MIAMI REAL ESTATE INVEST, LLC
v.
BEINI XU
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Lonnie Phelps appeals his conviction and sentence for second-degree murder of his wife. The trial court imposed a 40-year sentence, departing significantly from the 12-17 year guideline range. The appellate court affirms the conviction but reverses the departure sentence, finding the circumstances do not justify such a substantial upward departure.
The appellate court affirmed the conviction but reversed the departure sentence. While the manner of a crime's commission may justify departure under clear and convincing evidence, the circumstances here do not support such a substantial departure because there was no evidence of excessive brutality during the killing itself, and the post-mortem mutilation does not indicate the killing was excessively brutal.
[1] A trial court may depart from sentencing guidelines when the circumstances of the crime demonstrate excessive brutality and premeditation.
[2] Mutilation of a victim's body subsequent to death does not constitute a clear and convincing reason for departing from sentencing guidelines based on the manner in which…
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The circumstances of the way a crime was committed may constitute a clear and convincing reason for departure.”
Establishes the legal standard for sentencing departure based on manner of commission
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLonnie Phelps was convicted of second-degree murder of his wife, Hazel Phelps. The victim was killed in bed, beheaded, eviscerated, and mutilated. Her…
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UPCHURCH, Judge.
Lonnie Phelps appeals a judgment and sentence for the second-degree murder of his wife. The trial judge departed from *1285the sentencing guidelines and sentenced Phelps to forty years in prison. The recommended guideline sentence was twelve to seventeen years imprisonment. We affirm the judgment of conviction but reverse the departure sentence.
The trial court departed from the recommended guideline sentence based on the following written reasons:
I do find from the circumstances presented during the trial of this case that the victim, Hazel Phelps, the defendant’s wife, was apparently killed as she lay helpless in bed. She was beheaded, eviscerated, and her body was further mutilated. The headless body was later thrown into a trash dumpster. The manner in which this crime was committed and efforts to cover up this crime have caused the survivors of this victim to endure particularly horrendous mental anguish and grief.
This was a cruel, senseless killing with no pretense of justification of excuse.
I think that these are circumstances that do severely aggravate this particular crime.
This court has previously held that the circumstances of the way a crime was committed may constitute a clear and convincing reason for departure. Lerma v. State, 476 So. 2d 275 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985). In Lerma, the way the crime was committed indicated excessive brutality and premeditation. In the present case, however, there was nothing to indicate the crime was committed in an excessively brutal manner. There was no evidence of a struggle or that the victim was even aware of the impending attack. The mutilation of the body, while nauseating and perverted, apparently occurred subsequent to death and thus does not indicate the killing was excessively brutal.
Judgment affirmed; sentence vacated and cause remanded for for resentencing.
COBB, C.J., and COWART, J., concur.
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Cited By
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Quanisha Harris v. Walker (Fla. 3d DCA 2021)
Authorities Cited
- Rotemi Realty, Inc. v. ACT Realty Co., Inc., 911 So. 2d 1181 (Fla. 2005)
- Zupnik Haverland, L.L.C. v. Current Builders OF Fla., Inc., 7 So. 3d 1132 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
- Lerma v. State, 476 So. 2d 275 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985)
- Brickell Bayview Real Est., Inc. v. Cooper, 691 So. 2d 1094 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)