Holiks demise story has been featured on the scene of Dateline. He said that he was a music minister at a church in Bastrop County, Texas. He gave the name of Jim Taylor. The current code is cited for convenience. Investigators say Tony Russo targeted expensive homes and pretended to be a home buyer to rob the victims. (3)Then Existing Mental Emotional or Physical Condition. At the conclusion of the hearing, appellant was permitted to wait and view the completed transcription of the court reporter's record of the hearing and then make objections. The police officers also recovered a green towel found on a couch downstairs. 4. The tenant (Hickson) testified that the victim called him on the telephone and stated that she was not going to work and that the guy is here to fix the air conditioner. The court wrote: Shelby Weinstein's statement that a man was there to fix the air conditioner meets the requirement that the declarant personally perceive the event, that the statement explain or describe the event, and that there be contemporaneity of the statement and the event described. See Tex.R. Russo, a part-time music minister, pretended he was interested in purchasing Holik's home, and claimed that he could buy the $450,000 house in cash, even though his bank account was later found. She was eager to sell her Austin home. Therefore, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting this testimony under Rule 803(1). The defense closed with the State at this stage of the trial without offering evidence. At FindLaw.com, we pride ourselves on being the number one source of free legal information and resources on the web. In 2004, he was sentenced to life in prison. We have no more Information about his Father; we will try to collect information and update soon. While systematically opening all user-created files, [the computer analyst] opened one that contained images that he considered child pornography. Many of the homeowner-witnesses were able to identify appellant as the man who came to their homes, wanting to see the house or a floor plan, saying that he would be a cash buyer, having just sold a ranch, rejecting the idea of contacting a realtor, and frequently saying that he would return with his wife on the weekend. 221 F.3d at 1147. The legal sufficiency of the evidence under the Jackson standard is a question of law. Dan Patrick and Grove Norwood, founder and CEO of the Heart of Texas Foundation, attended the commencement ceremony for the first graduating class on May 9, 2015. She had been tied up and strangled, an autopsy report confirmed. What happened, according to court documents: The State was able to tie some of the viewings to the dates that appellant visited some of the female homeowners and realtors, in order to show intent and motive. Russo claims the court violated his right to due process including admitting evidence beyond the scope of the search warrant (nude photos from necrobabes which were not found on his computer), among other things. That search was not abandoned in favor of an investigation into necrobabes.com.. The local police arrived at the home at 6300 Pathfinder Drive, where they found the body of a white female who was identified as 42-year-old Diane Holik. Holik's last known telephone conversation occurred at 3:30 p.m. on November 15, 2001, and her computer had been shut down at 3:59 p.m. the same day. In many such encounters, Dr. Coons explained, there is no completed sexual act. Patrick had a long criminal history. Before conducting any examination of the computers, the police obtained a search warrant to search the files on the computers for names, telephone numbers, ledger receipts, addresses, and other documentary evidence pertaining to sale and distribution of controlled substances. Id. That includes some who will spend the rest of their lives behind bars. When Holik was killed, I called police and said Its him., Diane Holik: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Diane Holik, Patrick Anthony Russo: Dateline NBCErotic Horror Fantasy Killer Was Texas Church Leader https://t.co/QBOl3Nieog, Brightly (@Brightly5) September 23, 2016. During their subsequent investigation, police learned that a man claiming to be a prospective home buyer had contacted Austin residents who had "For Sale" signs in front of their homes. at 528. Karena Rosario, Faith Hedgepeths Roommate: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Monsters Among Us: Patrick Anthony Russo http://t.co/g0QBNPm7ut via @mylifeofcrime, Vonne Monai (@VonneMonai) April 9, 2013. All he wanted to do at that point was to preview the house so that he could come with his wife later to see it again. In analyzing a challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence, a reviewing court does not realign, disregard, or weigh the evidence. Practically over five years prior, Diane Holik was fiercely killed in her own Home in Austin, Texas, by Patrick Anthony Tony Russo. The trial court had not read the written objections and deferred any ruling at that time. Though the death case murder is still a mystery. She was excited about the real possibility of selling her home. Rector presented the information extracted from the computer to the prosecutor, who noticed that the computer's Internet history (which contained no Web pages or images) made reference to a Web site named necrobabes.com, which was later determined to be an asphyxiation-type pornographic Web site. It was an awkward situation. Your IP: Rector was then requested by a prosecutor to conduct a more thorough search to look for Internet activity related to real estate. There were 1,200 images recovered. The prosecutor requested Rector to determine if there was additional information of that type on the Internet history concerning necrobabes.com. Rector was to continue his search for matters relating to real estate and the sale of homes in the Austin area. