Man Testifies He Stabbed Visitor 16 Times With Antique Bayonet in Self Defense

[Jeff White]

Hmm...BAC of .325 on the dead man, no defensive wounds or signs of a struggle. I don't think the self defense claim is going to fly with the jury.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...E499B198B11941DA86257101002083F7?OpenDocument

Man testifies he stabbed visitor with an antique bayonet 16 times in self-defense
By William Lamb
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/24/2006

BELLEVILLE

Taking the stand in his own defense, a Belleville man testified Tuesday that he was defending himself when he stabbed an Alorton man 16 times with an antique bayonet in his downtown apartment on June 10, 2004.

Michael E. Heller, 36, has been charged with first-degree murder. He testified in circuit court in Belleville Tuesday that Maurice A. Hickman, 31, followed him from the Belleville MetroLink station to his apartment above the Ace hardware store at North Illinois and D streets about 4:30 a.m. that day.

According to Heller's testimony, Hickman asked for money to buy alcohol, and Heller protested that he was broke. Hickman persisted, eventually talking his way into Heller's apartment. Heller said that he stabbed Hickman with the bayonet - a souvenir from a high school trip to Austria - after Hickman became violent, choking Heller and putting him in a headlock.

"I was hoping he'd just look at (the bayonet) and get scared and leave," Heller testified. Instead, Heller said, Hickman tried to grab the weapon.

"You try to take a gun away from a cop, he has to use it," Heller said. "Well, I had to use it."

Prosecutors countered that the 16 stab wounds on Hickman's body - 13 of which were in his back - suggested that Heller had been motivated by something other than self-defense. In his opening statement, Assistant State's Attorney James G. Piper Jr. said that Heller had allowed Hickman into his apartment and had passed up several opportunities to call the police, including the minute or so that Hickman was using the apartment's bathroom. Heller called police after stabbing Hickman.

Piper also said that an autopsy found Hickman's blood-alcohol level to be .325 percent at the time of his death - four times the legal limit to drive in Illinois or Missouri - suggesting that Hickman was too impaired to pose much of a threat. The autopsy found no "defensive wounds," such as scrapes, cuts or bruises, on Hickman's body to indicate that a struggle had taken place, Piper said.

Heller's public defender, Alexander P. Libell, responded that Heller was defending himself from a threatening "250-pound stranger." Libell added that Hickman's criminal record included two convictions for domestic battery.

"Michael Heller is not the cold-blooded killer that these overzealous prosecutors have made him out to be," Libell said.

Closing arguments are scheduled for this morning, after which Chief Circuit Judge Jan V. Fiss will turn the case over to the jury.

Heller described himself as a writer and artist with ambitions to move to Toronto to become a screenwriter.

Jeff

 

[jeepmor]

13 stabs in the back is not self defense

Prosecutors countered that the 16 stab wounds on Hickman's body - 13 of which were in his back - suggested that Heller had been motivated by something other than self-defense.

13 in the back is not self defense, this guy is going to jail, where he'll be taking it in the backside next.....oooof.

And he was sober too. Not a good situation, he will likely not have his freedom for quite some time.

jeepmor

 

[Jeff White]

I posted this as a reminder to everyone, that even what may initially appear as a good defensive action, here we have an intruder with a criminal backgorund forcing his way in, will be investigated and the facts will come out.

Jeff

 

[bogie]

With a hard core alcoholic, a .325 bac is well within the realm of functioning... I could see a situation where the guy just got scared, the big guy come at him, he pokes him once, nothing happens, so in the next 10 seconds, he goes to town...

 

[RyanM]

Stab wounds to the back are a definite possibility in the middle of an actual fight, particularly against an unskilled (though still dangerous) opponent.

Someone with no training (both, in this case) is not going to be fighting like a duelist, keeping out of range and attacking the weapon hand.

Kick someone in the groin, or poke them in the stomach, and they may double over for a second. Stab-stab-stab-stab. Oh crap, he got back up! Stab-stab-stab.

Hickman may have tried a low tackle. That leaves the back exposed. Not the best move against a knife-weilding man, but the guy was obviously pretty drunk and stupid.

Hickman may have tried a bearhug, and missed Heller's knife arm. If the knife arm is free, the only thing that's going to occur to an unskilled fighter is to reach around and stab into the back a couple dozen times. Once again, a stupid move, but evidence suggests Hickman was a stupid person.

An unskilled grappling attempt, like a bear hug or tackle, could end up leaving no marks. Particularly in an apartment, which probably has carpeting. But at the same time, it could turn lethal in an instant.

Unless we were there, we can't pass judgement. Unfortunately, the same thing goes for the jury, and they have to.

 

[SMLE]

Imagine you're holding a knife with the blade pointed down, then imagine your opponent has grappled you around the chest. Where are you going to stick him? How much damage will it take to stop a guy anesthetised by a BAC of .325?

