Appeal denied for mother convicted of murder

PALMER -- The Alaska Court of Appeals released an opinion Friday affirming the conviction of a Wasilla woman who took out $100,000 life insurance policies on her teen-age sons before killing one and almost killing the other in a house fire she intentionally set after drugging them.

Suzette Welton, 41, had appealed her 2002 Palmer Superior Court convictions for first-degree murder in the death of her 14-year-old son, Samuel, attempted first-degree murder of her then-16-year-old son, Jeremiah, and first-degree arson because she claimed the trial judge, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Milton M. Souter, erred in denying her motion for a judgment of acquittal.

Welton's attorneys argued, in her trial and subsequent appeal, that there was no direct evidence connecting her to the blaze. They argued that Samuel's death in the fire was an unexplained tragedy and that the evidence presented against Welton was flimsy because of its circumstantial nature.

Alaska Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert Coats and Judges David Mannheimer and David Stewart ruled, however, that Souter's decision was correct.

"When evaluating motions for judgment of acquittal on the basis of insufficient evidence, 'the trial judge must view the evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the state, and must deny the motion if reasonable men could differ on the question of whether guilt had been established beyond a reasonable doubt . . .,'" the appeals court opinion stated. "Souter did not apply the incorrect standard of review to a motion for judgment of acquittal … he did not err in denying the motion on its merits."

Welton's appellate attorney, Joe Josephson of Anchorage, was on vacation and could not be reached for comment about the decision before press time. Palmer Public Defender George Davenport, one of the attorneys who represented her at her trial, declined comment on the appeals court decision.

John Scukanec, assistant attorney general for the Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals, called the circumstantial evidence against Welton "overwhelming," and maintained there was more than sufficient evidence to uphold the conviction.

"Unless you have an eyewitness, all evidence is circumstantial," Scukanec said. "In a case like this the circumstantial evidence is treated as direct evidence. So this was a pretty straightforward appeals case, all the correct standards were applied."

The fire that claimed Samuel's life started during the early morning hours of Sept. 15, 2000, at Welton's rented two-story duplex home on Mulchatna Drive in Wasilla, according to a narrative recounting background information and evidence presented at Welton's trial.

Welton, along with her 6-year-old daughter, Bree, who had been sleeping downstairs with her, survived the fire without any serious injuries.

Jeremiah and Samuel, however, were both sleeping upstairs in separate bedrooms. Jeremiah managed to wake up, break an upstairs window and jump out of the window to the ground. He suffered cuts on his feet and hands from the fall.

Samuel died in the fire, and his body was found huddled near his bedroom window. An autopsy revealed he died from smoke inhalation.

Investigators soon discovered that three months before the fire, Welton bought separate $100,000 whole-life insurance policies for Jeremiah and Samuel. Welton was the beneficiary for both policies.

The investigators also determined that Welton's Carrs Club card was used two days before the fire to buy a 2.5-gallon gas can and Sleepinol, a non-prescription sleeping aid containing diphenhydramine.

The day of the fire, Welton's Carrs Club card was used to buy Pepsi and fruit drinks. Jeremiah testified that his mother gave him and Samuel those drinks the night of the fire, and he remembered that the drinks "tasted funny."

According to Jeremiah, the drinks made him and his brother tired. Jeremiah testified that Samuel asked him that evening if he thought their mother had poisoned them.

Dr. Karla Walker, a toxicology expert, testified at Welton's trial that an autopsy performed on Samuel revealed he had a high level of diphenhydramine in his system. No other drugs or alcohol were found in Samuel's body.

"A person who had consumed the amount of diphenhydramine Samuel had consumed would be sleepy, disoriented and mentally impaired," according to the narrative in the appeals court opinion. "Jeremiah's shirt contained traces of diphenhydramine, which likely occurred from perspiring while wearing the shirt."

Investigators determined that the liquid residue inside the bottles that contained the Pepsi and other drinks was diphenhydramine.

Among the prosecution witnesses called to the stand during Welton's trial were firefighters and arson investigators who responded to the blaze, according to the appeals opinion's narrative. These witnesses testified the fire was intentionally set on the second floor.

The firefighters said they believed an accelerant was used because the fire would continue to reignite after they tried to put it out.

Firefighter Stephen Schreck testified he smelled an odor of "flammable or combustible fuel" throughout the residence, and in particular in the master bedroom on the second floor -- in the area where the fire appeared to have started. Fire Chief John Krill also testified that he noticed the strong odor of an accelerant, such as gasoline or diesel fuel, in the residence.

David Campbell, a former fire investigator who had worked for the North Carolina state police, testified that the fire was accelerated by a liquid being poured near the upstairs bedrooms. Deputy Fire Marshal Carol Olson and John Glenn, a fire investigator, testified similarly and explained the fire started in the upstairs level of the residence.

Olson eliminated electrical or mechanical problems as the cause of the fire -- she concluded that the fire was intentionally set with the use of an accelerant.

Oren Nicolet, who lived in the other half of the duplex Welton and her children occupied, testified that at around 4:20 a.m., he awoke when an explosion shook the entire house. Nicolet described a concussion explosion that made a "whoompf" sound similar to one "where you have a bunch of gas that has been sitting awhile and . . . the fumes are in the air."

Jeremiah testified that some of the crank handles were missing from the upstairs bedroom windows and that the crank handles had been in place and operable a month before the fire.

Firefighter Michael Keenan testified that he did not hear smoke detectors making any noise when he arrived. Jeremiah also testified that he did not hear the smoke detectors make any noise -- he woke up when he saw the fire. Olson and Glenn testified that smoke detectors in the house had either been removed or disabled and were inoperable.

At Welton's sentencing in October 2002, Judge Souter said he was "haunted by the specter, by the possibility, that I am sentencing an innocent woman," because of the circumstantial nature of the evidence against Welton.

Souter said the case was the most difficult of his 23-year career, and although he had reservations about the evidence against Welton he could not overrule the jurors, who had decided the evidence was sufficient.