Michael Mulder

Case record

Timeline

• July 8, 1996 — Michael J. Mulder robbed and killed 77-year-old John Ahart in his home.
• 1987 — Mulder was convicted of using violence during a bank robbery in Arizona.
• 1980 — Mulder was convicted of an armed robbery in Arizona.
• 18 June 2009 — The Nevada Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty for Mulder.

Background

Michael J. Mulder was convicted of the 1996 robbery and beating death of an elderly man in Las Vegas.

Mulder also appealed that his mental retardation was caused by a stroke and he was not competent to be executed. The Nevada Supreme Court rejected those claims. Mulder argued that his death penalty should be nullified because he suffered a stroke due to his use of methamphetamines while in prison, leaving him mentally retarded. The court said the District Judge Michelle Leavitt was correct in finding Mulder was competent to assist his attorney in filing these post conviction motions.

Mulder was 49 years old at the time described in the case summary. He was housed at the Ely State Prison.

The offence

On July 8, 1996, Michael J. Mulder robbed and killed 77-year-old John Ahart in his home in Las Vegas.

Ahart was found dead in a pool of blood with his hands and ankles bound with duct tape. Ahart had a crushed left cheekbone and several severe scalp lacerations, including a 15-inch hinge fracture from the front of the skull extending around the back of the base of the skull.

Mulder’s fingerprints were found on the duct tape used to bind the victim.

The case summary also stated that “Infiniti coupe, a new watch, a jewelry box and a gun were stolen.”

Investigation

John Ahart was found dead with his hands and ankles bound with duct tape.

Trial

The jury found four aggravating circumstances that warranted the death penalty.

The murder was committed during both a robbery and a burglary.

Sentencing

Michael J. Mulder was sentenced to death.

District Judge Michelle Leavitt ruled that the aggravating circumstances used to inflict the death penalty were invalid. Judge Leavitt found that two of the four aggravators—robbery and burglary—were invalid.

Appeals

Nevada Supreme Court decision (reinstatement)

On 18 June 2009, the Nevada Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty for Michael J. Mulder.

The Nevada Supreme Court unanimously overturned Judge Michelle Leavitt’s decision.

Chief Justice James Hardesty, who wrote the opinion, said:

“supports imposing the death penalty here.”

Mulder also appealed arguing the court must vacate the death sentence because of his mental retardation caused by a stroke and because he was not competent to be executed. The court rejected those claims.

The court stated:

“We conclude that the jury would have imposed a sentence of death absent the invalid aggravating factors because the facts of this crime are particularly heinous and involve the robbery and brutal murder of an elderly victim …”

The court also stated:

“harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Other details

The case summary stated that Mulder had been convicted of using violence during a bank robbery in Arizona in 1987 and had been convicted of an armed robbery in Arizona in 1980.

The summary described Duplication artefacts from the scrape, including “home last updates contact,” which was not treated as a factual element of the case.