State v. Grissom

The opinion of the court was delivered by

This is a direct appeal by Richard Grissom, Jr., from his convictions of three counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping, four counts of robbery, two counts of aggravated burglary, and one count of misdemeanor theft.

Grissom raises 17 issues, several of which have subissues. This case rests upon circumstantial evidence. The facts are set forth in greater detail than usual and in chronological order. They will be supplemented as we discuss the issues.

Joan Butler, Christine Rusch, and Theresa Brown disappeared in June 1989. All three women were in their early 20s and resided in Johnson County, Kansas. The women have not been seen or heard from since their disappearances, nor have any of their remains been located. All of the convictions except for the theft conviction involve the above-named three women.

At the time of the disappearances, the defendant, Richard Grissom, Jr., owned Apex, a business that cleaned and painted apartments in the Kansas City area, Olathe, and Lawrence. Grissom kept his painting supplies in a locker rented from South Metcalf Mini Storage in Stanley, Kansas, under the name of Randy Rodriguez. At trial, a handwriting expert, after comparing the hand printed name and address on the Rodriguez rental agreement with Grissom’s known printing, concluded it was “highly probable” Grissom had printed the name and address on the Rodriguez rental agreement.

Grissom hired men from missions and homeless shelters to work for Apex. Additionally, in May 1989, Grissom hired Marcelais Thibodo. Grissom and Thibodo had met several years before and periodically would see each other around town. Grissom drove a used 1981 brown Toyota Corolla, which Thibodo helped Grissom purchase because Grissom said he had a poor credit rating. The car was registered in Thibodo’s name.

In the spring of 1989, Grissom began dating Cathy Arenal, a student at the University of Kansas. On Saturday evening, June 17, 1989, Arenal met Grissom at a nightclub in Lawrence, Kansas. *858 When Grissom walked Arenal to her car between 2:00 and 2:30 a.m., he indicated he was going to drive back to Kansas City that night.

In June 1989, Joan Butler lived alone at Comanche Place Apartments in Overland Park, Kansas. The previous fall she had moved from Wichita to Overland Park. Butler was close to and maintained frequent contact with her family, who resided in Wichita.

On June 11, 1989, Butler called her father to inform him that her Honda had been totaled in a multi-vehicle accident. The following day, Butler rented a 1989 maroon Chevrolet Corsica.

On Friday evening, June 16, 1989, Butler called her mother. They visited about Butler’s pending move to an apartment on the Country Club Plaza, about having her family spend Thanksgiving in Kansas City, and about buying a car. Butler told her mother she would call her father on Sunday, which was Father’s Day.

On Saturday evening, June 17, after getting off work from her part-time job on the Plaza, Butler went to the apartment of a friend, Celeste Becker. Becker’s boyfriend met them at Becker’s apartment, and the three went dancing until 2:30 a.m. They then returned to Becker’s apartment, where they ate and talked. Butler mentioned that it was the first Father’s Day she would not be spending with her family and that she was going to call her father on Sunday to wish him a happy Father’s Day. After an hour or so, Butler said she was going to go back to her apartment because she was tired and needed sleep. Before Butler left, she and Becker made plans to go out the following weekend. Butler left Becker’s apartment at approximately 4 a.m.

Butler evidently arrived at her apartment because the clothing she had been wearing was found later in her bedroom.

Within two hours after Butler left Becker’s apartment, money was withdrawn from Butler’s checking account. Butler’s checking account at Capitol Federal Savings allowed her automatic teller machine (ATM) privileges. Capitol Federal Savings has eight branch offices in Johnson County, and each branch has an ATM. The maximum ATM cash withdrawal allowed per day is $300. At 5:59 a.m. ón June 18, 1989, a $300 cash withdrawal was made from Butler’s account. At 3:45 a.m. on June 19, 1989, a second $300 cash withdrawal was made from Butler’s account at a dif *859 ferent branch location. A balance inquiry followed both cash withdrawals. At 2:14 a.m. on June 20, 1989, a balance inquiry was made at yet another branch location. A third $300 cash withdrawal was made, leaving no money in Butler’s account.

Butler did not call her father on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 18. Butler worked for Montague-Sherry Advertising Agency in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. She neither showed up for work nor called her office on Monday morning, June 19. Butler’s coworkers considered this atypical behavior because Butler had established a pattern of being the first to arrive at work. Butler was considered responsible and ambitious by family, friends, and co-workers. Her supervisor, Gary Coleman, became so concerned when no one was able to reach Butler by telephone that by mid-morning he drove to her apartment. Coleman testified that there was no response to his knock on Butler’s apartment door and that he did not see Butler’s rented car in the parking lot. After Coleman’s unsuccessful effort to locate Butler, the agency contacted her father to see if he had knowledge about his daughter’s whereabouts.

Butler’s father then called the manager of Comanche Place Apartments and asked her to check his daughter’s apartment. Between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m., the manager entered Butler’s locked apartment and confirmed that Butler was not in the apartment.

