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Thursday, May 28, 1998

Court reverses bail order for accused killer

By JUAN B. ELIZONDO Jr. / Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN (AP) -- The Court of Criminal Appeals has reversed a lower court's order that a Houston man awaiting trial for the murder of his wife be released on bail.

Robert Angleton is accused of conspiring with his brother, Roger Angleton, to kill Robert Angleton's wife, Doris McGowan Angleton, in April 1997.

The state's highest court for criminal cases on Wednesday said an audio tape that Houston police say captures the brothers planning the murder is enough to keep Robert Angleton in jail while he awaits trial for capital murder.

Harris County District Attorney John B. Holmes Jr. has said he will seek the death penalty.

The 14th Court of Appeals had ruled the recording was not enough evidence to hold Angleton, a well-known bookmaker who had been an informant for Houston police.

Angleton had not been released from the Harris County Jail before the Court of Criminal Appeal's ruling Wednesday.

Both brothers faced capital murder charges. But Roger Angleton was found dead in his jail cell in February.

In a suicide note, Angleton claimed full responsibility for the murder of Mrs. Angleton. In the note, Roger Angleton said he killed his sister-in-law in an attempt to blackmail his brother.

Holmes has said the note is not enough to clear Robert Angleton.

The district attorney on Wednesday said it's important to keep Angleton in jail because of the risk that he might flee the state.

"It's consistent with the law saying you have a higher risk of running when the sovereign is seeking the death penalty," Holmes said.

Calls to Angleton's attorneys were not immediately returned to The Associated Press Wednesday.

The tape, police said, was taken from Roger Angleton when he was arrested.

"While the recording is difficult to understand and even unintelligible in some places, nevertheless the recording contains periods of cohesive, coherent conversation," the court said in a 5-4 decision. "(Robert Angleton) and Roger discussed using a gun to kill (Robert Angleton's) wife."

Mrs. Angleton was shot to death when she returned to her home in River Oaks, a posh Houston suburb. She had been at a softball game with her husband and two daughters.

The 14th Court of Appeals had said the tape was not enough to hold Angleton because police did not offer enough evidence that it was a recording of the brothers.

A police sergeant testified that the tape was a recording of the brothers. He said he recognized the voices because he had had several conversations with both men.

The Court of Criminal Appeals said the 14th Court used the wrong standard for deciding whether police had properly authenticated the tape.

"Federal courts addressing the issue have consistently held that the government does not have to prove when, how and by whom tape recordings were made when those recordings were recovered from the defendant or an alleged co-defendant, were not created as a result of government involvement, were not tampered with and the defendant is identified as a speaker on the tape," the higher court ruled.