Clifton Eugene Belyeu

Overview

Clifton Eugene Belyeu was arrested, convicted, and put to death by lethal injection for the murder of Melodie Lundgren Bolton. He was executed in Texas on May 16, 1997.

Timeline

• December 10, 1985 — Clifton E. Belyeu and Ernest Moore killed Melodie Lundgren Bolton at her home near the town of West, Texas.
• November 25, 1985 — A sawed-off shotgun was stolen from Michael Wise’s home.
• 1979 — Belyeu was convicted of robbery.
• Aug. 8, 1986 — After a seven-week trial, a jury convicted Belyeu.
• Oct. 11, 1995 — The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal of Belyeu’s federal habeas petition (67 F.3d 535).
• Nov. 14, 1995 — The Fifth Circuit denied Belyeu’s petition for rehearing and suggestion for rehearing en banc.
• Nov. 21, 1995 — The Fifth Circuit mandate issued.
• March 19, 1996 — A state district judge set an execution date.
• April 22, 1996 — The Fifth Circuit issued an order in a state-appeal concerning execution date issues (82 F.3d 613).
• May 16, 1997 — Belyeu was executed by lethal injection in Texas.

The offence

Belyeu and Ernest Ray Moore were on a burglary spree in McLennan County and saw Bolton’s home. They knocked on doors, checked whether people were home, and left if they were. When Bolton answered, they left, but they returned because they noticed she was well off and had big jewelry, and they knew they could take her.

Bolton was home alone when the two men approached her in her garage as she attempted to leave. Bolton was part owner and secretary-treasurer of Jerrel Bolton Chevrolet Inc., a local dealership owned by her husband, Jerrel Bolton. Bolton was married and had two children.

After the murder, Belyeu and Moore stole a Cadillac in the next county and left the red truck they were driving, registered in Belyeu’s name.

Victim and immediate scene

Mr. Bolton came home around 12:00 p.m. on December 10, 1985 and noticed some cabinets open in the garage and the phone off the hook. He went to the master bedroom and found his wife’s body lying on the bed. Her hands were tied behind her back, her feet were hanging off the bed, and she appeared fatally injured. The body was described as having a bloody disfiguration.

Witnesses testified about what they saw earlier that morning:

• At about 10:20 or 10:30 a.m., Mary Frances Kolar saw a small red and white pickup with a camper shell come down her driveway, stop, and back out. She noticed two persons were in the truck but could not identify them.
• Laura Fry and Molly Brenner testified that the red and white pickup with a camper shell was in front of the Bolton residence from at least 10:30 a.m. to at least 10:40 a.m. It was parked behind Mrs. Bolton’s car.
• After being called at work by a friend of Mrs. Bolton’s, Mr.

Witnesses described the clothing:

• Belyeu was described as wearing jeans and a western shirt.
• Moore was described as wearing jeans and a white t-shirt.
• One man was wearing boots and the other high-top tennis shoes, but witnesses could not remember which man wore which.

A witness, Cindy Snockhouse, thought the home looked peculiar because the garage was left open with the car in it. She went over to Bolton’s home and rang the doorbell. When she did not answer, she called Bolton’s husband at the dealership.

Injuries and method

The state concluded that Belyeu’s clothing bore stains consistent with the blood pattern throughout the master bedroom. The autopsy revealed that Bolton died of a shotgun blast to the head and multiple stab wounds to her back.

The account included a quote from McLennan County Sheriff Deputy Ronnie Turnbough:

“My theory is that she was stabbed nine times,” said Turnbough, “It was like a scene from a horror story.” “Mrs. Bolton was on her bed, and all you can see were holes where her eyes and mouth were, and there was brain matter and blood all over the walls, floors, and ceiling,” said Turnbough.

Investigation

Witnesses and police work tied Belyeu and Moore to the scene. After the murder, Belyeu and Moore drove away in a Cadillac. Belyeu was linked to the murder and arrested at his home in Cleburne, Texas.

When the sheriff’s department arrested Belyeu and Moore, the truck and trailer were searched:

• A knife with a large amount of blood on the blade was found.
• A jeans jacket and a vest with five shotgun shells in the pocket were found.