Two of Butler’s neighbors, Deb Stryker and Sarah Blanz, also entered Butler’s apartment on Monday, June 19. Stryker lived in an apartment adjacent to Butler’s and was a good friend of Butler. Butler’s father had contacted Stryker to ask for her assistance in locating Butler. Between 10:00 and 10:30 p.m., a friend of Blanz’ entered Butler’s apartment through an open window and unlocked the front door to let Stryker and Blanz into the apartment. After finding that Butler was not in the apartment, the trio looked around. They did not notice anything out of the ordinary.

Blanz’ apartment was directly below Butler’s. Blanz testified that between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 18, she was avyakened out of a sound sleep by a loud “thump” noise coming from above her. The noise scared her. She got up and looked out the window into the parking lot, but did not see anything. *860 Blanz said she saw Butler’s rented Corsica in the apartment complex parking lot on Sunday morning, but was not sure if the car was there Sunday evening and did not remember seeing it Monday morning or thereafter.

Joann Vermillion lived in a townhouse across the street from Comanche Place Apartments. On Tuesday, June 20, Vermillion noticed a brown Toyota parked in one of her assigned parking places. The car, which did not have a license tag, remained there until the following Friday. At trial, Vermillion identified Grissom’s brown Toyota as the car she had seen parked in her parking place.

Thibodo, who was employed by Grissom, testified that when he saw’Grissom on Tuesday, June 20, Grissom was driving a red Corsica. Grissom told Thibodo that he had rented the Corsica for a job in Lawrence. When Grissom asked Thibodo to pick up lunch for the other employees, Thibodo asked to drive the Corsica. Thibodo said Grissom was reluctant, stating that because it was a rental car he should not let anyone else drive it. Grissom eventually agreed, but told Thibodo not to look through the trunk or the glove compartment. Thibodo did not open either. Later that evening, Thibodo gave Grissom a ride to an apartment complex in Overland Park where the brown Toyota was parked. Grissom still was driving the Corsica when Thibodo saw him later that week.

Arenal, who had been dating Grissom, testified that she saw Grissom driving a maroon Corsica on Monday afternoon, June 19, and that when asked, he told her he had rented the car. Arenal stated that he also told her he was very exhausted because he had not slept since she last saw him early Sunday morning. When Arenal saw Grissom the following weekend, he again was driving the Corsica. She also stated that during the weekend Grissom gave her a peso pendant as a present.

Carla Dippel also resided at Comanche Place Apartments. She was not acquainted with Butler or Grissom. Dippel’s apartment was burglarized the same weekend that Butler disappeared. Dippel had been out of town during that weekend. When she returned, she noticed a peso pendant and a gold rope necklace were missing. These items formed the basis for the theft conviction.

*861 The pendant had been custom made by Reeds & Sons Jewelers in Sedalia, Missouri. Dippel had purchased the necklace in Florence, Italy. At trial, Dippel identified the peso pendant that Grissom had given to Arenal as the one stolen from her apartment. The manager of Reeds & Sons Jewelers corroborated that the peso pendant given to Arenal was the pendant the jewelry store had made for Dippel.

On Sunday evening, June 25, the Lawrence police were notified that a Corsica, matching the description of the car rented by Butler, was parked in the parking lot of Trailridge Apartments in Lawrence. Officer Brian Edwards was dispatched to the scene at 9 p.m. After locating the vehicle, he watched it from a distance. A few minutes later, a man, later identified as Grissom, walked over to the Corsica and opened the trunk. Edwards approached Grissom, asking first for identification and then who owned the car. According to Edwards, Grissom said that his identification was inside Apartment 531 and that people inside the apartment had given him the car keys. Upon request, Grissom gave Edwards the car keys. Edwards followed Grissom into the apartment building. Grissom then sprinted toward Apartment 531. He managed to get inside the apartment, close the door, and escape through a window before Edwards could catch up with him.

Thibodo testified that on Sunday, June 25, around 9 p.m., he received a telephone call from Grissom. Grissom asked him for a ride to Kansas City with “no questions asked.” Thibodo picked up Grissom at a Dillon grocery store, located one-half mile or less from Trailridge Apartments. As they drove by Trailridge Apartments on their way out of town, Grissom asked Thibodo to slow down because he wanted to see if the police still were there. By way of explanation, Grissom said Arenal must have called the police on him. Grissom added that he had been stealing from another person’s bank account. At that point, Thibodo said he-did not want to hear any more.

.Thibodo drove Grissom to Grissom’s apartment in Lenexa, Kansas. Upon reaching the apartment, Grissom hurriedly started packing and loading the packed items into the back of Thibodo’s pickup. Thibodo testified that while they were packing and loading, Grissom told him he could have the painting business and anything left in the apartment.

