Pruitt v. State

The trial court properly admitted testimony from the defendant's ex-wife that the defendant molested her daughter to explain her motive for reporting that her ex-husband had murdered his neighbor nine years after he confessed the crime to her.

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A jury convicted Tony Lamar Pruitt of malice murder in connection with the 1978 shooting death of 13-year-old Lisa Garrish.1 In 1995, the investigation into Garrish’s death was reopened when Pruitt’s former wife informed police that nine years earlier Pruitt told her that he killed Garrish. The primary issue on appeal is whether the trial court correctly permitted Pruitt’s ex-wife to testify that she came forward in 1995 because Pruitt had been molesting her daughter. Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion in permitting relevant testimony about the witness’s reason for her belated reporting of Pruitt’s admission, we affirm.

1. In 1978, 14-year-old Tony Pruitt lived with his parents next door to Lisa, her father, and her 16-year-old brother Michael in Habersham County. The school bus dropped Tony and Lisa off on their road at 3:30 on the afternoon she died, and Lisa spoke with her brother before he left to pick up a friend on his way to work. Just before 4 p.m., when Michael was clocking in at his job, a neighbor who lived across the street from the Garrish house heard what he thought was a scream. Lisa’s father arrived home at 4:30 and discovered Lisa lying on his bedroom floor. She had been shot four times with a .38 caliber revolver, and her chin and hand were cut. Police found blood stains going from the den to the kitchen and then through the living room to the back bedroom. Around 5:30 p.m., canine handlers used two track dogs to pick up a trail 125 to 150 yards behind the Garrish residence, following the track to the creek and eventually to the back of the Pruitt residence. The track was less than four hours old. Later that evening, Mr. Garrish discovered that his .38 caliber Charter Arms pistol was missing from his bedroom closet. It was never found.

Pruitt v. State

The trial court properly admitted testimony from the defendant's ex-wife that the defendant molested her daughter to explain her motive for reporting that her ex-husband had murdered his neighbor nine years after he confessed the crime to her.

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