Here are some excerpts from Fred Howard Coffey's 1994 appeal of his death sentence for the brutal murder of 10 year-old Amanda Ray in 1979 . See the entire document by clicking on the link.
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On 16 February 1987 defendant (Fred Howard Coffey, Jr.) was indicted for the first degree murder of ten-year-old Amanda Ray, who died on 18 July 1979. Defendant was convicted at trial on theories of premeditation and deliberation and felony murder, based on the underlying felony of kidnapping.
After a sentencing hearing following this trial, the jury recommended a death sentence, and judgment was so entered in October 1987.
On appeal to this Court, we found no error in the guilt proceeding, but we ordered a new sentencing hearing because the verdict form employed by the jury did not include an issue as to whether the mitigating circumstances were insufficient to outweigh the aggravating circumstances, ...
On re-sentencing, a second jury also recommended the death sentence. The trial court again entered judgment sentencing defendant to death, and defendant appeals from that judgment.
At the resentencing proceeding the State reiterated the facts surrounding the murder.
The body of ten-year-old Amanda Ray was found in a wooded area near a lake in Mecklenburg County on 19 July 1979. An autopsy revealed that she had a black eye and bruises and that she died of asphyxiation.
An investigation began immediately which produced several witnesses linking Amanda Ray with someone matching defendant's description on 18 July 1979 near a lake. The investigation continued for several years eventually revealing that dog hairs on defendant's couch and in defendant's van matched dog hairs found on Amanda Ray's clothing when her body was found.
Defendant (Coffey) was questioned about the death of Amanda Ray in 1986 and was subsequently charged.
The State also introduced testimony of Janet Ashe and Rev. James Hall indicating that defendant, in the months before the murder, masturbated in the presence of three-year-old Angel Ashe. This incident was admitted to establish the aggravating circumstance of murder committed during the course of a kidnapping.......
Steven B. Bondy and psychiatrist Dr. John M. Billinsky. Dr.Bondy interviewed defendant (Coffey) twice and administered five tests to defendant. He diagnosed defendant as suffering from major depression, chronic post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and pedophilia.
Defendant's PTSD was the result of repeated sexual abuse by his father. As a result of the pedophilia and PTSD, defendant was mentally and emotionally disturbed at the time of the murder and his capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law was impaired. On cross examination it was revealed, over objection, that Dr. Bondy's diagnoses were based in part on defendant's convictions for indecent liberties with children. Defendant had previously attempted to exclude the admission of his criminal record through a pre-trial motion, which was denied.
The convictions which were introduced were:
- convictions in 1974 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, for two counts of indecent exposure and one count of indecent liberties involving three children;
- and convictions in 1986 in Caldwell County, North Carolina, for nine counts of indecent liberties with children involving three different children.
The trial court instructed the jury to consider defendant's convictions solely for the purpose of supporting the witness' diagnoses. Dr. Billinsky's opinion testimony was essentially the same as that of Dr. Bondy. He interviewed defendant twice and spoke with his family members. He diagnosed defendant as suffering from adjustment disorder with mixed emotional features, pedophilia, and chronic PTSD.
Defendant's PTSD was the result of sexual abuse by his father. Based on defendant's pedophilia and PTSD, Dr. Billinsky concluded that defendant was under the influence of a mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the murder and that his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct was impaired. On cross-examination it was revealed that Dr. Billinsky's diagnosis of pedophilia was based in part on defendant's convictions in 1974 and 1986.
Also testifying for defendant were his mother and sister. Defendant was molested by his father from the age of six. Defendant was also forced to watch his father sexually abuse his siblings, including his sister. Resistance to the sexual abuse was met with physical abuse. Defendant's father threatened to kill defendant if he exposed the sexual abuse.
After defendant's mother discovered the sexual abuse, she moved away with defendant. Defendant's father would then occasionally kidnap defendant and his sister, take them to a motel, and sexually abuse them.
Defendant (Coffey) left home to join the Navy at the age of sixteen, eventually leading to service in Vietnam.
After the presentation of evidence the trial judge submitted two aggravating circumstances:
(1) the death occurred while the defendant was engaged in a kidnapping, and
(2) the death was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.
Defendant (Coffey) requested 23 mitigating circumstances, the majority of which were submitted to the jury. The State also, over defendant's objection, requested that the statutory mitigating circumstance of "no significant history of prior criminal activity" be submitted. The court submitted this circumstance.
The jury found both aggravating circumstances. One or more jurors found that defendant was under the influence of a mental disturbance; that his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct was impaired; that he was mentally, physically, and sexually abused by his father; that he suffered a deprived and unstable childhood; that he dutifully served his country during wartime in Vietnam; that he had previously attended classes at a college; that defendant was a hard worker in prison; and that he had continued his education by taking correspondence courses from prison.
No juror found that defendant had no significant history of prior criminal activity.
The jury sentenced defendant to death. ...
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It was at the end of Coffey's third trial, after he was again (as he was each time) convicted of Amanda's murder, that he was sentenced to Life In Prison vice the Death Penalty. This was because two of the twelve jurors would not vote for the Death Penalty.
All juries noted that the defendant had a significant history of criminal activity prior to 1979. It should be noted that they did NOT have for consideration several other molestation and murder cases, in which Coffey was suspected, but not convicted.
Link:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/nc-supreme-court/jun1794/coffey
