Appellant Robert Peter Russell was convicted of the federal offense of first-degree murder for killing his wife, an officer in the United States Marine Corps. The evidence supporting Russell's conviction was all circumstantial. His wife's body has never been found, there were no witnesses to the crime, [**2] and the murder weapon has not been located. Russell's principal claim on appeal is that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction. In addition, Russell challenges various evidentiary rulings by the district court; two jury instructions; and the court's refusal to give two other instructions. He also alleges that the Government failed to disclose exculpatory evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 10 L. Ed. 2d 215, 83 S. Ct. 1194 (1963). We find no merit in any of these claims and therefore affirm. I. On March 4, 1989, Shirley Gibbs Russell, a captain in the United States Marine Corps, disappeared from her married officers' quarters on the Quantico, Virginia, military base. Her husband, appellant Robert Peter Russell, was subsequently charged with her murder. See 18 U.S.C. § 1111(b) (criminalizing murder "within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States"). The Government's case against Russell comprised only circumstantial evidence. Neither the victim's body nor a murder weapon was ever recovered, and there were no witnesses to the crime. The Government's theory was that Russell, a former Marine Corps officer who had recently [**3] been discharged for disciplinary reasons, shot his wife behind the ear with a .25 caliber pistol while the two were in a storage shed adjacent to their quarters, and then dumped her body into a [*1101] mine shaft in Pennsylvania. The jury apparently accepted this theory; it returned a guilty verdict on May 3, 1991. Russell was sentenced to life imprisonment on August 2, 1991. A. The chronology of events leading to Russell's arrest is as follows. Russell met Shirley Gibbs in August 1985, while the two were stationed at the Parris Island, South Carolina, Marine Corps Base. At the time, Russell was a Marine Corps captain, and was married to his first wife, Pamela Russell. Three months after his divorce from Pamela Russell in April 1987, Russell was transferred to the Gulfport, Mississippi, Naval Base. While stationed at Gulfport, Russell continued his relationship with Gibbs, but also became romantically involved with a number of other women. Two months after his arrival in Gulfport, Russell married Gibbs. n1 Their marriage was not a happy one, and there was testimony at trial that Russell was abusive n2 and unfaithful. Gibbs consulted with a marriage counselor on at least eight different [**4] occasions during her brief marriage to Russell. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Footnotes- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - n1 For clarity, we refer to Shirley Gibbs Russell as "Gibbs." n2 The abuse was both physical and emotional. Robert L. Burley, an acquaintance of the Russells', testified that Russell told him that he had hit Gibbs "a couple of times." J.A. at 568. A number of witnesses testified that Russell followed and spied on Gibbs, and monitored her whereabouts and activities through colleagues and acquaintances. There was testimony that Russell hid a tape recorder under Gibbs' bed and in her car, in an attempt to discover whether she was being unfaithful. The Government also presented evidence that Russell made racist comments about Gibbs, who was black. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -End Footnotes- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In July 1988, Gibbs was transferred to Quantico. Two months later, Russell was discharged from the Marine Corps under"other than honorable" conditions, J.A. at 206, because of unauthorized periods of absence, unauthorized use of Government telephones, and fraudulent claims against the Government. n3 At the time Russell's [**5] discharge became effective, he was living with Gibbs in Quantico. n3 Unlike her husband, Gibbs was a successful officer. Gibbs' supervisor, Lieutenant Colonel James W. Hodges, testified that he "felt very confident that [Gibbs] would have been selected for the grade of major." J.A. at 909. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -End Footnotes- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Immediately following his discharge, Russell took a job as a special education instructor at a local high school, and soon thereafter began a romantic relationship with Sandy Flynt, an employee of the school. Russell and Gibbs eventually decided to separate, and on February 28, 1989, Gibbs moved into the bachelor officers' quarters at Quantico. Two days later, on March 2, Russell moved into Flynt's Dale City residence, which she shared with her father-in-law. That same day, Russell purchased a Raven .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol. n4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Footnotes- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - n4 There was testimony from Russell's brother, Ronald, that he and his brother Michael had removed shotguns and rifles from Russell's quarters in January 1989 because they were concerned about Russell's health. Though the Government's theory was that Russell had to purchase the .25 caliber pistol to murder Gibbs, Michael Russell testified that he and his brother had left a .38 caliber pistol in Russell's quarters. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -End Footnotes- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [**6] On Friday, March 3, Gibbs picked up the final version of a marital settlement agreement memorializing her separation from Russell and dividing their joint property. n5 Gibbs also made a down payment on a condominium that day, in anticipation of her life apart from Russell. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Footnotes- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - n5 Captain Kerry Barnsley, the legal assistance attorney who prepared the settlement agreement, testified that such agreements were prepared in conjunction with uncontested divorces. Gibbs had planned to have Russell sign the agreement on March 4. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -End Footnotes- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Because Russell and Gibbs had vacated their married officers' quarters, the quarters had to be inspected. Gibbs arranged to meet Russell at their quarters on the morning of Saturday, March 4, in order to prepare for the inspection, which was scheduled for Monday, March 6. Gibbs had asked her sister, Doreather Sogren, to drive up from Virginia Beach to be with her while she was preparing to move out of [*1102] the quarters, and Sogren had originally planned to be with Gibbs on that day. A request by Sogren's [**7] employer that she work Saturday morning, however, prevented her from making the trip. March 4 was a cold and rainy day. Just before 9 a.m., Sogren received a telephone call from Russell, who identified himself as Lieutenant Colonel Hodges, Gibbs' commanding officer. Russell asked Sogren if she knew where Gibbs was. Sogren immediately recognized Russell's voice and said, "Bob, I know this is you. Why are you playing games with me? . . . You should know [where Gibbs is] because you are right there in Quantico with her . . . ." Id. at 637. n6 Later that morning, at approximately 11 a.m., Russell left Sandy Flynt's residence after telling Flynt that he was meeting Gibbs at their married officers' quarters. Rhonda McCumber, who lived in the quarters adjacent to the Russells', testified that she saw Gibbs outside their quarters at about noon. |