver. She did all the
household shopping and purchased groceries at military commissaries in
Pierce County. She had recently purchased Kool Mild cigarettes and cans
of Pepsi Cola for her husband, and small packages of meat and poultry,
enough to feed two people.
At the time of the incident, there were cans of
Budweiser Light beer in the home. Ms. Couch always had cash on her
person, either in the inside pocket of her purse or in an envelope. The
Couches kept to themselves and had no African American friends who
visited their home.
Tacoma Police Department forensic specialist Ms. Toni
Wentland collected some hairs, fibers, and suspected blood from Ms.
Couch's mattress and bedcovers. Forensic specialist Eric Berg gathered
several pieces of evidence at the crime scene which included a utility
box housing the telephone and television cables located on the outer
left front corner of the Couch residence--cut marks on the telephone
cable indicating an attempt to cut the telephone line; a completely
severed television cable; a container of Comet cleanser recovered from
the east bedroom; a white powdery substance, believed to be Comet
cleanser, scattered mainly throughout the upstairs area of the house; a
damp sponge with a gritty white powdery residue found on the railing at
the top of the stairs; a similar white powdery residue found on Ms.
Couch's body below the waist; Ms. Couch's open purse, with no money in
it, on the hallway floor outside the doorway to the southeast bedroom;
and a sleeping bag with a large amount of biological tissue (blood clot)
recovered from the bed in the southeast bedroom.
Forensic specialist Eric Berg did a thorough forensic
investigation of the upstairs bathroom where Ms. Couch's body was found.
He observed a glove print on the bathroom mirror. In his opinion
it was left by a leather glove. No fingerprints were recovered. Mr.
Berg noticed a very strong chemical odor in the bathroom and determined
the odor was consistent with the household cleanser 'Goof-Off.' A
can of 'Goof-Off' was found on the bathroom floor at the base of the
bathtub. A plastic container with a scouring pad was also found
there. The body of Ms. Couch was photographed as it was found in the
bathtub. The entire crime scene, including the body, was photographed
and videotaped before any evidence was collected.
On January 27, 1997, Pierce County Associate Medical
Examiner Roberto Ramoso, M.D. performed an autopsy on Ms. Yoshiko Couch.
Dr. Ramoso concluded the cause of her death was asphyxia by suffocation
and neck compression and also xylene toxicity. He estimated the
time of death at approximately 3:00 o'clock the morning of January 25,
1997.
Medical Examiner Ramoso observed bruising around Ms.
Couch's eye area and hemorrhaging beneath her upper lip, indicating
trauma caused by a blunt impact or pressure on her face. He also
observed redness and blistering around her chin, neck, and upper torso
areas. Portions of her face and hands showed deformation of the skin and
changes in the structure of the tissue underneath the skin. Those
symptoms were consistent with skin coming in contact with the chemical
xylene.
In addition, a whitish dried secretion found on the
inside of her nostrils was consistent with inhalation of xylene through
the nose with some xylene going into the nostrils. Dr. Ramoso noted a
strong odor emanating from the towels and clothing which accompanied Ms.
Couch's body to the morgue. He drew blood samples from the body for a
toxicologist to analyze and examine for the presence of xylene.
Also observed by Dr. Ramoso was evidence of trauma to
Ms. Couch's vagina. The trauma consisted of a laceration wound,
approximately one and three-quarters of an inch long, caused by a hard
object, not a penis, penetrating the vaginal wall. The blood flow from
the laceration indicated it was caused before Ms. Couch died. Dr. Ramoso
testified the large amount of blood from such a vaginal laceration is
consistent with the amount of blood found on the sleeping bag in the
southeast bedroom.
The Washington State Toxicology Laboratory analyzed
the blood and pubic hair and head hair samples taken during the autopsy
of Ms. Couch. The analysis revealed her blood contained 21.2 milligrams
per liter of xylene. Medical literature indicates that fatalities due to
xylene exposure occur with concentrations of the substance between 3 to
40 milligrams per liter. Death occurs in minutes if xylene is inhaled by
a person from a cloth held in front of the face. Xylene is the active
ingredient in the household cleanser 'Goof-Off.' In Dr. Ramoso's opinion,
the xylene in Ms. Couch's blood was most likely introduced by inhalation
and skin absorption.
