wheel and made him crash it. This statement was corroborated by the testimony of both Dori and Gay, who averred that after the car accident, defendant screamed at them, calling them "bitches," because he blamed them for the state of his car.
Defendant's confession to Sexton is similarly corroborated and strengthened by the independent evidence presented at trial. Defendant told Sexton that he had been out with a girl and that they had done drugs together. Defendant told Sexton that they had taken "tic" but that the girl believed it to be cocaine, and that after she realized it was not, she became "hysterical, uncontrollable," so that he had to handcuff her to a radiator. This statement is corroborated by Panisi's testimony that around Valentine's Day 1984, he observeda girl, whose name was Marcy and who was drugged, naked and handcuffed to a radiator in defendant's kitchen. Defendant also told Sexton that he then had sex with the girl and that afterward she was "just lying on the floor," incoherent, and *922 that he had to check whether she was alive or dead "because he couldn't take another hit like that." While saying this, defendant made a strangling motion with his hands. This statement is corroborated by Panisi's testimony that on his third visit to defendant's apartment, around Valentine's Day 1984, he observed Marcy's dead body in a carpet or rug, and then defendant taking the body, putting it into the trunk of his car, and driving off.
As such, because the independent evidence both tended to