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Man Found Guilty of Killing Woman and Unborn Child

Arizona Man Strangled Woman 8-Months Pregnant

Emmanuel Wayne Harris was found guilty of one count of murder for the strangulation death of Melissa Griffey and one count of manslaughter for killing Griffey's unborn child.

Scuffle in court follows Harris' verdict
BISBEE, Arizona. -- Emmanuel Wayne Harris was found guilty Wednesday of causing the deaths of Melissa Griffey and her stillborn baby, but insane.

The verdict touched off a wild melee in the courtroom of Presiding Superior Court Judge Tom Collins on Wednesday afternoon, when two men rushed up from the audience in an attempt to reach Harris as he was led out the door.

One of the men was the father of Griffey's 10-year-old son. The boy witnessed the murder. The other man was unidentified. Both men were allowed to leave the Cochise County Courthouse before anyone was able to decide whether or not to arrest them.

"We were anticipating problems," Division 1 Bailiff Steve Gerhardt said afterward. "We had a plan. We had extra bodies in there."

The first two rows of the gallery were roped off. Usually, only the first row is off limits.

In addition to two Sheriff's Department deputies who flanked Harris throughout the trial, two other burly deputies and two courthouse security officers were in the courtroom when Collins delivered his verdict at 3 p.m.

Collins quickly left the bench for his chambers, while deputies Luke Senesac and Danny Martinez whisked Harris toward the door, amidst sobbing and shouts from the gallery.

Suddenly, the two men leaped to their feet from near the back of the gallery and charged down the aisle leading to the door, shouting at Harris. The unidentified man repeatedly shouted, "I served with him."

Cpl. Steve Rice of the Sheriff's Department threw his 265 pounds against the duo, blocking their passage, as Sierra Vista Police Department Detective Brett Mitchell jumped from his seat at the prosecutor's table and charged into the fray. Standing next to the wooden railing separating the gallery from the attorney, courthouse Security Officer Becki Jones was knocked into the railing by the men, causing the railing to fall over. The diminutive officer scrambled back to her feet and let loose a shot of pepper spray into the rugby-like scrum.

Courthouse security officer Marty Jones grabbed and twisted an arm extended from the pile of jostling bodies, as Deputy Mike Donahue unholstered his Taser stun gun and aimed it down the aisle. The two men gradually calmed down and were led to seats in the gallery, as sobbing family members and friends of Melissa Griffey and Harris' grandmother were led out of the courtroom.

With no one in a position to decide to charge them, the men were allowed to leave the courthouse.

"We just wanted them off the property," Gerhardt said. "Nobody got hurt. Minor damage."

The verdict

Collins was on the bench for only a few minutes after deliberating more than two hours in his chambers. Harris' defense team had already stipulated to the defendant's guilt in murdering Griffey and the manslaughter charge for the death of her 8-month-old fetus. The main question was whether Harris was insane at that time. Collins ruled he was insane and set a commitment hearing for 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 17.

With that, Collins quickly left the bench. Harris, who sat stoically throughout the trial, appeared startled at the news. His eyes widened. His attorneys, Donna Beumler and Mark Suagee, of the Public Defender's Office, comforted him. Beumler began to cry as the deputies led Harris away in chains.

In reaching his verdict, Collins had to weigh conflicting views of the defendant's mental state on Aug. 25, 2003, when he strangled and killed Griffey in the manufactured home they shared in the Bel Aire Mobile Home Park.

During closing arguments, Beumler and Deputy County Attorney Gerald Till interpreted the testimony of witnesses differently and drew different conclusions. Beumler said the testimony proved that Harris was insane at the time of the murder. Till contended there was no proof.

Till called two witnesses Wednesday morning to rebut defense witnesses, who had described Harris, 28, as catatonic schizophrenic and insane on Aug. 25, 2003.

'Faking it'

Pamela Ousley, a registered nurse in the emergency room at Sierra Vista Regional Health Center, described her experience with Harris after he was brought into the hospital by paramedics the night of Aug. 23, 2003 - two days before the murder. Harris appeared to be unconscious, but she suspected he was faking it. After checking Harris' vital signs, Ousley wanted to obtain a urine specimen from Harris.

