Emerson Broyles

Case details

Appellant: Emerson Raymond Broyles Respondent: Her Majesty The Queen File No.: 21316

Timeline

• June 19, 1991 — Appeal-related dates referenced in the case file.
• November 28, 1991 — Appeal-related dates referenced in the case file.
• January or February 1984 — Broyles lived with his mother until she threw him out of the house.
• June 26, 1984 — Briggs did not show up for work; repeated phone calls went unanswered.
• July 3, 1984 — Briggs’ body was found under the stairwell in her home; Broyles was charged with two counts of forgery; Broyles was interviewed by Detective Anderson starting at 8:30 p.m.
• July 4, 1984 — Broyles was charged with murder.
• July 6, 1984 — Broyles was charged with murder.
• By 1998 — Sentence of 20 years in prison for second-degree murder.

Background

Emerson Raymond Broyles was sixteen years old at the time of the alleged murder of his grandmother. He had been living with his mother until she threw him out of the house in January or February of 1984. Broyles then lived with a number of people, including his grandmother, Lorraine Briggs.

Briggs had a one-bedroom basement suite in a house owned by an elderly man. Briggs slept in a camperized van which she parked in the back of the house and which she drove to work. When Broyles stayed with her, he slept in an upstairs bedroom.

Briggs worked as a cook at the Edmonton Journal Cafeteria. She started work at six in the morning and was never late.

The offence

On June 26, 1984, Briggs did not show up for work and repeated phone calls to her home by her supervisor went unanswered.

On July 3, Briggs’ body was found under the stairwell in her home, wrapped in green plastic garbage bags. The body had begun to decompose.

The cause of death was asphyxia resulting from strangulation. Two coils of thick rope were still wrapped tightly around her neck when she was found.

The body was dressed in a long sleeved sweater, a camisole and a nightie with a bra loosely arranged on the body but not in place. The nightie had been pulled up and the thighs and genital area exposed. It was impossible to say if Briggs had been sexually molested.

A palm print was found on one of the garbage bags and was positively identified as being that of the accused Broyles. In the expert opinion of an R.C.M.P. laser expert, the print was "most likely placed on the bag at a time when there was an item in the bag".

Broyles was alleged to have strangled his grandmother for "nagging" him.

Broyles was seen driving his grandmother’s van at seven or seven thirty on the morning of her disappearance, and drove the van until his arrest on July 3.

Broyles made numerous inconsistent statements about the events surrounding his grandmother’s disappearance.

Investigation

The only evidence implicating Broyles in the murder was circumstantial.

The appeal record described that, at issue, authorities obtained evidence of Broyles’ conversation with an informer in a manner that violated Broyles’ right to silence, including his right to choose whether or not to speak to the authorities.

Police arranged for a friend, Todd Ritter, to visit Broyles while Broyles was in custody. The police provided Ritter with a body pack recording device. A tape recording of the conversation was admitted into evidence. The conversation established that Broyles knew of the time of the victim's death. During the conversation, Ritter encouraged Broyles to ignore his lawyer's advice that he remain silent and elicited information.

Broyles did not admit to killing his grandmother to Ritter, but did admit that he knew she was dead the day she went missing. Broyles added: "[b]ut the cops don't know that I knew she was downstairs. Only my [lawyer] knows that. And now you do".

Arrest and custody

Broyles was advised of his right to counsel when he was first arrested for fraud on July 3. At the station, Broyles asked to call a lawyer. He was given a telephone and a telephone book and left alone to make a telephone call. Broyles was seen to punch numbers into the phone, but he did not appear to be talking.

Broyles was then questioned by Detective Anderson. Detective Anderson identified himself as being from the Homicide Branch of the Edmonton City Police. Anderson told Broyles that he was not obliged to say anything unless he wished to do so, but that anything he said might be given in evidence. Anderson did not tell Broyles that he was a suspect in the disappearance of the deceased Briggs.

The interview lasted from 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on July 3. The interview ended when Anderson was called out of the room to be informed that Briggs’ body had been discovered. Anderson began a second interview of Broyles at 11 p.m. on the same day.

Anderson testified that, at the beginning of the second interview, Broyles was not a suspect in a homicide. Anderson added that at that time the police were not even sure that what they had was a homicide. Anderson ended the interview at 11:30 p.m. because he thought he would get nothing new from Broyles.

Anderson then processed the paperwork for the forgery charges, but Broyles was not released because the "investigation of the `suspicious death' was not concluded so they kept him in the holding area in case they wanted to talk to him again ...."

Detective Stewart saw the body of the deceased at 10:25 p.m. and testified that he suspected an unnatural death because of the way the body was found wrapped in plastic bags and entwined in ropes. Stewart returned to headquarters, where it was decided that he would interview Broyles.

Stewart questioned Broyles beginning at two in the morning on the same night. Broyles was again given the caution about not being required to say anything. The interview was tape-recorded. There was some question whether Broyles had asked for a lawyer during this interview, but the trial judge ruled that the relevant part of the tape was inaudible. Stewart testified that neither before nor after the interview was he prepared to charge Broyles with murder.

Broyles was questioned again shortly before three in the morning of the same night by Detective Peters. He was given the caution once again. Peters had viewed the body between 10:30 p.m. and 1:10 a.m. that same night. He suspected foul play and suspected Broyles, but did not have the basis to charge him.

The interview ended at 3:39 a.m. on July 4.

Trial

Broyles was convicted at trial before a judge and jury of second degree murder.

At sentencing, the trial judge gave Broyles the minimum sentence of life in prison without eligibility for parole for ten years.

The disposition reflected that Broyles was confined as a juvenile and received a sentence of 20 years for second-degree murder, and he was sentenced in 1998.

Appeals

Broyles appealed to the Court of Appeal. His appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed.

The appeal record described that the evidence against Broyles was circumstantial. It also described the issue of whether the authorities obtained evidence of Broyles’ conversation with the informer in a manner that violated Broyles’ right to silence, including his right to choose whether or not to speak to the authorities.

Outcome

Broyles was convicted of second-degree murder and his appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed.

Other details

Alleged victim: Lorraine Briggs (Broyles’ grandmother) Charges mentioned: two counts of forgery; murder Sentencing information present in the record: confinement as juvenile, 1984; minimum life in prison without eligibility for parole for ten years; 20 years for second-degree murder in 1998 Gender, race, type, motive, and MO entries present in the record: SEX: M; RACE: W; MOTIVE: PC-domestic; MO: Strangled grandmother and girlfriend for "nagging" him Custody-related testimony: Stewart suspected unnatural death due to how the body was wrapped in plastic bags and entwined in ropes; Peters suspected foul play and suspected Broyles but did not have the basis to charge him at that time Physical evidence location and description: body found under the stairwell; wrapped in green plastic garbage bags; two coils of thick rope wrapped tightly around the neck when found Sexual-molestation element described: nightie pulled up with thighs and genital area exposed; it was impossible to say if Briggs had been sexually molested