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eventually discovered Sousa's body and "freaked out"; and (6) in the midst of "hauling ass" away from the warehouse complex, he disposed of the bloody knife and a black Jansport backpack--which contained his bloody clothing--by throwing these items off of a bridge. At the conclusion of this interrogation, PCSO personnel arrested Rigterink for the murders of Jarvis and Sousa.






C. Rigterink's Confession and Trial Testimony










i. Attempted Suppression






On August 20, 2004, before Rigterink's eventual trial for these murders, he moved to suppress all statements that he made during the videotaped portion of his October 16, 2003, confession. Rigterink contended that these statements should be suppressed because the written and verbal Miranda11 warnings provided by the PCSO detectives were materially defective. Specifically, Rigterink challenged the verbal and written right-to-counsel warnings he received because each advised him that he only had "the right to have an attorney present prior to questioning."


(Emphasis supplied.) The initial trial judge and a successor trial judge each denied the motion to suppress on the ground that Rigterink was not in custody and, therefore, was not entitled to any Miranda warnings. Rigterink also objected to the admission and publication of the videotaped confession at trial, which the court overruled.







11.



Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).







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In total, the October 16 police interview or interrogation continued for over four hours as Rigterink remained in the same small room. However, the unrecorded portion of the interrogation, which was not challenged, covered from approximately 11 a.m. until 2:24 p.m. (roughly 3.5 hours). During the suppression hearing, Rigterink contended that while he initially traveled to the BCI office voluntarily to provide "elimination prints" and to speak with the PCSO investigators, the interrogation became custodial when the police (1) confronted him with tangible, circumstantial evidence of his guilt and repeatedly accused him of lying, and (2) read him his rights pursuant to Miranda.


ii. The Unrecorded, Unchallenged Portion of the Interrogation--Rigterink's



First, Second, and Third Stories



The non-taped portion of the October 16, 2003, interview or interrogation constituted the majority of the police questioning and, again, has not been challenged below or on appeal. During the suppression hearing, Detective Connolly was the only witness to testify on behalf of either party. Connolly testified that after attempting to reach Rigterink from October 9, 2003, until October 15, 2003, the PCSO investigators were finally able to reestablish contact with him in order to obtain his "elimination prints."


While the police were waiting for fingerprint analysts to compare Rigterink's fingerprints to the bloody latent prints discovered at the crime scene, Rigterink was taken to a six-by-eight, sound-insulated interrogation room, which







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contained three chairs and a small desk. Initially, Detectives Connolly, Rench,12 and Raczynski were all inside this small room with Rigterink.13 Connolly testified that the interrogation-room door was closed but not locked. PCSO personnel instructed Rigterink's parents to remain waiting in the lobby. Rigterink was not handcuffed or restrained during the interrogation.


During the unrecorded portions of the interrogation, Rigterink provided three irreconcilable stories in response to repeated accusations from the detectives that he was lying with regard to his activities and whereabouts on the day of the murders. First, Rigterink claimed that he called Jarvis to establish a marijuana deal on September 24, 2003 (the day of the murders), but he never actually went to Jarvis's home that day. At the conclusion of his first story, the detectives accused Rigterink of lying. In response, Rigterink offered a different version of the facts:


He traveled to Jarvis's home on the day of the murders, completed a purchase of marijuana, and left at a time when Jarvis was alone and unharmed. At the conclusion of Rigterink's second story, the detectives again stated that he was lying and that he was somehow involved with these murders.












12. At some point during the interrogation, Major W.J. Martin relieved and replaced Detective Rench.






13. During the interrogation, there were at least two detectives in the room with Rigterink at all times.







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The detectives finally decided to confront Rigterink with the fact that two of his fingerprints matched the bloody latent prints recovered from the crime scene.


After being confronted with the fingerprint match, Rigterink provided a still different version of the facts. In this third rendition, Rigterink stated that he arrived after the murders occurred. Specifically, he claimed that when he approached unit 5, he saw blood smeared over the entryway. Rigterink then walked inside unit 5 and "touched everything" in the process of looking for Jarvis.


He was unable to find Jarvis in unit 5, so he exited. Once outside, he noticed a blood trail leading from unit 5 to unit 1, so he followed the trail until he arrived at unit 1. He entered unit 1 and observed a large amount of blood and two people lying on the floor. Rigterink then approached the bodies and checked both of their pulses. He could not find a pulse on either victim. At this point, Rigterink realized that he was covered in blood and became scared, so he fled and drove home.


Rigterink could not explain why he was covered in blood. He did not call 911 because he was frightened. Rigterink estimated that he spent only five minutes at the crime scene.