*862 At trial, Thibodo said that when Grissom was finished at the apartment, Grissom told him to meet him either at Trafalgar Square Apartments or the nearby Motel 6. They met in the Motel 6 parking lot and transferred the items from Thibodo’s pickup to Grissom’s Toyota. Grissom told Thibodo he was headed for California.

The police impounded the Corsica, and the vehicle was searched the next day, June 26, by officers employed by the Johnson County Criminalistics Laboratory (Crime Lab). A wallet found inside the car contained various bank cards and forms of identification, including a Kansas ID photo card with the name “Yoon C. Cho” and Grissom’s photograph, a Kansas driver’s license with the name “Yoon Cho” and Grissom’s photograph, a Kansas driver’s license with Grissom’s name and photograph, and bank cards with the names “Rikki Y. Cho,” “Rikki Y. C. Cho,” and “Yoon Cho.” Testimony was presented that Grissom had used those aliases, plus the alias Randy Rodriguez. Grissom’s biological parents are a Korean mother and a black father. The police found a Crosman air pellet pistol in the glove compartment of the Corsica. A latent fingerprint was recovered from the left front seat belt buckle and subsequently was identified as Grissom’s. Additionally, hair consistent with Grissom’s hair was located inside the car.

The trunk contained painting supplies and equipment. Several minute specks of dried blood were found on the carpet in the trunk.

Because a sample of Butler’s blood was not available for comparison purposes, “reverse style paternity testing” was conducted on the blood sample from the trunk and blood samples from Butler’s parents to determine whether the sample of blood found in the trunk could have come from a child of Butler’s parents. Cellmark Diagnostics, a Maryland company that performs DNA analysis, conducted the testing. At trial, two technicians and the manager of research and development at Cellmark Diagnostics testified. The research and development manager testified it is “highly likely, [or] in other words, all of genetic evidence is totally consistent” with the donor of the blood sample taken from the trunk being a child of Butler’s parents. One of the technicians stated that in his opinion, “there is no other explanation than *863 that being the blood of a biological child of those two people.” Butler s siblings testified they had not had any contact with the Corsica.

In searching Butler’s apartment, the officers found no signs of a struggle or forced entry. No blood, semen, or Negroid hair was found in Butler’s apartment. In Butler’s bedroom, the officers found the clothing she was wearing when she was last seen.

The officers also noticed a gold necklace lying on the carpet in the hallway near the kitchen. Although the officers photographed the necklace, they did not seize it.

After the apartment had been released to Butler’s family, relatives went to the apartment to pack up her belongings. One of the relatives, Kelly Heintzelman, testified that she found a gold rope necklace lying on the carpet in the hallway. Heintzelman put the necklace with Butler’s other jewelry, which subsequently was taken to Wichita. Eventually, the necklace was turned over to the Overland Park Police Department, At trial, Dippel identified the gold rope necklace found in Butler’s apartment as the necklace that she had bought in Italy which had been stolen from her apartment. A jewelry manufacturer’s representative examined the necklace and confirmed it had been manufactured in Italy.

There is evidence that Grissom was acquainted with Christine Rusch and Theresa Brown. Rusch and Brown shared an apartment at Trafalgar Square Apartments in Lenexa. Grissom’s company had painted at Trafalgar Square Apartments. Rusch told family and friends that a painter or maintenance man had brought her newspapers and once had offered her an abandoned charcoal grill. Thibodo testified that shortly after going to work for Grissom, in mid-May 1989, he attended a pool party, which was hosted by the management of the complex, with Grissom. Thibodo said Grissom introduced him to Rusch and Brown as “Christine and Theresa” at the party. According to Thibodo, the four of them visited for about five minutes, and then he and Grissom left.

Thibodo also testified to the following: Approximately two weeks after the pool party, he accompanied Grissom to one of the apartments at Trafalgar Square to check for water damage. Grissom let them into the apartment with a pass key. While they were there, Grissom rummaged through closets, dressers, and even a jewelry box. At one point, Grissom held up a pair of *864 panties for Thibodo’s inspection. Grissom told Thibodo the apartment belonged to the women they had met at the pool party. The apartment manager testified she had checked the records and a work order had not been issued to see if a ceiling in Rusch and Brown’s apartment needed repainting because of water damage.

Rusch was employed by Firestone Optics, a contact lens manufacturing company owned by her father. Rusch’s father described his daughter as a reliable employee. Rusch had a close relationship with her parents. She saw her father every work day and usually spent part of each weekend with her parents.

Brown worked at the Hickman Mills Dental Clinic. Brown was particularly close to her sister, Joyce Greenstreet, who lived near the clinic. Brown had lunch with Greenstreet almost every day. Greenstreet described Brown as responsible, both as an individual and as an employee. Brown also had a good relationship with her parents, who lived in Raymore, Missouri. She would see them approximately once a week and on holidays. In June 1989 Brown was making plans to return to college and intended to move in with her aunt, who lived in Leawood.

