State v. Mayle
357 S.E.2d 219 (1987)
Rule of Law:
A killing that occurs during the perpetrator's flight from an enumerated felony is considered to be part of the commission of that felony for the purposes of the felony murder rule, so long as the events are part of one continuous transaction and the perpetrator has not yet reached a place of safety.
Facts:
- On December 14, 1981, Wilbert Mayle, a black man, and Bobby Stacy, a white man, robbed a McDonald's restaurant in Chesapeake, Ohio while wearing ski masks.
- Unable to get the safe combination, they stole an employee's car keys and fled in the employee's 1972 Matador.
- Approximately 30 minutes later and 2.1 miles away in Huntington, West Virginia, police officer Harman confronted the two men as they were possibly breaking into a gasoline station.
- Stacy struggled with Officer Harman, took his service revolver, and shot him five times, fatally wounding him.
- Mayle and Stacy fled the scene in a green Buick registered to Stacy.
- Officer Campbell observed Mayle driving the Buick and pursued the vehicle after learning of the shooting.
- Mayle and Stacy abandoned the car, which was later found to contain items stolen from the Matador, a ski mask, Officer Harman's gun, and Mayle's fingerprints on the steering wheel.
- Hair samples from ski masks found in and near the car were consistent with both Mayle's and Stacy's hair.
Procedural Posture:
- Wilbert Mayle was tried by a jury in the Circuit Court of Cabell County, West Virginia.
- The trial was moved to Fayette County due to a successful motion for a change of venue.
- The jury found Mayle guilty of first-degree murder, with a recommendation of mercy.
- Mayle (appellant) appealed the judgment to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
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Issue:
Does the felony murder rule apply to a killing that occurs during the escape from a robbery, after the act of robbing has concluded but before the perpetrators have reached a place of safety?
Opinions:
Majority - Brotherton, J.
Yes. The felony murder rule applies because the killing occurred as part of one continuous transaction with the underlying robbery. The court reasoned that a felony, for the purpose of the felony murder rule, is not complete until the perpetrators have reached a place of safety. Citing State v. Wayne, the court held that the statute applies where the robbery was technically complete but the defendants were still in the act of escape. In this case, the robbers had not yet escaped or distributed the loot; the killing of Officer Harman, just over two miles from the robbery, was part of the chain of events surrounding the robbery. Therefore, the escape was part of the 'res gestae' or continuous transaction of the crime, and the killing properly fell under the felony murder doctrine.
Analysis:
This decision solidifies West Virginia's adoption of the 'continuous transaction' doctrine for felony murder. It clarifies that the timeline of the underlying felony extends beyond the core act of theft to include the immediate flight from the scene. This precedent broadens the scope of liability for co-felons, making them responsible for homicides committed by their partners during the escape phase, regardless of whether they had reached a point of temporary safety. Future cases will likely use this 'place of safety' and 'continuous transaction' analysis to determine the temporal scope of a felony in homicide cases.
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