The Washington State Patrol (WSP) Crime Laboratory
examined the hairs recovered from the crime scene and determined certain
hairs had 'Negroid' characteristics. The samples with Negroid
characteristics were items B-6, B-7 and A-11. Appellant and George
Anthony Wilson are African American. Control samples of pubic and
head hairs from Ms. Couch, Appellant and Mr. Wilson were compared with
the hairs recovered from the Couch residence.
Hair sample item B-6, recovered from a bedspread
found in the east bedroom, was inconclusive when compared to the hair
samples provided by Appellant and Mr. Wilson. Hair sample item
B-7, taken from the bedspread in the southeast bedroom, contained one
hair that was microscopically similar to Appellant's head hair sample;
he could be considered a possible source of that hair. One hair from
hair sample item A-11 was determined to be microscopically similar to
Appellant's pubic hair sample. While Appellant's hair samples did not
specifically identify him as the source of the hairs recovered from the
Couch residence, his hair samples could not be eliminated as a source.
Mr. Wilson's hair samples were microscopically dissimilar.
The WSP Crime Laboratory also examined a pair of
Appellant's black tennis shoes. Calcium carbonate with a trace amount of
copper were found on the shoes. Those chemicals are commonly found in
Comet cleanser. Bloodstains were also found on Appellant's left tennis
shoe. His shoes were sent to the Genelex Laboratory for DNA (deoxyribonucleic
acid) testing, along with blood samples taken from Appellant and Ms.
Couch. The laboratory determined the blood found on the shoe was not
Appellant's, but was consistent with Ms. Couch's DNA; 1 in 625 persons
of Japanese/Asian descent would share this DNA type.
On January 29, 1997, police officers executed a
search warrant at Appellant's residence. They recovered several
items, including a carton of Kool Mild cigarettes and a package of meat
from the freezer in his home with a label which read '$2.60 pork ham
slice fresh' and a date of December 11, 1996. The Kool cigarette
carton did not have a tax stamp, which is consistent with such items
sold at the Fort Lewis Commissary. The meat item was packaged and
price-marked by the Fort Lewis Commissary.
Appellant was not employed at the time of the
incident. His mother, Ms. Cozetta Taylor, and his sister, Ms. Lisa
Taylor, did the shopping for their household. They usually purchased
large packages of meat, enough to feed at least ten children and three
adults. They purchased soda drinks in liter bottles, and not in
cans, for the gathering on January 24, 1997. Bottles of Olde
English beer were also served at the gathering. No one in the family had
military commissary privileges or smoked Kool Mild cigarettes.
Police officers searched a garbage bag located
downstairs next to the sliding glass door leading out to the patio area
at the back of Appellant's residence. The trash bag contained cigarette
butts, a can of Pepsi Cola, a can of Coca-Cola, glass bottles of Olde
English beer, cans of Budweiser Light beer and its carton, and Kool Mild
cigarette butts, packs and carton. Two latent fingerprints were
recovered from the garbage. One fingerprint was taken from an
empty Budweiser Light beer carton and matched Appellant's left ring
finger. The second fingerprint, lifted from an empty Kool Mild cigarette
carton, matched Ms. Couch's left thumb.
In the early morning hours of January 25, 1997, Ms.
Jessica Cunningham, Appellant's fourteen-year-old niece, was asleep at
Appellant's residence. However, between 3:30 to 4:00 a.m. she awoke and
attempted to locate Appellant. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Burks were in the
house, but she could not find Appellant.
Later that morning, Appellant was in the kitchen
looking out the window at the police investigation across the street.
Police officers were talking to one of his neighbors and Appellant
observed the neighbor point toward Appellant's residence. Appellant
remarked, in the presence of his sister, Ms. Lisa Taylor, 'that bitch is
next.'
