2007-M-32
Cletus Eugene Schneider, petitioner, Appellant, vs. State of Minnesota,
Respondent.
DESCRIPTION OF CRIME: On June 12, 1997, Dorothy Sandburg went from her home on
Judicial Road in Burnsville to work in St. Cloud. Sandburg left work shortly
after 4:00 p.m. The next day, June 13, Sandburg's sister, Colette Johnson,
became concerned when she was unable to contact Sandburg and was informed by
Sandburg's employer that Sandburg had not been at work on June 13. At about
7:00 p.m., Johnson went to Sandburg's home along with her other sister and her
brother-in-law. The group attempted to open the front door, but Sandburg's body
was blocking it.
On appeal, Schneider asserts only that the evidence was
insufficient to support the jury verdict, and concedes that the only element of
first-degree murder at issue is identity.
When police arrived, Johnson told them that she believed Cletus
Schneider killed Sandburg. Sandburg and Schneider, who had been married nearly
25 years, were separated and on the eve of a marital dissolution trial,
scheduled to commence on June 19, 1997. The marriage was both Sandburg's and
Schneider's second.
The police collected extensive evidence and information and
interviewed Schneider twice. When DNA testing matched Schneider’s blood
with a drop of blood on Sandburg’s corpse, police arrested Schneider.
THE TRIAL: The state introduced evidence,
Schneider’s previous “death comments about Sandburg,
Schneider’s effort to hide Sandberg’s life insurance policy which would yield
half the couple’s expiring holdings ($200,000), Schneider’s 49-minute delay in
asking how his wife had been murdered.
The jury found Schneider guilty of each charged offense, and the
trial court sentenced him to life on the first-degree premeditated murder
verdict.
DIRECT APPEAL: Justice James Gilbert
wrote a majority decision on July 15, 1999. On appeal, Schneider asserted
only that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury verdict, and
concedes that the only element of first-degree murder at issue is identity.
“As the finder of fact, it is the jury's role to consider all
evidence presented and afford it proper weight in arriving at the verdict.
Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, and assuming that the jury
believed the state's witnesses and disbelieved all contrary evidence, the
evidence is consistent with the conclusion that Schneider killed Sandburg and
is inconsistent with any other rational conclusion. Thus, we hold that the
evidence was sufficient to permit the jury to have found Schneider guilty of
first-degree murder.
THIS APPEAL: In 2007, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Schneider’s
first petition for post-conviction relief claiming that (1) he was denied
effective assistance of counsel because neither his trial counsel nor his
appellate counsel raised a Frye-Mack challenge or otherwise contested
the admissibility of DNA evidence; (2) he was denied effective
assistance of counsel when his trial counsel failed to request that the trial
judge be removed because the judge had also presided over Schneider’s marital
dissolution proceedings; and (3) newly discovered evidence entitles him to a
new trial.
Justice Gildea joined Chief Justice Russell Anderson’s unanimous
opinion
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the district court properly
denied post-conviction relief because (1) appellant’s claims of ineffective
assistance of counsel either fail on the merits or are procedurally barred, and
(2) appellant has failed to establish a claim of newly discovered
evidence.
Russell Anderson (Page, Paul Anderson,
Hanson, Meyer, Barry Anderson, and Gildea
DATE OF DECISION: January 4, 2007
RECORD NUMBER: 2007-004
DESCRIPTION: [MURDER] [DOMESTIC]
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