 

[scubie02]

"honest, officer...he committed suicide...right there in front of me..."

Ok, seriously, we don't know what happened, and as pointed out it would be entirely possible to end up stabbing so the blows came from behind if tackled or pinned down or whatever. In the absence of testimony to the contrary, if there's no criminal record (as opposed to the other guy who DID have one), the guy was much bigger, etc, you gotta believe the person telling the story I guess--barring some other evidence we don't know about.

 

[Jeff White]

Yep, could have been a fight and there are many scenarios where the wounds could have legitimately ended up in the back. But it's hard to reconcile that theory with the physical evidence:

The autopsy found no "defensive wounds," such as scrapes, cuts or bruises, on Hickman's body to indicate that a struggle had taken place,

I would think it would be kind of hard to be in a fight so intense that you needed to stab your opponent 16 times to end it, then not have any other wounds on that opponent.

Jeff

 

[HankB]

The sheer number of stab wounds is not in and of itself significant - knives don't have the stopping power of gunshots, and if you're sticking someone and he doesn't drop, I see it as all too likely that you'll stick the guy repeatedly, until he actually DOES drop.

The possible origin of stab wounds in the back suggested by earlier posters is plausible, but IMHO the evidence strongly suggests a thorough investigation is warranted. Good forensic work from the medical examiner ought to be able to determine what angle the bayonet went in at, where and how Heller was standing as he stabbed the drunk, etc.

(Maybe they did all this, and that's why the charges were filed . . . we just don't know from the news story.)

 

[buzz_knox]

What was the weather like and where did the first penetration occur? If the weather was cool, the perp might be wearing thicker clothes which would have shielded from some cuts and bruises. If the first wound was to the heart, the perp could have continued the struggle for a short period but reduced/no blood pressure would have cut down on bruising. Combine the two, and you can get a defensive situation with similar physical evidence.

 

[Zundfolge]

SEE SEE WE NEEDED THE AWB!!!

If the AWB was still in place this senseless bayoneting would never have happened!

 

[El Tejon]

Outstanding thinking, I want SMLE on the jury!

IME, in grappling situation the stab wounds are to the back or legs. I've had the opportunity to make some cool videos for the prosecutor's ejamakashun before.

Wonder if the defense has an expert here? I would want one to explain the wound locations and the number of wounds (juries think that, just like on television, once you are stabbed you fall to the ground and say "ooohhhh, ya got me.").

.32 too intoxicated? Pffft, I've had guys who wake up in the morning at .20. Highest I've seen was a .46, was a lawyer drove his Benz up on a trailer that the guys use for hauling lawn mowers around.

 

[McCall911]

"No, I only stabbed him once, but he fell against the bayonet fifteen times before he finally hit the floor."



IMO the guy's probably defending himself because he couldn't find a lawyer in his/her right mind who would have backed his self-defense claim.

 

[Byron Quick]

I've got patients who walk several miles to the hospital because they feel "funny." Over a period of several years, these patients have never walked into the ED with a BAC of less than .42-some substantially higher.


One guy came in by EMS with his face looking like a watermelon that had been dropped on pavement. Frequent flyer. Alcoholic with seizure disorder-bad combination. We got a blood specimen from him but then he adamantly refused to have the enormous laceration across his face sutured.

The young resident approached before I could warn him using the pro forma approach he was taught in school. I grabbed the doc and yanked him back just as a great big, horny fist whistled through the air where the doc's face had been. The resident decided that the man was, in fact, serious about not receiving treatment and serious about wanting to leave. Last we saw of him he was walking down the highway. BAC of .48.

This guy's lawyer needs to get on the ball. What was the dead guy wearing at the time? Dress could account for the lack of defensive wounds as could the way the scenario played out. If you grab me from the front in a bear hug, the only place I'm going to be able to stab is in your back. Guess what? You won't have any defensive wounds as your arms are protected from my defense.

 

[RyanM]

Another factor is what, exactly, constitutes a "stab wound." Wouldn't surprise me if Hickman had 15 nicks and one good stab, and the newspaper decided to call that "16 stab wounds."

 

[hso]

Another factor is what, exactly, constitutes a "stab wound." Wouldn't surprise me if Hickman had 15 nicks and one good stab, and the newspaper decided to call that "16 stab wounds."

Bingo! What depth were each of these stab wounds? If you're grappled face to face and are stabbing a guy from that bear hug the wounds to the back would be very shallow. The question is how many wounds were deep and where were they located?

 

[crofrog]

The sheer number of stab wounds is not in and of itself significant - knives don't have the stopping power of gunshots,

Knife's often produce a larger wound channel than a bullet. Speically a long knife like a bayonet.

and if you're sticking someone and he doesn't drop, I see it as all too likely that you'll stick the guy repeatedly, until he actually DOES drop.

