Ferrente v. State

Per Curiam. The appellant, Luciano L. Ferrente, was convicted of murder in the second degree in the Criminal Court of Baltimore by a jury (Judge Joseph L. Carter presiding) on January 18, 1966, and sentenced to eighteen years in the Maryland Penitentiary. From his conviction and sentence he now appeals to this Court. On April 17, 1965, at approximately 12:30 a.m., Officers John G. Wlasic and Francis McHugh of the Baltimore City Police were called to the first floor of 1430 S. Hanover Street where they were met by the appellant who was partially dressed in trousers and tee shirt and whose right hand appeared to be swollen.

When the police officers entered the apartment they found the body of a woman, later identified as June Endley Bealmear, lying dead across the bed in the middle room completely nude with a spread partially covering her body. The bedroom and kitchen were in complete disorder with clothing over the floor, lamps knocked over, blood on the doors, walls, sheets and pillowcases, indicating a desperate struggle by the deceased with her assailant. The autopsy revealed the cause of her death included lacerations of both eyes, a broken nose, fracture of the upper jaw, fracture of ribs, aspiration of blood and tears of the abdomen and the inner lining of the rectum. On the kitchen table there was also found a pint bottle of whiskey with a small amount remaining.

Upon their arrival the officers talked with the appellant and asked him if the victim was his wife, and were told she was his girl friend. The officers testified that they were also told by the appellant that he got off work at 8:30 p.m., and that he came home at 9:30 p.m. and found his girl friend lying on the back steps, and further that when they asked the appellant why he didn’t call the police he said he didn’t need the police but that he wanted an ambulance. The ambulance was at the ³⁴⁴ apartment when the officers arrived and the body was removed shortly thereafter. Officer Wlasic further testified that when he first saw appellant he was very calm and did not appear to have been drinking.

Appellant was taken to the Southern District Police Station and was later taken to the hospital for x-ray of his hand, after which he was returned to the police station. At approximately 10:30 a.m., April 17th, Captain Bowen, Commander of the Southern District Police Station, interrogated appellant and allegedly secured an oral statement from him. No notes were taken of the interrogation and Captain Bowen, at the trial, relied entirely upon his memory as to what appellant allegedly told him. The court, over appellant’s objection, permitted the Captain to relate the alleged oral statement of appellant in its entirety, but later instructed the jury to strike from its consideration any reference to certain portions of this statement.

At the close of the State’s case, the court granted a motion for judgment of acquittal of murder in the first degree and permitted the case at the close of all the evidence to go to the jury on the possible verdict of second degree murder and manslaughter. The jury returned a verdict of murder in the second degree. Appellant’s sole contention on appeal is that the court committed a reversible error by permitting the oral statement of appellant as allegedly related to Captain Bowen to be admitted into evidence. Shortly after appellant’s indictment his counsel, pursuant to Maryland Rule 728, filed a motion for discovery and inspection, paragraph four of which requested that the State furnish the defendant with the substance of any oral confession made by him which the State proposed to introduce as evidence to prove its case in chief, with the further request that the State in its answer furnish the defendant with complete information as to where, when, to whom and under what circumstances such alleged oral confession was made.

The State filed a lengthy answer to the defendant’s motion in which it was stated that: ³⁴⁵ “The defendant told the investigating police officers that Miss Bealmear was his ladyfriend and that he had taken off half a day from his job at the Maryland Drydock, Fairfield, Maryland, getting off at 8:30 p.m. on April 16, 1965. From his job he dropped by his house at 1623 S. Hanover Street, which he occupies with his wife and