Rusch spent most of Sunday, June 25, with James Grooms, a good friend. In the evening, Rusch and Grooms went to a local club, where they visited with friends and listened to a band. Rusch shared pictures of the party hosted the previous night and was described as being in a good mood. Rusch mentioned to Grooms that she planned to prepare a dinner Monday evening for her mother, who recently had been released from the hospital. Rusch left the club between midnight and 12:30 a.m., walking out with a friend, Beth Cupp. Cupp testified that Rusch said she was leaving because she had to get up to go to work the next morning. Cupp watched Rusch drive away alone in her 1985 Dodge Colt.

On Sunday morning, June 25, Brown called Greenstreet, who testified that her sister talked about the party and her boyfriend and, generally speaking, was in a very good mood. Brown spent most of Sunday with Mike Raunig, a Johnson County Sheriff’s Department deputy, with whom she had a serious, romantic relationship. She stayed the night and left about 6 a.m. to return to her apartment and get ready for work. Raunig testified that *865 Brown left wearing a blue University of Kansas T-shirt with a white T-shirt underneath it and surgical scrub pants. Raunig never heard from nor saw Brown again. Brown evidently reached her apartment because the T-shirts she had been wearing when she left Raunig’s house were found on her bedroom floor.

Rusch had a money market account with check-writing privileges at the Metcalf State Bank in Overland Park. On Monday morning, June 26, before 9 a.m., four checks were cashed on Rusch’s money market account, depleting most of the money in the account. A handwriting expert with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department compared the checks with Rusch’s known handwriting. The expert testified that all four checks bore Rusch’s signature, but noted that the quality of the handwriting deteriorated and lost its “naturalness” between the writing of the first and fourth checks.

At 7:58 a.m., a check for $500 was cashed at the branch of the bank located at College Boulevard and Quivira Road. The transaction occurred at the drive-up window. The teller who cashed the check testified that the signature on the check matched the bank’s records and that nothing was unusual about the transaction. The teller did not remember the vehicle or whether there were any passengers in the vehicle. A customer who was making a deposit at the same branch at 7:57 a.m. on June 26 testified that he saw a car in the far right drive-up lane in which the driver was a white woman and the passenger was a black man. The customer could not remember any other specifics. Rusch was a white woman and Grissom is a dark-skinned man.

The second transaction, which also involved the cashing of a $500 check, occurred at 8:24 a.m. at the 103rd and Metcalf branch bank. The teller who cashed the check testified that she checked Rusch’s driver’s license before approving the check. The teller did not remember anything else about the transaction. The teller was in audio communication with Rusch, who did not indicate anything was wrong.

At 8:36 a.m., a third $500 check was cashed, this time at the branch bank located at 79th and Metcalf. The teller did not remember anything about the transaction.

The final transaction involving Rusch’s money market account occurred with the cashing of a $900 check at 8:43 a.m. at the *866 75th and Metcalf branch of the bank. The teller remembered the transaction, testifying that she checked the driver’s license of the woman cashing the check. The teller identified a picture of Rusch as the woman who had cashed the check and said Rusch was wearing sunglasses. The teller was unable to see whether there was a passenger in the car with Rusch because of the placement of a pole. Rusch and the teller were in audio communication, but Rusch did not indicate anything was wrong.

Brown had a checking account, with ATM privileges, at Boatmen’s First National Bank. Brown could use her ATM card at other banks, providing the banks belonged to the same computer network. At 9:25 p.m., on June 26, at an ATM located at the American Bank in Raytown, Missouri, a savings account inquiry was received. Brown had a checking account, not a savings account, with Boatmen’s. A camera within the ATM photographed the person conducting the inquiry. The photograph was of a grim and disheveled Rusch. At 9:57 p.m. on that same day, at an ATM located at the Belton, Missouri, branch of Boatmen’s, a balance inquiry concerning Brown’s checking account occurred. The inquiry was followed by a $300 withdrawal. Again, the transaction was photographed and the photograph was of Rusch.

In June 1989, Jacqueline Faught was the manager of Mini Warehouse in Raytown, Missouri. Faught testified that on the morning of June 26, she rented a 10 by 30 foot drive-through storage unit to a young white woman, who signed the agreement as Christine Rusch. The storage unit was large enough for a car to be driven into it. A vehicle also could be driven through the unit, and there were garage doors on opposite sides of the unit. The Crime Lab handwriting expert later determined that the signature was a forgery. At trial, Faught identified a picture of Brown as looking very much like the woman to whom she had rented the locker.

According to Faught, the young woman was accompanied by a dark-skinned, dark-haired man of mixed race. At trial, Faught said the man she saw on June 26, 1989, looked like Grissom. Faught said the woman “seemed a little distressed.” Although the woman filled out the rental application, she looked to the man for help in supplying the required information, such as the *867 woman’s address and her place of employment. The address given was P. O. Box 300761, Kansas City, Missouri, 64130.