On the following day, the sheriff’s department searched the area in which tire tracks had been found and discovered:

• some gun bags,
• a pine jewelry box,
• and a sawed-off shotgun.

Blood splatters and brain fragments were on the gun. A brass key to the Ford Courier was also found in the pine jewelry box. Three other guns were found in the area, and additional shotgun shells were found in the jewelry box.

Forensic connections

Expert testimony and forensic analysis connected multiple items:

• Shotgun pellets that killed Bolton were the same type found in the sawed-off shotgun.
• The shotgun barrel and stock found in Belyeu’s home were consistent with those that would have originally been found on the sawed-off shotgun.
• The buck knife found in the Ford Courier was consistent with the stab wounds on the deceased.
• Footprints found in the home were consistent with the tennis shoes found in Belyeu’s home.

Mr. Bolton identified the three additional guns and the buck knife as belonging to him, and the jewelry box as belonging to the deceased.

Arrest

Belyeu was arrested at his home in Cleburne, Texas after being linked to the murder.

Trial

After a seven-week trial, the jury deliberated for 45 minutes and convicted Belyeu on Aug. 8, 1986.

In the federal appellate proceedings, Belyeu appealed the dismissal of his federal habeas petition. The Fifth Circuit described the Texas jury verdict as convicting Belyeu of robbing and killing Melody Bolton at her home near West, Texas on December 10, 1985. The Fifth Circuit affirmed.

A quotation preserved in the record came from the prosecution’s closing argument, quoted in the appellate decision:

“the blue jeans, I held them up for you the other day, side by side, blood on both of them--Partners in crime. Was his conduct deliberate? Yes, it was. Yes, it was. Whether Ernest Moore pulled the trigger, whether Clifton Belyeu pulled the trigger makes no difference. The conduct was deliberate.”

Sentencing

Belyeu was sentenced to death by lethal injection.

A federal appellate discussion described Strickland and examined ineffective assistance claims. It also summarized the evidence presented at the sentencing phase.

Evidence of violence at sentencing

The state relied upon a history of violence. Evidence presented at the sentencing phase included that Belyeu had been convicted in 1979 of robbery and had burglarized a residence and stolen property on at least two additional occasions.

Two state witnesses described Belyeu’s abuse of his wife, Donna:

• They testified that Belyeu frequently beat Donna, leaving her with black eyes and other injuries so severe that on one occasion she could barely walk.
• They testified that he administered similar abuse to Shirley Kay Carver, his girlfriend, including beating and kicking her.
• The witnesses testified that he attempted to strangle her while she was asleep in bed.
• When Carver attempted to escape, he ripped off all her clothes, dragged her outside, and while holding her by the hair with his knee in her back, made her “eat the dirt.”
• She was described as having her face “busted up” and bleeding.
• Carver testified that she managed to climb a tree where, still naked, she remained until Belyeu fell asleep.

Carver testified about abuse involving her two-year-old daughter:

• Carver testified that he slapped her while she was holding the child.
• When the baby began screaming, he hung the baby by the hair from the second floor of a two-story house.
• When Carver grabbed for her, Belyeu released the child but Carver managed to catch her “by the hands of God.”

Carver also testified about killing a parakeet:

• Carver testified that while driving in Texas, she and Belyeu had a pet parakeet in a cage in their truck.
• When she asked Belyeu not to drive so fast, he seized the bird, ripped its head from its body, threw the bird’s body from the truck, and made Carver finish the trip with the bird’s head in her lap.
• She explained that she was afraid to leave Belyeu because he threatened to kill her and her family if she did.

Two of Belyeu’s sisters testified about his upbringing:

• They testified that Belyeu was one of eight children raised by their mother with welfare money and that their father went to prison for raping one of his sisters.
• They testified that Belyeu mowed yards, washed dishes, and waited tables at the restaurant where their mother worked.
• They testified that he was willing to work and was a good drywaller.
• They denied having seen Belyeu hit anyone and testified he had a good relationship with his siblings.

Appeals

United States Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on March 18, 1991 (499 U.S. 931).

Federal habeas corpus and Fifth Circuit

Belyeu filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254. The district court dismissed the petition in its entirety after an evidentiary hearing.

