State of Maine v. Arnold A. Diana
2014 ME 45
| Me. | 2014Background
- Victim Katrina Windred disappeared after visiting defendant Arnold Diana on Nov. 20–21, 2010; her body was found wrapped in a quilt three days later and died of manual strangulation.
- Police found blood-stained pillows at Diana’s apartment (DNA matched to Windred), a purple towel and jacket with Windred’s blood/hair in a trash bag outside Diana’s building, and Windred’s personal items in apartment trash; cigarette butts in the trash bore Diana’s DNA.
- Officers conducted three searches of Diana’s residence: a warrantless probation search on Nov. 21 (authorized by his probation condition), a warrantless search after Diana signed a consent form later that day, and a Nov. 24 search under warrant. Diana was later charged with murder.
- Diana moved to suppress statements and evidence from the searches; the court suppressed some statements but admitted the search-derived evidence and the case went to jury trial, which convicted Diana of murder.
- Diana challenged (on appeal) the suppression rulings, a juror’s fitness (past domestic violence victim), admissibility of trash/towel evidence (chain of custody and expert opinion), and aspects of sentencing; the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed judgment and sentence.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawfulness of searches (three searches of residence) | Searches lawful: first justified by probation search condition (reasonable suspicion), second by consent, third by warrant | First (probation) search unlawful and tainted subsequent searches; suppress evidence | Affirmed: probation search justified by reasonable suspicion under Knights; subsequent searches lawful |
| Prospective juror with historical domestic violence | Juror competent and impartial after individual voir dire | Juror biased due to past victimization; should be excused for cause | Affirmed: trial court’s finding of impartiality supported by competent evidence |
| Trash-area evidence: chain of custody and towel matching expert | Chain sufficiently preserved; physical-matching expert (Burns) qualified under M.R. Evid. 702 | Chain broken; expert’s methodology unreliable for matching towel strips | Affirmed: chain adequacy goes to weight not admissibility; expert met threshold reliability and admissibility |
| Sentencing: consideration of victim’s son and basic term length | Court properly considered objective fact of son’s proximity and separately considered subjective impact in aggravation; basic term appropriate | Double-counted impact on victim’s son; basic sentence excessive compared to comparable cases | Affirmed: court did not double-count; basic 40-year term not procedurally improper (comparative sentencing not required) |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Knights, 534 U.S. 112 (probation search standard: reasonable suspicion suffices)
- Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (Franks hearing requirement for false or omitted statements in warrant affidavits)
- Samson v. California, 547 U.S. 843 (discussing suspicionless searches of parolees)
- State v. Ormsby, 81 A.3d 336 (Me. 2013) (standard of review for evidence and factual framing)
- State v. Waterman, 995 A.2d 243 (Me. 2010) (proximity of children to murder as aggravating circumstance)
- State v. Nichols, 72 A.3d 503 (Me. 2013) (sentencing steps and consideration of manner of offense)
- State v. Poirier, 694 A.2d 448 (Me. 1997) (chain of custody: breaks affect weight, not necessarily admissibility)
- State v. Ericson, 13 A.3d 777 (Me. 2011) (Rule 702 admissibility threshold and reliability factors)