Faught testified and produced documents that in February 1989, her husband rented a storage unit to an individual by the name of Rikki Yoon Cho. This individual signed the agreement as Rikki Y. C. Cho and gave as his address, P. O. Box 300761, Kansas City, Missouri, 64130, the same address given for the June 26 rental agreement. An individual giving the name of Rikki Y. C. Cho rented a post office box with that number in February 1989. The State’s handwriting expert testified that in his opinion, the handwriting contained in the post office box application belonged to Grissom.

Faught saw Cho when he came in for his refund in March 1989. Prior to trial and at trial, Faught said that the man who identified himself as Rikki Yoon Cho looked like Grissom.

The storage unit rented under Rusch’s name was not processed for latent fingerprints, hair, fibers, blood, etc., until October 12, 1990. Several areas of the unit tested positive for blood when a benzidine presumptive test was conducted. Some trace evidence also was found. One or two individuals, however, had occupied the storage unit after the June -26, 1989, rental had terminated.

On Monday morning, June 26, at approximately 8:45 a.m., 15 minutes after work started, Rusch called her office and said she was ill and planned to go to a doctor. Rusch also said, “Tell my dad that I will be here later.” The employee who talked to Rusch testified there was “a little bit of hurry in [Rusch’s] voice,” but otherwise she sounded normal.

Brown did not show up for work or call her office on Monday morning, June 26. Brown’s parents were out of town; however, one of her brothers, who was living with their parents, was at home that morning when a clinic employee called, asking if Brown was there. Brown’s brother was told that his sister’s roommate had called, stating that Brown was ill and would not be in to work. He called Brown at her apartment many times during the day and even stopped by her apartment after work, but was unable to make contact with her.

Brown did not call her sister or show up at her sister’s house for lunch on Monday, which was unusual behavior because Brown always called if she could not make it for lunch. Greenstreet was *868 concerned, especially when no one answered the telephone at Brown and Rusch’s apartment and when she learned Rusch was not at work.

Meanwhile, Rusch’s family also was becoming concerned. Rusch’s father stopped by his daughter’s apartment at approximately 9 p.m. that night. He noticed her car was not in the apartment complex parking lot. He then went to the apartment, calling out his daughter’s name and pounding on the apartment door. There was no response. He tried the door, but it was locked. Thinking she might have become seriously ill, he drove to the nearest hospital. Rusch’s father’s efforts to locate his daughter were not successful.

Rusch’s father returned to his daughter’s apartment early the next morning, June 27, around 7 a.m. Again, Rusch’s car was not in the parking lot and there was no response to his knocking on the door or to his yelling. He noticed with some surprise the deadbolt was not locked. Rusch previously had told him that she and Brown always used the deadbolt, and he personally had heard Rusch lock the deadbolt after he left her apartment one morning. He decided to let himself in using a laminated card to slip the other lock. He walked through the apartment, being careful not to touch anything. He found no one in the apartment, but noticed a curling iron in one of the bathrooms was plugged in and turned on. He left the apartment and drove to his office. He decided to see if Rusch showed up for work before calling the police.

On Tuesday morning, Lenexa police officers entered Rusch and Brown’s apartment. The officers found no signs of a struggle, forced entry, or burglary. There also was no indication anyone had moved out of the apartment. For example, the kitchen and bathrooms were fully stocked. After walking through the apartment, the officers determined that everything looked “normal.” Raunig testified that the police asked him to go to Brown’s apartment on Tuesday mid-morning, June 27, at which time he identified a blue T-shirt found on her bedroom floor as the one she had been wearing when she left his place.

Also on that Tuesday morning, June 27, Scott Hendricks was riding his bicycle to work in southern Johnson County. At the comer of 139th and Metcalf, Hendricks noticed credit cards, including a Dillard’s card with Rusch’s name on it; a woman’s V- *869 neck white T-shirt with a yellowish stain in the middle; personal papers, including concert ticket stubs and various Metcalf State Bank papers; and a glasses case lying in the ditch. On his way home from work that afternoon, Hendricks noticed the items still were lying in the ditch, so he stopped and picked up everything except for the glasses case and T-shirt. Hendricks planned to return the items to the owner; however, once he recognized Rusch’s name as one of the women who had disappeared, the police were notified. Hendricks showed the police where he had left the glasses case and T-shirt, but the items were no longer in the ditch. Rusch’s father testified that his daughter wore either glasses or contact lenses. A friend of Rusch’s, Ellen Dixon, testified that she had left a white T-shirt with a Coke stain on it in Rusch’s car. The ditch in which the items were found was estimated to be approximately three to four miles from the South Metcalf Mini Storage, where Grissom kept his painting supplies.

On Tuesday afternoon, Rusch’s driver’s license was found by a truck driver in Kansas City, Missouri, on the 87th Street on-ramp to 1-435 South.

