Appeals Court unanimously affirms Biggs' murder conviction

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A prosecutor's brandishing of a hatchet during his closing argument didn't unfairly prejudice the jury that subsequently convicted a former Scott County man of murder, a state appeals court has ruled.

A Pulaski County jury found Gary W. Biggs guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the July 26, 2000, slaying of Willie Mae Vasquez of Scott City.

On appeal, Biggs claimed the judge's failure to sustain a defense objection to the prosecutor's actions with the murder weapon merited a new trial.

In a unanimous ruling made public Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District disagreed.

"As for the alleged brandishing of the hatchet in front of the jury, under the circumstances of this case, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it allowed such action," Judge James K. Prewitt wrote for the court. "This is consistent with other cases in which the actual murder weapon was waved in front of the jury and no abuse of discretion was found."

Cousin's testimony

Biggs further argued the trial judge erred in allowing certain testimony from Scott Biggs, his cousin and a fellow participant in the murder. Scott Biggs spoke of a conversation he had with a preacher that precipitated his confession to police.

While acknowledging that state law would have barred the preacher, in his role as Scott Biggs' spiritual adviser, from testifying about the conversation, the southern district court said Scott Biggs was not precluded from doing so.

According the facts as set forth in the ruling, the Biggses were drinking beer and fishing in the Mississippi River on July 26, 2000, when Gary Biggs asked his cousin if he could ever kill somebody. After initially saying he couldn't, Scott Biggs said he could kill Vasquez, with whom he was having an affair about which he was worried his girlfriend would find out.

After obtaining a hatchet and a shovel, they dug a grave in an area near the river. While Gary Biggs waited, Scott Biggs brought Vasquez to the site on the pretense that they were going fishing. The two men then killed Vasquez with the hatchet and buried the body.

Vasquez went missing until Aug. 9, 2000, when Scott Biggs led authorities to the body after questioning.

Scott Biggs was allowed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against his cousin, whose trial was moved from Scott County on a venue change. He is serving a life sentence in a prison in another state. Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Tim Kniest said Scott Biggs, who will be eligible for parole in 2026, was transferred out of state for undisclosed reasons of "safety and security."

Gary Biggs is serving consecutive sentences of life without possibility of parole for the murder charge plus 50 years for armed criminal action at the Potosi Correctional Center.

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