By Michael AbramowitzThe Daily ReflectorMonday, May 9, 20110 Comments | Leave a
A Winterville man whose IQ barely meets the state threshold for execution faces the death penalty as his double homicide trial begins today.
Shelton Darell Mills, 33, is accused in the Aug. 26, 2007, shooting death of his former girlfriend, Cylvonnia Preddy, and Robert Bizell at Preddy's home at 648 Dawson Road in Grifton. The two were shot numerous times — Preddy as she was talking with a 911 operator, according to Pitt County prosecutors.
Several motions and examinations have been pursued on Mills' behalf by his appointed attorneys, William Gerrans and Allen Foster, both of Goldsboro, and earlier by attorney Jon Nuckolls of Greenville, who withdrew from the case after serving as counsel for two years.
Superior Court Judge W. Russell Duke Jr., at a 2010 hearing denied the defense request to have Mills disqualified from the death penalty because of significant intellectual and developmental retardation.
Mental retardation is defined by state statute as significantly subaverage intellectual functioning at an IQ of 70 or below, existing concurrently with significant limitations in communication, self-care, social skills, health and safety, and work and leisure skills, both of which were manifested prior to the age of 18 and at the present time, Duke found.
The most recent test, administered in October 2009 by Durham psychologist James H. Hilkey, produced an IQ of 71 for Mills, according to court documents.
Tested in fifth grade, findings indicate, Mills achieved an IQ score of 73. While incarcerated in state prison in 1995 on an unrelated charge, Mills scored 75 on an IQ test that did not meet statutory standards but was admitted by Duke.
Mills was indicted in November 2007 on one count of burglary and one count each of the first-degree murder of Preddy and Bizell.
On the morning of the shootings, Mills spoke with State Bureau of Investigation agents J.C. Rea and E.D. Smith, first at the Winterville Police Department, then at the SBI's Greenville office, according to court documents. They knew he had dated Preddy and had recently had contact with her.
Rea noticed what appeared to be blood splatter on Mills' blue jeans. While talking, Mills asked Rea, “Am I going to die?”
He asked Rea if he could guarantee that he would not get the death penalty, to which Rea replied, “No.”
Mills asked Rea if he thought he needed a lawyer. Rea told Mills that it was up to him and reminded him of his constitutional right to remain silent and to have a lawyer present, court findings indicate. Mills replied that he wanted to talk with investigators.
Mills told detectives he went to Preddy's house to see her and was met at the door by Bizell, whom he described to them as “the boyfriend.” Mills said he told the boyfriend he wanted to talk with Preddy and stepped into the house as Bizell went to the bathroom to get her, records state.
Mills then told Rea he couldn't talk about it anymore. When Rea asked Mills where the gun was, Mills told him he wanted a lawyer before he would talk about the gun, at which point the agents concluded the interview. While Mills' family members waited in the lobby, agents told him he was being charged with two open counts of murder.
Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Robb noted in discovery documents that Preddy had dated Mills about a year before her death, had been calling and harassing Preddy weeks before, causing her to change her phone number.
Robb asserted that Mills had been calling her to inform her when she had guests at her house and what vehicles he saw there. She also said Mills broke Preddy's cellphone and had been riding past her home a week before her death, then told her he was “going to get her.”
Mills' growing aggression motivated Bizell to move closer to Preddy's home, Robb said.
After 32 months at the Pitt County Detention Center, Mills was ordered transferred in May 2010 to an undisclosed state prison. He was returned to PCDC last week for the trial.
Court documents indicate that fees paid to Mills' attorneys and other costs paid through the North Carolina Indigent Defense Fund have amounted to $242,503.74
No comments:
Post a Comment