On Tuesday evening, Billy Mayo, a resident and part-time maintenance worker at Stonybrook South Apartments in Grand-view, Missouri, noticed a man standing underneath a stairwell. At trial Mayo identified that man as Grissom. Mayo asked the man what he was doing. The man replied that he was looking for the apartment of a woman named Michelle. Mayo gave an inaccurate description of a Michelle who resided at the apartment complex, to which the man responded, “Yeah, yeah, that is her.” Mayo suspected the man was a prowler. Mayo returned to his apartment and contacted the police. A Grandview police officer arrived at 9:35 p.m., but did not find anyone.

At approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday, Mayo contacted the apartment complex manager, Stephanie Foster. After Mayo described the man he had seen, Foster thought it sounded like Grissom. Foster was acquainted with Grissom because he previously had done contract painting and cleaning at Stonybrook South. Earlier that evening, a friend had informed Foster that Grissom had been linked to Joan Butler’s disappearance and that Grissom drove a brown Toyota. Foster remembered that at one time Grissom had access to her apartment and office. She contacted the police and *870 asked them to return. The police arrived at approximately 10:35 p.m., but again found no one.

About 11 p.m. Tuesday, Mayo found a brown Toyota in the apartment complex parking lot. Mayo noticed the car because earlier he had been told that a similar car reportedly had been driven by a man who had assaulted a woman at Apple Creek Apartments in Kansas City, Missouri. Mayo also worked part-time at Apple Creek.

Using a flashlight, Mayo looked into the Toyota. He noticed the car was full of personal items. He saw a ring of keys on the dashboard and thought one of the keys resembled his master key to Apple Creek Apartments. On the floorboard, he could see about three-fourths of a credit card and could discern the name Theresa Brown on it.

Mayo informed Foster of the car, and she went to look into it. Foster also used a flashlight. She noted the car was packed full of personal items, with room for only the driver. She saw two credit cards on the floorboard and could make out the name Rusch on one of them. She also noticed the key ring and recognized the Apple Creek master key. Foster called the police.

Grandview police officers arrived about 11:20 p.m. The police had a difficult time establishing ownership of the vehicle — the Toyota had a stolen Nebraska license plate. The officer testified that he saw credit cards on the floorboard, but could not read the names on the cards. In order to help determine who owned the vehicle, the officer had the tow truck driver open the car dobr. The brown Toyota was towed to the Grandview police station, and a warrant to search the car was obtained.

At the hearing on Grissom’s motion to suppress evidence obtained from the search of the vehicle, Foster testified that pursuant to her authority as manager of Stonybrook South, she directed the Grandview police to tow the brown Toyota. She explained that Stonybrook South was private property and that it was the apartment complex’s policy for unattended or illegally parked vehicles to be towed. A Grandview police officer testified that it was their department’s policy to tow a parked vehicle displaying a stolen or improper license plate. Grissom’s pretrial motion to suppress evidence was denied.

*871 Also on Tuesday evening, a Pontiac Grand Am, which was parked in the parking lot of an apartment complex located across Highway 71 from Stonybrook South Apartments, was stolen. The Grand Am subsequently was located at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on July 7, 1989, when Grissom was apprehended there.

On Wednesday morning, June 28, Johnson County Sheriff’s Department deputies, with the assistance of a Grandview police detective, searched the brown Toyota. The officers took approximately 1,400 individual items from the vehicle. Two credit cards were removed from the floorboard on the driver’s side. One card was in Rusch’s name and the other was in Brown’s name. Three rings, identified as belonging to Rusch, were found in the glove compartment.

Various keys were found in the car. Two keys were found on the front left floorboard. One key fit the front door lock to Rusch and Brown’s apartment, and the other key fit the front door lock to Rusch’s parents’ house. Rusch’s mother testified that Rusch had been given a key to her parents’ house. A third key was found on a rear floorboard, and that key was found to fit the front lock of Butler’s apartment. The key ring recovered from the dash contained 14 keys. Two keys on the ring were identified as master keys to Rusch and Brown’s apartment. At trial, the manager of Trafalgar Square Apartments, where Rusch and Brown had lived, testified that Grissom had been given a set of master keys when he painted at the complex in 1989. Another key on the ring was identified as a master key to Apple Creek Apartments.

A photograph album containing pictures of Grissom was found inside the Toyota. Also found were two briefcases containing five forged birth certificates, including certificates for Randy Rodriguez and Rikld Yoon Cho Cho, with matching GED certificates; approximately 300 blank birth certificates; and official government seals and a rubber stamp. A pair of black gloves, a 12-inch silver knife, and three other knives also were recovered from the vehicle.

None of Grissom’s fingerprints were found in the interior of the Toyota or on items processed for fingerprints, such as the credit cards, the keys found on the front floorboard, and a tag *872 attached to a key. Random testing for blood inside the car was negative.

On Wednesday afternoon, June 28, Rusch’s Dodge Colt was discovered in the parking lot of the Motel 6 located next; to Trafalgar Square Apartments. On the driver’s side, there was a dent with a “significant smearing of blue paint.” It subsequently was determined that the blue paint came from a post at the Mini Warehouse in Raytown. Several small fragments of hair were found inside Rusch’s vehicle. Although the hair was too short and fragmented for “a full blown comparison,” the hair fragments showed characteristics of a mix of Negroid and Mongoloid features. A Crime Lab serologist testified that Grissom’s head, chest, and pubic hair displayed a mixture of Negroid and Mongoloid features.