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. The license plate trail led to Russo, who worked as a worship leader and music director at New Life In Christ Church in Bastrop, Texas, a short drive from Austin. All persons inherit mitochondrial DNA from their mothers-so maternal relatives have the same M-DNA. Nelson examined seven hairs recovered from the victim's home. He further complains that the testimony provided by Tammy Tayman and Holly Dittart are based on contact with appellant, alleged to have occurred in August 2001. Johnson v. State, 23 S.W.3d 1, 11 (Tex.Crim.App.2000); Santellan v. State, 939 S.W.2d 155, 164 (Tex.Crim.App.1997). Collectively, Saturday's graduates earned a 3.7 grade-point average in the program. Keith Morrisons exclusive interview with Russo will air on Dateline NBCon Friday, September 23 at 9pm. Lived In Lake Jackson TX, Clute TX. Dr. Richard Coons, a psychiatrist and an attorney, testified concerning his training in human sexuality. The trial court found that the evidence of seven witnesses was not too remote and was relevant. Evid. Heiselbetz v. State, 906 S.W.2d 500, 504 (Tex.Crim.App.1995). Follow along as LaDonna and Alecia share the heartbreaking details of how Patrick Anthony Russo's fetish played into Diane Holik's murder. All rights reserved. Tammy Cranford identified appellant as the man who came to her home at 4505 Tello Path in south Austin about 1:30 p.m. in early November 2001. The trial court was careful to eliminate images of unrelated sexual activity and nudity, leaving only those images showing ligature and manual strangulation of women and other items pertinent to this circumstantial evidence case where a woman was strangled in her own home. doorstep of patrick russo, a man matching the description of the mysterious stranger seen in diane holi k's neighborhood the day of the murder. Rule 802of the Texas Rules of Evidence states: Hearsay is not admissible except as provided by statute or these rules or by other rules prescribed pursuant to statutory authority. Police tracked Russo down after they caught wind of a man who claimed to be a potential buyer for multiple homes in the Austin area. Richard will be eligible for parole in 2044. Appellant's wife, Janet, was a school teacher for the Smithville Independent School District. A jewelry box, which contained a substantial amount of jewelry, including some very expensive pieces, was missing from the master bedroom. In the early morning hours of November 21, 2001, police officers executed a search warrant at appellant's Bastrop home. Some DNA evidence found on a green towel in Holik's home also pointed to Russo. It was shown at trial that she wore the charm on a necklace. Evid. Patrick Anthony Russo, 82. As a result of the jury's answer at the penalty stage of the trial to the special issue concerning mitigating circumstances, the trial court imposed a life sentence. ref'd). A violent thunder and rainstorm descended upon Austin in the afternoon of November 15, 2001. The episode covering the Texas Killing is "After the Storm". Id.19. Rector was able to download these introductory screens, and these exhibits were admitted into evidence. He knew that Holik had been trying to sell her home. Evid. Later, he parsed out of that history the part associated with necrobabes.com detailing appellant's activity with it. Almost more than five years ago Diane Holik was brutally murdered in her own Home in Austin Texas by Patrick Anthony "Tony Russo". ref'd). Dr. Coons's expert opinion was that the facts given to him showed a motive of sexual gratification through ligature strangulation. Such motive is not inconsistent with evidence of intent to commit robbery during the same incident where the intent to rob is timely formed. The Texas Rules of Criminal Evidence was superseded by the Texas Rules of Evidence effective March 1, 1998. Wyatt v. State, 23 S.W.3d 18, 30 (Tex.Crim.App.2000). As the evidence is legally sufficient to support the theory of murder committed in the course of robbery, we need not address the second point of error. While the police turned to independent sources to determine the nature of "Necrobabes.com," the State argues that the search of the computer for home sales in the Austin area--the object of the June 18 search warrant--continued as evidenced by exhibits later introduced into evidence without objection. 