Later that day, police officers visited Appellant's
residence. He answered the door, did not speak to them and left the
house. Appellant returned after the officers left and asked his mother
for some Comet cleanser because he wanted to do some cleaning. Appellant
obtained a different type of cleaning product and cleaned the downstairs
area of the house he lived in. He threw some items into a trash bag in
the back yard. He also at least twice washed the clothing he wore on the
night of January 24, 1997.
That same day, January 25, 1997, Appellant offered to
sell a gold wedding band to his mother for ten dollars. She declined and
returned it to him. Ms. Lisa Hubley, his niece, observed him wearing a
gold wedding band on his 'pinky' finger. Appellant was also observed to
have in his possession cash, Kool Mild cigarettes, and cans of
Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, and Budweiser Light beer. He cooked chicken
from a package without a store brand-name on it. None of these items had
been observed in his possession the day before on January 24, 1997.
A few days after the incident, Appellant told Ms.
Kyllo A. Cunningham, his niece, that Ms. Couch was found with towels
over her head. That information had not at that time been publicly
released by the police.
After the incident, Asil Hubley, Appellant's sixteen-year-old
nephew, spoke with Mr. Wilson, whom he considered a close friend, on
three occasions regarding the extent of Mr. Wilson's involvement in the
incident. On one occasion, Mr. Wilson told Mr. Hubley he had been
inside the upstairs bathroom of the Couch residence. On another occasion,
Mr.
Wilson told Mr. Hubley he stayed on the couch in the house and heard
noises coming from the bedroom. On a third occasion, Mr. Wilson told Mr.
Hubley he did not go into the Couch home. The second and third
statements were made after Mr. Wilson learned the police wanted to talk
to him about the incident.
On January 28, 1997, Appellant was arrested and held
in the Pierce County Jail. While in custody in early February, he had a
conversation with another prisoner, Shelbey B. Johnson. Appellant asked
Mr. Johnson if he could read his newspaper. He told Mr. Johnson he had
heard 'that the newspaper's saying that {Appellant} raped the old bitch,
quote, that I may have killed her, but I didn't rape her.'
Appellant said he would file a
lawsuit against the newspaper if it falsely stated he raped the woman.
Appellant on February 3, 1997 was charged by
information in the Pierce County Superior Court with aggravated murder
in the first degree and, in the alternative, murder in the first degree.
The aggravated circumstances included the allegation that the murder was
committed in the course of the crime of robbery in the first or second
degree, and/or rape in the first or second degree, and/or burglary in
the first or second degree or residential burglary.
A notice of intent to seek the death penalty was
timely filed on June 10, 1997. The information also charged Co-defendant
George Anthony Wilson with murder in the first degree. The case was pre-assigned
to the Honorable Terry D. Sebring on February 11, 1997. Pretrial motions
were heard before Judge Sebring beginning on June 24, 1997.
The trial of Appellant and Co-defendant Wilson before
Judge Sebring began on November 3, 1997. Judge Sebring became ill during
voir dire examination of the jury. Appellant objected to his
replacement by another judge. On November 12, 1997, the Honorable
Frederick B. Hayes granted a mistrial under Criminal Rule (CrR) 6.11(a).
A new trial began with jury selection on January 5,
1998 before the Honorable Frederick W. Fleming.
Testimony in the guilt phase began on January 22,
1998. On February 6, 1998, the jury returned a verdict of 'guilty'
of premeditated murder in the first degree with the aggravating
circumstances of rape, robbery and burglary, and felony murder in the
first degree. On February 9, 1998, Appellant moved to strike the special
sentencing proceeding, or in the alternative for a mistrial, alleging
inconsistent verdicts. The trial court denied both motions.
The penalty phase of the trial began on February 10,
1998. On February 12, 1998 the jury returned a verdict finding
there were not sufficient mitigating circumstances to merit leniency.
The trial court on February 23, 1998 sentenced Appellant to be punished
by death.
