Asheville court records: Man convicted of rape, assault files appeal of trial verdict
ASHEVILLE — A former Asheville man found guilty of first-degree rape by a jury earlier this month in Buncombe County Superior Court has filed an appeal of his conviction.
Attorneys for William Todd Murell, 58, entered a notice of appeal Nov. 17, four days after Murell was found guilty of first-degree forcible rape and felony assault inflicting serious bodily injury and sentenced to a combined 254-374 months, or at least 21 years in prison. The notice was filed Nov. 21.
Murell's release from Central Prison in Raleigh was denied, according to the appellate entry, signed by Judge David H. Strickland on Nov. 17. Murell was transferred to the prison on Nov. 14, according to the N.C. Department of Adult Corrections.
"It is completely unsurprising to me that a defendant who has been convicted by a jury of first-degree forcible rape ... would file a notice of appeal," District Attorney Todd Williams told the Citizen Times Nov. 22. "The Attorney General's Office will represent the State of North Carolina in the appellate portion of the state's case against Mr. Murell."
One of Murell's defense attorneys, Stephen Lindsay, told the Citizen Times that an appellate lawyer is being decided for Murell, who will then review the case file and trial transcript to decide what issues to raise on appeal.
“We have appeals court for a reason, and that is because sometimes during trials, mistakes happen, or decisions are made about evidence or rulings that the court makes that need to be reviewed by a higher court to determine whether they were correct," Lindsay said, adding that an appeal happens in most trials.
"Our job as the trial lawyers is to preserve those issues, to object at the right time, to file motions, to try to keep things out or to handle things in a certain way," Lindsay added.
During the trial, the defense asked to strike the testimony of two witnesses and asked twice for a mistrial to be ruled, once on Oct. 9 and again on Oct. 11. Each of these requests were denied, according to court records obtained by the Citizen Times Nov. 21.
Trial verdict: Asheville man found guilty in 'unusual' rape trial, sentenced to prison
An 'unusual' trial
This trial unfolded unlike most, with the jury taking a three-week hiatus from the case after evidence was presented due to the presiding judge going on vacation and a week-long judicial conference.
After the trial began Sept. 28, the court took its break starting Oct. 13 and reconvened for closing arguments and deliberation Nov. 6. Williams previously told the Citizen Times it’s “pretty unusual” for a trial to be heard in this manner.
The day before the trial went on its break, bodycam footage was played before the jury in which the word “victims” was used, according to court records. This reference went against Strickland’s pre-trial order not to refer to an alleged second victim, though court records suggest there’s another victim for which Murell is charged with kidnapping and first-degree sex offense.
The video was stopped, and the jury was taken out of the courtroom, but the judge decided the trial should still move forward. Lindsay said this could be something that comes up in the appellate case.
“I would think that would be something that would be a topic or an issue on appeal,” Lindsay told the Citizen Times.
The judge decided not to combine these cases because "the court cannot find that these two incidents constituted 'a series of acts or transactions connected together or constituting parts of a single scheme or plan,'" Strickland said in an email to the attorneys on the case.
During the trial, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner who did the testing and interviews on the victim when she was admitted to Pardee Hospital was not available to take the witness stand, according to Lindsay. Instead, a different nurse with experience administering SANE rape kits took the stand and explained what the victim’s medical records said, according to court proceedings. Because it wasn’t the same nurse that administered the test, Lindsay said he’d consider this hearsay.
“You can’t just bring in a substitute witness, this is obviously going to be something that I would think would be on appeal,” Lindsay said.
The jury took nearly a week to deliberate, asking to see numerous exhibits, or pieces of evidence in the trial, including police bodycam footage, 911 Computer Aided Dispatch reports, images of the victim’s injuries, and a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner report.
“I would thank the jurors of their conscientious review of the evidence and consideration of all the facts and circumstances presented by the state,” Williams previously told the Citizen Times. “After that break, it seemed like they wanted to see a lot of the evidence.”
Although the jury mostly sided against his client, finding Murell guilty of rape and felony assault but exonerating him of kidnapping, Lindsay also reflected that the jury worked hard and did what they were supposed to.
“My sense was that the jury worked really, really hard," Lindsay said. "It’s unfortunate that they decided part of this case against us, and that’s me talking as an advocate. But from a perspective of, did they follow the court’s instructions and do their very best? The answer would be yeah, I think they did.”
Murell spoke at his sentencing, saying he was "shocked but accepted the court's decision," Williams said in a news release.
Previous trial coverage: Jury struggles on verdict in lengthy trial of 2020 Asheville rape, kidnap case
Background on the case
The 58-year-old was arrested on Feb. 19, 2020, then again on March 10, 2020, and charged with first-degree forcible rape, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sex offense and assault inflicting serious bodily injury, according to a previous Asheville Police Department news release.
Murell and the victim in the trial met in a week-long alcoholism detox center in Asheville in December 2019, Murell told the Citizen Times, and the victim, 47, testified in court. After rehab, they started going to meetings together, according to court proceedings.
In January of 2020, the 47-year-old went to Murell’s house near Beaver Lake in North Asheville multiple times, but at the beginning of February of that year, she went to Murell’s house and claims she was not allowed to leave, according to court proceedings.
APD had responded to the home for several welfare checks over the 10 days prior to the victim's admission to the hospital, where it was discovered that she was suffering brain hemorrhaging, or brain bleeding, and a midline shift of her temporal lobe. Her provider at the hospital testified in court Oct. 5 that this condition could be fatal. Toxicology also showed the presence of barbiturates and benzodiazepines, according to court proceedings.
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When the woman accused Murell of raping her during those 10 days, Murell allegedly pulled her off the couch by her ankle, causing her to hit her head on a coffee table, prosecuting attorney Katie Kurdys said during court proceedings Nov. 6. Murell confessed to the wife of the victim’s ex-husband that he had done this, saying he “lost it on her,” according to court documents.
Kurdys stated in court that Murell stomped on the left side of the victim’s head, causing bruising on her forearms when she went to shield herself from him. Additionally, the woman claims that Murell dragged her down concrete steps, dragged her across carpet to an area of his house he called the “punishment corner,” held a knife to her throat, burned her back with cigarettes, and made her sit naked in a mud puddle in his backyard while he smoked a cigarette, Kurdys said.
Lindsay said during closing statements that they are working with circumstantial evidence and asked the jury to consider the different conclusions that can be pulled from the evidence.
Need help?
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and needs help or resources, contact:
Our Voice: (For ages 13 and older) 828-255-7576, www.ourvoicenc.org.
Mountain Child Advocacy Center: (For ages 17 and younger), 828-213-9824, https://mtncac.org.
RAINN: (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) 800-656-4673, www.rainn.org.
Family Justice Center: 35 Woodfin St., Asheville. 828-250-6900, buncombecounty.org.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville man appealing rape, felony assault conviction after trial
