A. [1] The res gestae or excited utterance exception applies to statements relating to a startling act or event made spontaneously and without reflection while the declarant was under the stress of excitement, and offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted.E.g., Dolan v. People, 168 Colo. 19, 449 P.2d 828 (1969); Fitzpatrick v. People, 159 Colo. 485, 412 P.2d 893 (1966); Abeyta v. Denver, 132 Colo. 472, 289 P.2d 918 (1955); Martinez v. People, 55 Colo. 51, 132 P. 64 (1913); Denver City Tramway Co. v. Brumley, 51 Colo. 251, 116 P. 1051 (1911); Graves v. People, 18 Colo. 170, 32 P. 63 (1893); see also VI J. Wigmore, Evidence § 1750 at 202 (Chadbourn rev. ed. 1976); C. McCormick, Evidence § 297 at 704 (2d ed. E. Cleary 1972). Wigmore points up the basis in trustworthiness for the exception:
"The test to be applied by the judge is: was the declaration spontaneous, excited or impulsive, or was it the product of reflection and deliberation? This attempt to reconstruct the state of another man's mind and emotions as of a moment in the past is so complex and individualized a judgment that the trial judge must be given considerable leeway of decision." Consistent with the foregoing, the Court had held that whether specific acts are admissible as a part of the res gestae is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial court, the determination of which is ordinarily conclusive on appeal in the absence of a clear abuse of discretion. Dolan v. People, 168 Colo. 19, 449 P.2d 828; Abeyta v. City and County of Denver, 132 Colo. 472, 289 P.2d 918; Stahl v. Cooper, 117 Colo. 468, 190 P.2d 891. We find no abuse of discretion in the admission of Mitchell's statement as related by Whitmore.
In admitting the evidence the trial court said, "I will rule it is a part of the res gestae." In Abeyta v. Denver, 132 Colo. 472, 289 P.2d 918, this court held that a statement made under circumstances similar to those under discussion here was properly received as part of the res gestae. It was said in Abeyta that the statement made to a witness by the victim to the effect that, "He [the defendant] cut me" was made
[1] Determination of the admissibility of specific statements as part of the res gestae is within the sound discretion of the trial court. Abeyta v. City and County of Denver, 132 Colo. 472, 289 P.2d 918 (1955). Under the doctrine of res gestae, unsworn extrajudicial statements are admitted on the theory that they are spontaneous utterances, dominated and evoked by the transaction itself, and are not the result of premeditation, reflection, or design.