At the conclusion of his third story, the detectives again accused Rigterink of lying with regard to his involvement in these murders. Rigterink then replied that he would tell the detectives "the whole truth." Detective Connolly testified that Rigterink was responsive and alert throughout this process. It was only after







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Rigterink had agreed to "tell the whole truth," that Detective Connolly verbally advised him of his Miranda rights and requested that he read and sign a rights- waiver form to ensure the admissibility of his confession. As further explained in our analysis, both the verbal and written explanations of Rigterink's "Fifth Amendment" right to counsel were defective based on our decision in State v. Powell, 33 Fla. L. Weekly S778, 2008 WL 4379596 (Fla. Sept. 29, 2008), because these explanations only stated that Rigterink had a right to counsel "prior to" questioning. Once Rigterink was read his Miranda rights--which included a defective explanation of his right to counsel--Detective Connolly turned on a hidden recording device and microphone located within the interview room.



iii. The Recorded, Challenged Portion of the Interrogation--Rigterink's



Fourth Story14






Rigterink challenges only the admissibility of the recorded portion of his lengthy October 16, 2003, interrogation. The interrogation continued for approximately 3.5 hours before Rigterink received Miranda warnings. During the recording of Rigterink's confession, which was entered into evidence as State's exhibit 462, Rigterink first claimed that he was suffering from a case of food








14. Rigterink's videotaped confession was not admitted into evidence or considered during the suppression hearing; rather, it was placed in evidence during Rigterink's trial. Therefore, the presentation under this heading is a more complete version of events than that presented by the State during the suppression hearing. Our later analysis contains the facts that we consider with regard to whether Rigterink was in custody for Miranda purposes.







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poisoning during the morning of September 24, 2003. He awoke at around 7 a.m. and called Jarvis at approximately noon. The call was "[a]bout hooking up. And [Jarvis] said he had to go to Lakeland, he'd try to get there fast. And [Rigterink] said, why don't you go ahead and go, and I'll come over after." "Hooking up," meant purchasing marijuana. Rigterink claimed that he later discovered Jarvis was also involved in the methamphetamine trade. At approximately 2:30 p.m. on September 24th, Jarvis returned Rigterink's call and informed him that the marijuana was available. Rigterink then drove his father's blue 1992 Toyota pickup to the warehouse complex. That day, Rigterink was wearing "[b]lack shorts and a gray shirt and tennis shoes" and a floppy desert-camouflage hat.


When Rigterink traveled to Jarvis's home on the 24th, he carried a black Jansport backpack in which he placed a black hunting knife with a ten- or eleven- inch blade that began straight but curved toward its tip. Rigterink also carried an off-white Nike T-shirt inside this backpack, which he planned to wear later that afternoon. At that point, Rigterink had owned the knife for approximately ten years. When Rigterink arrived at the complex, he parked immediately outside unit







5. Rigterink was unaccompanied and he explained to the detectives that he always carried a bag with him to Jarvis's home to conceal his marijuana purchases.


Jarvis's front door was partially open, but Rigterink knocked nonetheless, and Jarvis allowed him to enter. Rigterink and Jarvis did not consume any drugs or







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alcohol during this visit. However, Rigterink claimed that he was still somewhat ill from his case of food poisoning.


Rigterink described the remaining events through a series of five "Polaroid snapshots." Once he entered unit 5, he and Jarvis spoke briefly about the new batch of marijuana, and then Jarvis began to reach under his sofa to retrieve something. This is the last thing that Rigterink remembered before being "locked up" in a struggle with Jarvis near the front door of unit 5. In the midst of the interrogation, Rigterink offered to draw a diagram to accompany his verbal and physical descriptions of these events. This diagram was eventually entered into evidence as State's exhibit 466. As part of the first "Polaroid snapshot," Rigterink stated that he saw himself "locked up" with Jarvis and perceived that he had the hunting knife in his hand and that he was covered in blood. Rigterink claimed that he did not realize that Jarvis had been stabbed until they both exited unit 5, and Jarvis pulled off his T-shirt, thereby exposing his wounds.


When they moved outside, Rigterink saw himself standing, while Jarvis was kneeling, which is consistent with the testimony of the male eyewitness presented at trial. Rigterink could not remember if he was attempting to help or harm Jarvis.


Rigterink then recalled a second "Polaroid snapshot":


I remember being there. I can tell you exactly the position we were in. . . . And I remember I was holding onto him. I don't know if I had the knife in my hand because I thought I had him with two hands, but I know I still had the knife in my hand, holding onto him.








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And the next thing I remember--I don't--I don't remember at all. . . .




[A]nd in any event, the next thing I remember is running. I think I was right behind him.





He then transitioned to a third "Polaroid snapshot," this time within unit 1: "And the . . . next image I have is [Jarvis] swinging a bubble gum dispenser at me."


