THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 29, 1995 TAG: 9504290339
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
After hearing a lengthy and impassioned plea of innocence from the man they had convicted of capital murder and rape, jurors spared Samuel L. Moyler's life Friday, but recommended he spend it behind bars.
The jury convicted Moyler on Thursday. On Friday, he could have received the death penalty for raping, brutally beating and strangling 14-year-old Chernise N. ``Lady'' Simmons on Dec. 11, 1993.
The jury recommend that he receive two life terms, one for capital murder and one for rape. A judge will decide whether to impose that sentence.
In a rambling, 20-minute soliloquy on the final day of his trial, Moyler, a 35-year-old truck driver, insisted that he was innocent and that Chesapeake detectives framed him.
Ignoring his lawyers' advice to remain silent, Moyler confessed Friday to the jury that he had sex with the young girl hours before her murder because ``she wanted to have sex with me. She was infatuated with me.''
Moyler did not testify during the trial; he spoke to the jury only during sentencing.
``Once I found out she was 14 years old, I was afraid,'' Moyler said. ``She wanted it, not me. . . . I'll go (to jail) because I shouldn't have fell into this young girl's trap.''
His admission confirmed the DNA evidence presented at the trial. Scientists had testified that sperm found in the victim matched genetic material from Moyler's blood. That put him in a tiny percentage of the black population - one-thousandth of 1 percent - who could have raped her.
The case was based largely on DNA evidence because detectives could find no fingerprints, murder weapon or witnesses. Friends and relatives told police that Moyler was the last person to see the young girl alive.
The body of the teenage cheerleader and honors student from Indian River Middle School was found in a wooded, litter-strewn area in the 2300 block of Elbow Road.
Her body, nude except for socks, was found bloodied and battered beyond recognition.
Moyler said that Simmons liked his sports car and wanted to drive it the day of her death. He said they drove around, parked and had sex, then he returned her to her cousin's home.
``I couldn't have hurt no child,'' Moyler pleaded. ``I've got a 14-year-old daughter myself.''
``I stand convicted of a crime I did not commit,'' he said, scolding jury members for not closely viewing all the evidence. ``I just want y'all to know that I didn't do it. . . . They just didn't give y'all the truth.''
Several jurors appeared visibly shaken by Moyler's appeal. Some put their faces in their hands and their eyes teared.
Moyler, glaring at a row of police detectives sitting in the courtroom, accused them of lying and doing shoddy police work.
He also raised questions about several empty, small, clear plastic bags that police found in the victim's coat pocket. The bags are commonly used for drug sales.
An autopsy, however, revealed no drugs or alcohol in the girl's body.
``This guy won't accept any responsibility for anything,'' said Commonwealth's Attorney David Williams, who prosecuted the case. ``He's a desperate guy.''
``I think his admission that he had sex with the victim in this case validates the jury's finding,'' Williams said before the sentencing. ``He's guilty of the crimes of which he's accused.''
Moyler will be granted an automatic appeal under Virginia law. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Chernise N. ``Lady'' Simmons, 14, was a cheerleader and honors
student in Chesapeake.
KEYWORDS: CAPITAL MURDER SENTENCE TRIAL by CNB