1998, no. As noted, on November 18, 2003, another search warrant was issued by a district judge to search the hard drive of appellant's computer for, inter alia, information, photos, and text from a Web site named necrobabes.com and information pertaining to death by asphyxiation. Lives in Vancouver, Washington. Only unfair prejudice as set forth in Rule 403 provides a basis for excluding relevant evidence. Tex.R. Id. There was no sign of a sexual assault.. While the title appeared suspiciously suggestive and implicitly of a sexual nature, it did not appear to be criminal or of an incriminating character in and of itself. At a time when newsroom resources and revenue across the country are declining, The Texas Tribune remains committed to sustaining our mission: creating a more engaged and informed Texas with every story we cover, every event we convene and every newsletter we send. Russo, a part-time music minister, pretended he was interested in purchasing Holiks home, and claimed that he could buy the $450,000 house in cash, even though his bank account was later found to only have had $1,796 in it at the time. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on members to help keep our stories free and our events open to the public. The prosecution offered evidence of appellant's financial condition during the time period in question. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLA35iwLLBA. Appellant agreed to go with the officers to the Austin police station, telling his wife that the inquiry possibly had something to do with his parole status. In Cooper v. State, 67 S.W.3d 221 (Tex.Crim.App.2002), an aggravated robbery case, the Court held that the general rule is the theft or attempted theft occurring immediately after an assault will support an inference that the assault was intended to facilitate the theft for the purposes of proving robbery. What stood out about the stranger, according to neighbors, was the eerie and creepy vibe that he gave them while talking about the house. 13. Sept. 24, 2016 Best of NBC News Play All NBC News Channel Three climbers killed in. If there is evidence, however, from which the jury could rationally conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant formed the intent to obtain or maintain control of the victim's property either before or during the commission of the murder, then the State has proved that the murder occurred in the course of the robbery. Works at . In the first and second points, appellant challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence to establish that the murder was committed in the course of a robbery or in the course of a kidnapping. There was no objection to this latter statement which was Barajas's opinion, not a present sense impression exception to the hearsay rule. The sixth ground of error is overruled. The evidence of actions taken by the female witnesses while interacting with appellant (taking precautionary measures, staying away from appellant, checking on a child, or calling family, friends or police) or their expressions of concern provided significant background information about the circumstances under which the events occurred. The court further found that even though there may have been less invasive ways of conducting the search, the resolution of the suppression issue does not turn on whether [the officer] conducted the most technically advanced search possible, but on whether the search was reasonable. Gray, 78 F.Supp.2d at 529 n. 8. Excerpts from the Texas Court of Appeals' opinion dealing with the search warrant: Appellant told the detectives that he became lost during the storm in a residential area of Austin. Anthony Russo. 404(b).20 The trial court gave limiting instructions to the jury that are not the basis of the complaints here. Diane Holik, Patrick Anthony Russo: 'Dateline NBC'--'Erotic Horror' Fantasy Killer war Texas Church Leader Holik had plans to meet on the weekend with a man who was leaving her house when she talked to Barajas on the telephone. Fletcher v. State, 852 S.W.2d 271, 277 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1993, pet. Later, Cranford described the incident to a friend, who subsequently called her and asked her to look at a composite drawing in the newspaper and the accompanying story. Penal Code Ann. Russo was a part-time music minister at a Bastrop church and the lead singer in a Christian band. [Featured Image by Jason Hunter, Watertown Daily Times, Pool/AP Images] Advertisement Latest #metoo News and Updates Cranford had just gotten her children down for a nap. ; Brown v. State, 911 S.W.2d 744, 747 (Tex.Crim.App.1995). He then expanded it to include Russo's search history, and a prosecutor noticed references to Necrobabes.com. The name necrobabes.com was indirectly obtained from the computer search pursuant to the search warrant of June 18th, but that was a legal search and did not taint the acquisition of the name. Now, the police had to figure out who visited Diane in that period. She jotted down the license plate numbers when she recognized him from the police composite sketch. Matamoros v. State, 901 S.W.2d 470, 474 (Tex.Crim.App.1995); Brewer v. State, 126 S.W.3d 295, 297 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 2004, pet. Appellant's counsel made general remarks and argued that, after learning of the homicide, many of the witnesses overreacted in describing their encounters or interactions with appellant. The medical examiner estimated that Diane died between 3 PM on November 15 and 3 AM on November 16. Cranford left and let the dog out of the study because she was uncomfortable. Barajas, from Los Angeles, California, testified before the jury that she was an IBM coworker with Diane Holik. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The victim, an IBM at home supervisor, was found in an upstairs bedroom lying face down. All rights reserved. As a result, the court concluded that the detective had temporarily abandoned his search for drug trafficking evidence and intentionally commenced a search for more child pornography not authorized by the object of the existing warrant. 2.01 (West 2003); Ward v. State, 143 S.W.3d 271, 274 (Tex.App.-Waco 2004, pet. All the evidence must be considered, whether rightly or wrongly admitted. The verdict may not be overturned unless it is irrational or unsupported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Evid. We overrule the third point of error. Lives in Pacific Grove, California. Rector examined the computer with a program called "Encase," which is designed to recover any data located on a hard drive, whether it is an active computer file or a previously deleted file. In Campos, the officers learned that the defendant had transmitted two images of child pornography from his computer. The 42-year-old IBM supervisor was in the midst of selling her large upscale home in Austin, Texas when a man posingas a potential buyer strangled her to death in herhouse. Contact us. Appellant argued that [s]uch evidence can only prejudice the defendant and distract the jury from the material issues of fact before them.. Rector explained that the only way to do that was to recover the entire Internet history and go through that basically by hand, look at it to see what is real estate and what is not. Detective Rector reviewed the temporary Internet files and the index.dat files to determine the computer's Internet history. Nethery, 692 S.W.2d at 706; Thompson, 59 S.W.3d at 808. 23. In February 2004, Patrick stood trial for Dianes murder. ref'd), a murder case, the trial court admitted under Rule 803(3) the victim's statement to a third party that she was frustrated in the relationship, but intended to continue the relationship with the defendant. All the doors and windows were locked. We have not found or been directed to any trial ruling on Paige Quinluin's testimony. In the third point of error, appellant challenges the factual sufficiency of the evidence to establish that appellant committed murder in the course of robbery. Her nineteen-month-old son was in the master bedroom and her three-month-old daughter was in the nursery. McDonald v. State, 513 S.W.2d 44, 51-52 (Tex.Crim.App.1974), held that relevant evidence involving an extraneous offense one year earlier was not too remote. State Sen. John Whitmire, Lt. Gov. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of the contents of appellant's computer as contended. A person who is observing or experiencing something may explain or describe it to someone else over the telephone. In fact, appellant did not request that the court reporter's record be included in the appellate record. Patrick Anthony RUSSO, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee. For a more liberal view of the requirement of contemporaneousness, see United States v. Parker, 936 F.2d 950, 954 (7th Cir.1991); United States v. Blakey, 607 F.2d 779, 784-86 (7th Cir.1979). There were no objections based on Rule 404(b) included in the written objections. Five of these witnesses were Great Hills residents who were approached at their homes on the day of the murder. Her $17,500 engagement ring was missing. When offered, appellant's counsel responded: Subject to the previous rulings of the court, your Honor. The rulings were not identified, and the exhibit was admitted into evidence. Proximity in time and place may be a factor, but it must be considered along with other facts and circumstances. This is true because a review of the factual sufficiency of the evidence begins with the presumption that the evidence supporting the judgment of conviction is legally sufficient. See Conner, 67 S.W.3d at 197. The first part of the fifth point of error is overruled. As appellant acknowledged, this was a Web site which is open to any user of the Internet. State's Exhibits 623 through 724 were copies of images and stories that Detective Rector, with a lab computer, recreated from the Web site necrobabes.com using information from the Internet history of appellant's computer as to when appellant accessed the Web site. He testified that he hypothesized the coincidental chances of obtaining the same nuclear DNA results in this case would be one in 16,817. With Schwalebert's permission, Detective Rector, on a lab computer, went on the Internet to the paid portion of necrobabes.com and downloaded all the photographs and stories that appellant had viewed on the Web site, as reflected by the Internet history of his computer. Though the death case murder is still a mystery. At the pretrial hearing, appellant's trial counsel told the trial court that he first wanted to hear the testimony of Detective Roy Rector, the forensic computer expert, and then tailor his motion to suppress accordingly.