In its analysis, the Fifth Circuit (67 F.3d 535) discussed ineffective assistance of counsel claims involving blood spatter evidence and expert testimony, and also discussed sentencing-phase prejudice and a requested jury instruction about the “law of parties.”

The Fifth Circuit affirmed and concluded that it was not persuaded by Belyeu’s contentions, stating:

AFFIRMED.

Execution-date litigation in the Fifth Circuit

In a separate Fifth Circuit decision (82 F.3d 613), the state appealed an order entered by the United States District Court vacating an order of execution entered by the state court.

The appellate decision stated that the district court’s order vacating the April 22, 1996 execution date was vacated, and the district court’s order was vacated:

We vacate the order of the district court.

It then stated:

VACATED.

Issues addressed in the execution-date appeal

The Fifth Circuit described:

• The district court order granting a stay of execution for December 17, 1992 until further order.
• A history of habeas affirmance (Belyeu v. Scott, 67 F.3d 535 (5th Cir. 1995)).
• Denial of rehearing on November 14, 1995 and issuance of the mandate on November 21, 1995.
• That Belyeu did not request any stay from the court pending filing of his petition for certiorari.
• That the Supreme Court denied certiorari on April 15, 1996.
• That the state district judge set the present execution date on March 19, 1996 for April 22, 1996.
• That Belyeu moved the state court on March 22, 1996 to withdraw the execution date, contending the stay remained in effect and that his petition for certiorari had not been acted upon in time.

The Fifth Circuit addressed and rejected the district court’s reasons:

• It expressed doubt about a prisoner’s constitutional right to be present when a state trial judge sets the date for execution.
• It reasoned that any federal district court stay order had ended at least when the Fifth Circuit mandate issued on November 21, 1995.
• It discussed that the Supreme Court issued no stay because Belyeu requested no stay and because no execution date threatened its review.

Last statement and execution

Belyeu’s last meal request was a cheeseburger, French fries, Coke, and a pack of cigarettes; the appellate record indicated these items were prohibited by policy.

Belyeu’s execution date was set for May 16, 1997.

In his last statement at execution, Belyeu said:

“First of all I want to thank the LORD, my family and my wife Nora for all the support and encouragement they’ve shown me through all this. I love you!! Now I want to thank all of you that came here today to be with me. I know most of you are here to see me suffer and die but you’re in for a big disappointment because today is a day of joy. Today is the day I’ll be set free from all this pain and suffering. Today I’m going home to HEAVEN to live for all eternity with my HEAVENLY FATHER JESUS CHRIST, and as I lay here taking my last breath, I’ll be praying for all of you because you’re here today with anger and hatred in your hearts letting Satan deceive you into believing that what you’re doing is right and just. GOD help you, because what you’re doing here today and what’s in your hearts here today makes you no better than any man or woman on death-rows across this country. Today you’re committing murder too!!! I pray on my own behalf for forgiveness for any and all of the pain I’ve caused you, I pray that some day you’ll realize your own mistakes and ask GOD to forgive you as I have, because there is no peace without GOD’s forgiveness…………………………. Amen.”

An additional quote in the record came from Assistant District Attorney David Deaconson:

“Belyeu was a quiet, very different person,” said Assistant District Attorney David Deaconson, “He didn’t say much during the whole process, and after interviewing and going over evidence you could tell he was a different person.”

Other details

Accomplice

Ernest Ray Moore was Belyeu’s accomplice. Moore pled guilty to murder and was assessed a life sentence.

Listed court citations and parties

The appellate record included:

• 67 F.3d 535 — Clifton Eugene Belyeu, Petitioner-appellant, v. Wayne Scott, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division, Respondent-appellee. United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. Oct. 11, 1995.
• The panel included Circuit Judges HIGGINBOTHAM, SMITH and DeMOSS.
• The record included 82 F.3d 613 — Clifton Eugene Belyeu, Petitioner-appellant, v. Gary Johnson, Director, Texas Department of Criminaljustice, Institutional Division, Respondent-appellee. April 22, 1996.
• The panel included Circuit Judges HIGGINBOTHAM, JONES and DeMOSS.
• The opinion in the execution-date dispute stated: “AFFIRMED” in one part, and also stated “VACATED” in the disposition described for vacating the district court’s order; the execution-date dispute concluded with vacating the district court’s order vacating the state execution-date matter.