Also on Wednesday afternoon, the police processed Rusch and Brown’s apartment, which was described as clean and well kept. The police gathered several items for testing, including the bedding from each bedroom and a hairbrush from each of the bathrooms.

The serologist concluded that a pubic hair found in the bedding taken from Rusch’s bedroom and a pubic hair found in the bedding taken from Brown’s bedroom was consistent with Grissom’s pubic hair. As previously mentioned, Grissom’s hair exhibited a unique mixture of Negroid and Mongoloid characteristics. Furthermore, the serologist specifically mentioned that the hair samples from Grissom indicated the hair either had been cut or shaved. The pubic hair found in the bedding had been cut.

The serologist analyzed hair from each of the brushes, noting that the hair from each brush appeared to belong to one individual. There were no known hair samples available for Rusch and Brown. Nonetheless, the hair taken from the brush found in Rusch’s bathroom matched the head hair found on the bedding in Rusch’s bedroom, and the hair taken from the brush found in Brown’s bathroom matched the head hair found on the bedding in. Brown’s bedroom. The hair taken from the brush found in Rusch’s bathroom will be referred to as hair from the Rusch environment, and the hair taken from the brush found in Brown’s bathroom will be referred to as hair from the Brown environment.

*873 On June 30, 1989, the police searched the locker at the South Metcalf Mini Storage and primarily found painting supplies. There was also an orange shag carpet on the floor of the locker. Thibodo failed to mention to the police until late July that on June 28 he had made a trip to the South Metcalf Mini Storage to get painting supplies. On June 28 Thibodo noticed the lock on the door was missing. Inside the locker, he found a wad of duct tape and a pair of sunglasses. He threw the tape on the roof of the storage locker and put the sunglasses in his pickup. In July, Thibodo showed the police where he had thrown the duct tape and turned over the sunglasses. At trial, one of Rusch’s friends said she thought the sunglasses belonged to Rusch. The sunglasses appeared identical to a pair Rusch had bought when the friend was with her.

The Crime Lab processed the locker on August 1, 1989. A search for trace evidence proved negative. At that time, the locker was empty. The owner of South Metcalf Mini Storage had removed the carpet in late July. The carpet was turned over to the police on August 2. Thibodo testified that the carpet was from one of the apartments at Trafalgar Square. The carpet was examined for trace evidence. The serologist téstified that head hair taken from the carpet was “indistinguishable” from hair from the Rusch environment. No hair taken from the carpet was consistent with hair from the Brown environment.

Over 100 strands of head hair were attached to the duct tape. At trial, the serologist noted that most of the duct tape hair had been exposed to heat and ultraviolet light, which impaired his ability to compare the hair. He said that although the hair attached to the duct tape was “somewhat consistent” with hair from the Rusch environment, there were also “significant differences.” Therefore, the serologist was unable to make an exact match.

On July 1, 1989, the police processed Grissom’s apartment. One officer described the general appearance of the apartment as “almost ransacked.” Very few items of clothing were found in the apartment. A typewriter from which the ribbon had been removed was found. A typewriter ribbon had been found in the brown Toyota. In Grissom’s apartment, the police also discovered a plastic container for a Crosman air pellet pistol, a blister pack *874 for the gun, C02 cartridges and pellets, and receipts for most of these items.

On July 7, 1989, Grissom was arrested at the •Dállas-Fort Worth airport. At the time of his arrest, Grissom had $2,037 in cash in his wallet. Grissom also was found to be in possession of a Pontiac Grand Am, which he admitted stealing from an apartment complex parking lot in Grandview, Missouri, on June 28. Officers found a bag on the back seat of *the vehicle that contained a C02 pellet pistol, two stainless steel knives in sheathes, a box knife with a retractable blade, a claw hammer, black gloves, a yellow nylon rope, düct tape, and wet wipes. Inside 'the glove compartment, officers found a package of Crosman air pistol pellets and a package of C02 cartridges- for the pistol.

Michael Napier, a special agent with the FBI, testified that after he read Grissom his Miranda rights, Grissom agreed to talk with him. A Leawood, Kansas, detective also was present for most of the eight-hour interview. Napier did not tape the interview or take notes during it. At trial, Napier gave the following account of Grissom’s statement, which the Leawood détective corroborated.

