Terry Tickorie Case Analysis

In the subsequent events involved in this case, there were multiple criminal offenses that appear to have been committed by the parties in question. I will identify all possible charges that could be brought up against the suspected parties and analyze if the evidence fulfills the essential elements for each crime. The parties facing potential charges are named Terry Vickorie (age 18), Steven Rogers (age 17), Andru Crowley (age 14), and : kidnapping, first degree murder, felony murder, obstruction of justice, subornation of perjury, bribery, conspiracy, solicitation, and attempt. This analysis will be broken up into two parts: crimes committed before and during William’s death, and crimes committed following his death. The search for any possible crime committed will follow the chronological order of events. The first possible charge that could be brought up is kidnapping. The offense of kidnapping is defined as the forceful abduction of another person and carrying them away against their will. To prove kidnapping, the two essential elements are the unlawful taking and the unconsensual asportation. The required force for the taking element can be substituted with intimidation or coercion. For the element of asportation, the carrying away of a person against their will, the movement must be independent of another crime. The asportation requirement is fulfilled when the movement is not incidental to another crime and increases the risk of harm to the victim. Do the boys’ actions meet the unlawful taking of another person requirement? William was not forcefully abducted from his home, rather voluntarily left with the three boys. As stated previously, the forceful abduction element can be substituted with intimidation or coercion. Ms. Boyle noticed William acted strangely before leaving. The boys’ presence may have put William under duress due to the fact they were previously harassing him to keep quiet. Therefore, if the prosecution can show coercion or intimidation caused William to get in the van with the boy, the taking element will be fulfilled. The unconsensual asportation can be proven with Andru’s testimony on the events leading to William’s death. William asked to be let out of the vehicle but his request was rejected by the three boys. This can be interpreted as William revoking his consent. The taking and moving of William against his consent will not suffice to sustain a kidnapping charge. The asportation must not be merely incidental to another crime. Terry, Steven, and Andru were not in the process of committing another crime when they picked up William. They took William for the express purposes of intimidating him so he wouldn’t expose their crimes. Essential to the asportation element is the victim’s increase in risk of harm. The carrying away of William did increase his risk of harm in two ways. First, he was forced into a vehicle driven by Terry who was under the influence of drugs. The probability of getting into an accident increases due to impairment of one’s driving abilities caused by the consuming of drugs. Second, William was forced to a remote property where he was subjected to the deadly attack by an intoxicated Terry. If the prosecution finds the element of unlawful taking is not met for a kidnapping conviction, they could still charge the boys with conspiracy to commit kidnapping. To prove a conspiracy charge, the prosecution must show there was an unlawful agreement between two or more parties. The unlawful agreement could be an agreement to accomplish a crime or an agreement to use unlawful means to accomplish a criminal goal. Through Andu’s testimony, it is known the boys conspired to take and …show more content…
Did Terry deliberately with malice aforethought murder William? Prosecution can attempt to establish malice aforethought or premeditation by introducing facts and circumstances related to Terry’s state of mind, such as the defendant’s relationship with the victim, nature of the homicide, defendant’s actions before and after the homicide. The fact that the three boys had planned in advance to intimidate and make violent threats against William could show premeditation. The nature of the murder could also show malice aforethought (death by hatchet strike). Terry’s actions of dismemberment following the murder could also demonstrate