I'll do the same thing if I was shooting someone.
1. front sight
2. press
3. repeat steps 1-2 until desired result is reached.

 

[Jeff White]

Buzz,

a Belleville man testified Tuesday that he was defending himself when he stabbed an Alorton man 16 times with an antique bayonet in his downtown apartment on June 10, 2004.

June 10, 2004 would prbably have been hot and humid, temps in the 80s to 90s, humidty 90%+

So I doubt that the victim was wearing heavy enough clothing to cushion the blows and prevent bruising, scrapes etc.

Jeff

 

[NMshooter]

Bayonet-knife, or bayonet-sword?

Some bayonets were 16" to 24" or even longer.

With a long blade the grappling scenario starts to look a bit unlikely, though of course we do not know the height and build of the participants, which also makes a big difference. Not to mention wound depth and angle. Lots of shallow wounds would be more believeable.

The point being we do not have enough information to make any judgements on this stabbing.

 

[CAnnoneer]

16 times? I wonder if there is a Swiss cheese called "Maurice". hehehehe

 

[Jim March]

You know...here's a possibility.

Victim/homeowner has the pig-sticker in his right hand. Drunk gets him in a headlock with the victim's head under the drunk's LEFT arm, and then uses both arms to hang onto the victim's head.

Victim goes into a frenzy of stabbing - right to the back of the drunk with that right hand. No defensive wounds on the drunk and little or no wounds to the victim at all - there wouldn't be unless the drunk managed to flat-out break the victim's neck and that is NOT as easy as Hollywood makes out.

Dunno if this is what happened but the "headlock" part of the story makes it damned plausible.

 

[buzz_knox]

Buzz,


June 10, 2004 would prbably have been hot and humid, temps in the 80s to 90s, humidty 90%+

So I doubt that the victim was wearing heavy enough clothing to cushion the blows and prevent bruising, scrapes etc.

Jeff

I saw the date but glossed over it. But given what I've seen some people wear in the summer, it's still something worth considering.

 

[johnster999]

I can see how in a close quarters grappling struggle you might have to stab your attacker's back to get him off of you. Since his chest area is likely pressed against you, the back may be the only target available. This would not likely produce defensive wounds.

Sure, it might have been murder. Wounds to the back and lack of defensive wounds wouldn't be enough to prove that to me as a juror, however.

999

 

[Jeff White]

Apparently the jury (who had a lot more info then we did) couldn't agree either

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...B6B527759F83C2A98625710200530FA4?OpenDocument

Bayonet stabbing trial in Belleville ends with hung jury
By William Lamb
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/26/2006

BELLEVILLE

A St. Clair County jury failed to reach a verdict Wednesday in the trial of a Belleville man who admitted stabbing an Alorton man 16 times with a bayonet in June 2004.

Assistant State's Attorney James G. Piper Jr. said his office would retry the defendant, Michael E. Heller, 36, who was charged with first-degree murder. Piper declined to comment further Wednesday night.

Heller and his attorneys agreed with prosecutors on this much: that Heller stabbed Maurice A. Hickman, 31, with an antique bayonet in Heller's apartment in the first block of D Street just before 6 a.m. on June 10, 2004.

Both sides agreed that Heller had been out drinking overnight at Faces, an after-hours bar on Fourth Street in East St. Louis, and that Heller and Hickman had encountered each other at the Belleville MetroLink station sometime after 4:30 that morning.

But two different accounts of the course of events leading up to Hickman's death emerged during a day of testimony Tuesday and during closing arguments Wednesday morning.

Heller, who testified in his own defense Tuesday, maintained that Hickman followed him home from the MetroLink stop, becoming progressively more hostile in his demands for money and alcohol. Heller testified that he reluctantly allowed Hickman into his apartment so he could give Hickman a bottle of whisky and send him on his way.

Once inside, Heller testified, Hickman became violent, choking Heller and putting him in a headlock. Fearing for his life, Heller said he reached beneath the cushions of his couch for an antique bayonet that he had purchased on a high school trip to Austria and stabbed Hickman with it in self-defense.

Prosecutors said the 16 stab wounds in Hickman's body, 13 of which were in his back, suggested Heller had attacked Hickman in a rage, not self-defense. They said an autopsy did not show any "defensive wounds" on Hickman's body to suggest that there had been a struggle.

Ok which one of you guys was posting from their wi-fi from the jury room?

Jeff

 

[LAK]

Prosecutors countered that the 16 stab wounds on Hickman's body - 13 of which were in his back - suggested that Heller had been motivated by something other than self-defense.

This conclusion reflects the judgement of someone who does know much about fighting - at all. If a 250-pounder has his arms around you - the back might be the only reachable target.
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