At the beginning of the interview, Napier showed Grissom a picture of Butler and asked whether he knew her. Grissom replied that he did not know her, did not know where she lived, had not been in her apartment, and had had no contact with her. When asked about Butler’s rental car, the maroon Corsica, Grissom said he came into possession of the car through Thibodo. Grissom stated that when he met Thibodo at a Capitol Federal Savings location in the early morning hours of June 18, 1989, Thibodo was in possession of the car, the ignition key, and a purse. Grissom found an ATM card in the pürsé and, by looking thrdugh the contents of the purse, wás able to determine the personal identification number. Grissom stated he agreed td give Thibodo 40 percent bf ahy withdrawals and subsequently made three withdrawals, each fer $300. Grissom said Butler was not present during ány of the transactions.

Napier then showed Grissom pictures of Rusch and Brown. Grissom acknowledged that he knew Rtisch and knew she had lived at Trafalgar Square because he had seen her when he had painted at that complex. Hé insisted, however, that he had had *875 no contact with Rusch. Grissom said he knew Rusch had a roommate, but did not know the roommate’s name until he came into possession of Brown’s purse.

Grissom said that early Monday morning after his confrontation with the Lawrence police, he had Thibodo drop him off at Trafalgar Square Apartments, where he found a compact Dodge car with its engine running and a purse on the front seat. Grissom drove the vehicle to the nearby Motel 6 parking lot. While he was waiting for Thibodo, Grissom rummaged through the purse, looking for something of value. Grissom found no ATM card, but recalled seeing a couple of major credit cards. Grissom denied driving around town with Rusch cashing checks.

Grissom initially stated that he had waited 15 minutes for Thibodo; he then stated he had waited approximately an hour. Grissom said he thought Thibodo might have gone toward Rusch and Brown’s apartment. When asked why Thibodo might do that, Grissom responded that through the painting business they had obtained keys to Rusch and Brown’s apartment and had kept them for future use. Grissom would not explain what he meant by future use. Grissom said he left the Dodge vehicle at the Motel 6 parking lot when Thibodo picked him up. Thibodo gave Grissom a ride to his apartment, and they went their separate ways for a time.

Grissom said he then drove his Toyota to the storage locker located in Stanley, where he waited for Thibodo to join him. Grissom stated that when Thibodo showed up, Thibodo was driving a different vehicle and was in possession of yet another purse. The purse belonged to Brown, and an ATM card was found in it. Grissom asserted that Thibodo was to make the withdrawals and then return and split the proceeds with Grissom. Grissom said Thibodo never returned. Grissom eventually returned to his apartment and packed to leave the area because he realized he was wanted by the police.

Grissom said he drove to St. Louis, Missouri, but as soon as he reached that destination, he decided to drive back to the Kansas City area. He drove to an apartment complex in Grand-view because he knew the manager of the complex. He stated he immediately was confronted by a maintenance man, who appeared to be suspicious of him. Within minutes the police arrived, *876 so Grissom fled the area on foot and spent the night in an open field. Grissom said the next morning he stole a Pontiac Grand Am from a nearby apartment complex parking lot, drove to his apartment and packed a few items, and then drove to Texas.

Grissom denied having killed the three Johnson County women, stating, “I could not do that.” Another reason Grissom gave was that he thought the women still were-alive. After Napier explained why he thought it was unlikely that the women were alive, Grissom said more than once, “They’re hot dead.” At one point, Grissom added, “Well, they probably are by now.” Napier’s attempts to get Grissom to explain the last statement were met by Grissom’s repeated comment, “You will dig them up. You will dig them up.” Grissom would not explain further.

Napier attempted to convince Grissom that the best thing Grissom could do for himself would be to tell the police everything he knew, including how and why the women died as well as the location of the bodies. Grissom responded, “What is in it for me?” At the conclusion of the interview, Grissom asked Napier to relay to the prosecutor that Grissom “could give them the whole package” and that two other people were involved. Grissom identified the others as Thibodo and a man from the City Union Mission, named George, who had worked as a painter. Grissom also told Napier that “everything happened in Kansas and nothing would be found in Missouri.” According to the Leawood detective who was present during the interview, Grissom specified that the women would be found in Johnson County and that all of the crimes had occurred in Johnson County.

At no point during the interview did Grissom actually confess to injuring or killing the three Johnson County women.

Prior to trial, the State filed a motion, pursuant to K.S.A. 60-455, to admit evidence of a prior incident involving the attempted abduction of Michelle Katf. The trial court ruled that the evidence was admissible to show identity, plan, preparation, or opportunity.

In June 1989, Katf resided alone at Apple Creek Apartments in Kansas City, Missouri, in a third-floor apartment. On June 11, 1989, Katf’s fiance spent the evening with Katf at her apartment and left about 11 p.m. Katf locked the deadbolt on the door when he left. The deadbolt was the only lock on the door, and Katf *877 testified that she routinely locked the deadbolt. The only other door to the outside was a sliding glass door to her balcony. She kept a piece of wood in the track of the sliding glass door to prevent the door from being opened.

Katf went to: bed around midnight. Between 2:00 and 2:30 a.m., Katf awoke to find the overhead bedroom light turned on and a man standing in the doorway. The assailant jumped on the bed, and they struggled. Katf screamed. The assailant covere