She asked Griffey, who had found Harris unconscious when she got home from work and accompanied him to the hospital, whether or not she could get a specimen in a portable urinal or by inserting a catheter up the urethra. Ousley said she thought that Harris was conscious and could hear her and would probably resist the catheter. Griffey said she would get a specimen with the urinal, so Ousley left the room. When Ousley returned, a specimen was in the urinal.

Ousley said a doctor tested Harris by using an "arm drop" technique in which a subject's arm is lifted above the person's face and then dropped. If the subject is unconscious, the arm will fall onto the face, Ousley said. In this case, Harris' arm fell to the side of his face. Also, an ammonia inhalant was placed under Harris' nose. After three tries, Harris sat up and opened his eyes, but did not speak.

"I felt he was faking," Ousley concluded.

Ousley was also on duty in the emergency room on Aug. 25, 2003, when Griffey's dead body was brought in.

On cross-examination, Beumler asked Ousley if she knew the difference between "unconscious" and "unresponsive," contending Harris was not unconscious but was unresponsive - meaning he might have been aware of what was being said.

Previous defense witnesses had described Harris as unresponsive on numerous occasions.

Tucson psychiatrist John LaWall followed Ousley to the witness stand. In addition to private practice, LaWall said he lectures in the University of Arizona's Department of Psychiatry.

LaWall said he saw Harris in his office for about 30 minutes on March 3, 2004, at Till's request. He did not receive Harris' records until several days later. On the basis of his meeting with Harris, "I thought that he was competent," LaWall testified. Harris understood the charges he faced.

"I thought he was malingering," LaWall said.

Malingering is a judicial-psychological term used to describe a person who is feigning mental illness in hopes of leniency from the court.

"I continue to believe there's no evidence that he didn't know what he was doing was wrong," LaWall said.

He said substance abuse could cause a psychotic episode, but he acknowledged there was no evidence to support that in this case.

LaWall challenged two defense witnesses who had diagnosed Harris as catatonic schizophrenic.

"Schizophrenic does not have its onset overnight," LaWall said. "Nothing pre-offense fits schizophrenia," he added, citing the same behaviors exhibited by Harris that Drs. Jill Hayes Hammer and Barry Morenz said were typical of catatonic schizophrenia. Both doctors said the condition can come on suddenly.

"Real mental illness doesn't work like that," LaWall said. The doctor contended that Harris knew exactly what he was doing when he strangled Griffey. Comments made by Harris during the act to Griffey's son and later to Griffey's brother showed he understood the nature of the act.

Any of the behaviors other witnesses described as bizarre could be faked, LaWall said.

Under cross-examination by Beumler, LaWall acknowledged that, at the time he met with Harris, he did not know that Harris had been receiving anti-psychotic medication for about three weeks prior at the jail. Several defense witnesses testified that Harris' behavior had dramatically improved after the administration of Resperidol. In his closing argument to Collins, Till said the warning - and comments Harris uttered to Griffey's son and brother while he strangled the woman for several minutes - proved Harris knew what he was doing.

"These words are the best evidence of the mind of the defendant," Till said.

The prosecutor called the episode a "domestic violence incident. There was some kind of dispute that resulted in Melissa being killed."

Till said there was little evidence offered to prove insanity.

In her closing argument, Beumler dismissed Till's comments about domestic violence as speculation and launched a lengthy Power Point presentation on evidence proving Harris' insanity, including an incident in which Harris ate a piece of Styrofoam at the jail.

"He belongs in a hospital," Beumler stated.

Collins agreed.

Prior to the verdict, representatives of both families involved told a Herald/Review reporter that they were considering civil suits against Sierra Vista Regional Health Center and Arizona State Hospital.

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/2005/01/20/local_news/news1.txt

Man in Bisbee found guilty of killing woman and her fetus
BISBEE, Ariz. -- A man in Bisbee has been found guilty of killing a woman and her fetus. Emmanuel Wayne Harris was found guilty yesterday of murdering Melissa Griffey. He was also found guilty of manslaughter for the death of Griffey's eight-month-old fetus. Harris' guilty but insane verdict caused a melee in the courtroom. Two men rushed up from the audience in an attempt to reach Harris as he was led out the door. One of the men was the father of Griffey's 10-year-old son. On August 25th, 2003, Harris strangled Griffey in a home they shared.

Posted by Editor at January 20, 2005 07:27 PM