Rigterink claimed that he was not bruised or cut the next day, but he felt as though he had sprained his wrist. He agreed that his sprain might have been from the "jarring" of the knife. Rigterink then recalled a fourth "Polaroid snapshot": He ran down a long hallway in unit 1 and "jumped into" or "ran through" the doorway separating the rear-office area from the warehouse area. Rigterink said that he may have injured his wrist by hitting the door.


Rigterink then segued into his fifth "Polaroid snapshot": "And the last thing I remember is looking at the girl [Allison Sousa]. I didn't even see Jeremy [Jarvis] in the back room. And then I hauled ass." Rigterink claimed that he checked Sousa's pulse. He did not know if she had one because he was "freaked out."


Rigterink was emphatic that he did not remember stabbing either victim. He did not remember seeing Jarvis after the third "Polaroid snapshot." When asked about the issue of paying for the marijuana that day, Rigterink claimed that Jarvis was simply going to give him the marijuana free of charge.


After these events, Rigterink claimed that he removed his bloody shirt and ran back into unit 1 to retrieve the backpack before leaving. Rigterink then opined







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to the interrogating detectives that he had self-diagnosed potential psychological problems. He did not remember any type of argument with Jarvis; rather, he claimed that he simply "blacked out." He stated that on at least two prior occasions he had blacked out and severely beaten others: once in Miami and once in Tampa. For a time, he consulted a drug-rehabilitation therapist--Julie Dantzler--but he was "above her head." He suggested that his conduct was related to his self-diagnosed mental-health problems.


Rigterink then described his drive away from the crime scene: "I remember being at [a traffic] light and looking down and being covered in blood." When Rigterink looked down and discovered that he was covered in blood, he thought "[w]hat the f*ck happened." At that moment, he determined that it would be best to get rid of the knife and the backpack because they were "obviously evidence at that time that something had happened." Rigterink claimed that he threw the knife and the black backpack over a bridge that he crossed on his way home (despite searching, the PCSO never recovered these evidentiary items). The knife and the backpack had been lying on the passenger-side floorboard of the Toyota pickup, which explains the blood that the CSTs later found in that area of the vehicle.


Once he returned home, Rigterink took a shower but he did not remember if he cleaned the Toyota pickup.

With the exception of his shorts and tennis shoes, all of the clothing that he wore during the attacks was in the black Jansport







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backpack that he threw over the bridge. Therefore, on the following day, Thursday, September 25, 2003, he washed his shorts and shoes and placed them in a Tupperware bin in his closet. He later placed these shoes and shorts in the garbage, which was picked up on the following day, September 26, 2003 (this later action roughly coincided with the PCSO detectives' first visit to Rigterink's condo).


After cleaning up on the 24th, Rigterink took his dog with him to his parents' home. The following exchange between Detective Raczynski is indicative of the type of response Rigterink offered with regard to why he did not render aid or call 911:


Raczynski: So after you left and you realize what you had done[,] did you think to maybe call somebody to make sure that [Jarvis and Sousa] were okay or what were you thinking?


Rigterink: No thought process at all. . . . Everything was all . . . black. After the fact it was a blur. I don't remember individual actions I took or places I went or people I talked to.


Rigterink claimed that by "[t]hat Friday[, September 26, 2003,] I knew that I'd done it. . . . I don't remember the event but I knew what had happened." Rigterink stated that he did not discuss the killings with anyone or tell anyone what he had done.


After this information was obtained, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Detective Connolly called an assistant state attorney to ensure that he had probable cause to







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arrest Rigterink. Once he had the attorney's approval, Detective Connolly arrested Rigterink and placed him in PCSO custody. Rigterink's parents were still waiting in the lobby at this time, and PCSO personnel then told them that they should return home without their son. Rigterink was 32 years old when he provided his confession and, until his arrest, he was not placed in handcuffs or otherwise restrained.


iv. The Relevant Trial Testimony--Rigterink's Fifth Story


During the defense case-in-chief, Rigterink took the stand and testified in what amounted to over nine hours of combined direct, cross, and redirect examination. Through his testimony, he offered a fifth version of the facts with regard to his activities and whereabouts on Wednesday, September 24, 2003. In the process, he contradicted almost everything that he had previously told the police and, instead, claimed that he intentionally misled the PCSO investigators because Marshall Mark Mullins had threatened to kill him, his parents, and his former girlfriend if he mentioned that Mullins or an unnamed group of "others"15 were involved in the murders of Jarvis and Sousa.


During his testimony at trial, Rigterink again admitted that he was at the crime scene, but claimed that he arrived after an apparent attack, explored unit 5,







15. Rigterink testified that Mullins used the pronoun "we" when issuing the death threats. To Rigterink, this indicated that Mullins might have issued these threats on behalf of a larger group of individuals.
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