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STATE OF MINNESOTA IN SUPREME COURT A09-1480 Ramsey County Dietzen, J. Concurring, Anderson, Paul H. and Page, JJ. Took no part, Stras, J.

State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Michael Carrasco Sontoya, Appellant. ________________________ Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, Minnesota; and Susan Gaertner, Ramsey County Attorney, Mitchell L. Rothman, Assistant County Attorney, St. Paul, Minnesota, for respondent. David W. Merchant, Chief Appellate Public Defender, G. Tony Atwal, Assistant State Public Defender, St. Paul, Minnesota, for appellant. ________________________ SYLLABUS 1. The medical examiners unobjected-to testimony that the victim was Filed: September 16, 2010 Office of Appellate Courts

sexually assaulted did not result in plain error that affected appellants substantial rights because there was no reasonable likelihood that the testimony had a significant effect on the jurys verdict. 2. Appellants pro se arguments lack merit.

Affirmed. 1

OPINION DIETZEN, Justice. Appellant Michael Carrasco Sontoya was found guilty by a Ramsey County jury of first-degree murder while committing first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and second-degree unintentional murder while committing first-degree assault, arising out of the death of G.R. on September 30, 2008. The district court entered judgment of

conviction for first-degree murder while committing first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and sentenced Sontoya to life in prison without the possibility of release. On direct appeal, Sontoya argues that the medical examiners expert testimony that G.R.s injuries were due to sexual assault constituted reversible error that deprived him of a fair trial. Sontoya also asserts various pro se arguments. Because we conclude that Sontoyas arguments lack merit, we affirm. At 6:48 a.m. on September 30, 2008, emergency personnel were dispatched to Sontoyas upper level duplex located in St. Paul in response to Sontoyas 911 call. Paramedics found G.R. fully dressed on the bedroom floor. She was not breathing; she had no detectable pulse; her body was cold and stiff; and her veins were flat. Sontoya told paramedics that G.R. was alive right before they arrived. Paramedics noticed blood on the floor and wall, as well as clotted blood in G.R.s airway. The blood on the wall appeared to have been partially wiped away. Splatters of blood led from the bedroom through the hallway to the bathroom. Sontoya explained that there was blood on the walls and carpet because G.R. was menstruating. The paramedics found very little blood on G.R.s clothing, but found dried blood in her umbilicus and fingernail beds. 2

Sontoya told emergency personnel that G.R. and he had been at a bar the previous evening, and then went to his duplex around 2:00 a.m., had sex, and went to sleep. When Sontoya awoke, G.R. was unresponsive; Sontoya called his brother, a police officer, who told him how to perform CPR, and told him to call 911. Sontoya agreed to go to the St. Paul Police Department for further questioning. He was pat-searched, and his cell phone was seized and deposited as evidence in the property room. After waiving his Miranda rights, Sontoya was interviewed about 9:30 that morning and 2:30 that afternoon. He stated that during their sexual activity, he put two fingers inside G.R.s vagina, and at her request he inserted his fist into her vagina. After their sexual activity, G.R. dressed herself and they went to bed. The medical examiner disputed Sontoyas version of events by testifying that had G.R. dressed herself, the blood pooled in her abdomen would have bled out onto her clothing. When Sontoya awoke shortly after 6:30 a.m., G.R. was unresponsive. He gave her a couple of breaths, and then called his brother for help. Sontoya denied having "rough sex" with G.R. and stated that the sex had been "totally consensual." Later that morning, police executed a search warrant at Sontoyas duplex. Police discovered large amounts of blood on the bedroom floor, walls, and carpeting, and vomit on the carpet. The medical examiner opined that G.R. vomited when she lost

consciousness. Several bloody hand impressions were visible on the bedroom walls and were consistent with attempts to clean the wall with rags or paper towels. Sontoya admitted that he wiped some blood off the walls. Blood had soaked through the carpet, and there was blood on the top and bottom of the mattress and on the top of the box 3

spring. Two nearby plastic bags held items of womens clothing that were bloody, and a wastebasket in the bathroom contained bloody paper towels. The autopsy conducted that same day revealed a 14-inch laceration through the vaginal wall into the pelvic area and the abdominal cavity. G.R.s bowel was disrupted, her diaphragm was hemorrhaged, her spleen and liver were lacerated, and her anal area was torn. Her arms were spotted with bruises caused by pressure of fingerprints, and there were nearly two dozen fresh bruises on her legs, including large areas of hemorrhage on her right hip and left buttock. Her scalp had 14 separate bruises that were inflicted shortly before her death. G.R. was menstruating, but was not experiencing a heavy discharge. DNA from two or more persons was found on Sontoyas ring. The predominate DNA contributor was consistent with G.R.s profile. Blood on G.R., the box spring and mattress, the bedroom wall, the bedroom door, a baseboard in the hallway, a paper towel in the bathroom wastebasket, and a shirt in one of the plastic bags contained DNA from one source consistent with G.R.s profile. The vomit on the carpet also contained DNA consistent with G.R.s profile. Sontoya was indicted for first-degree murder while committing or attempting to commit criminal sexual conduct in the first or second degree with force or violence in violation of Minn. Stat.

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