345 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Murder"'.
J. Alley finds a lower court did not err in admitting contested evidence of an injured 10-year-old girl bystander in a murder case which ended in conviction. While defendant argued that prosecutors unfairly used the evidence to “portray him as a ‘scorned and hated man,’” the evidence was relevant as it showed defendant had acted “in a manner clearly dangerous to human life.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Alley, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00108-CR, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Fitzgerald finds that defendant was properly convicted of second degree murder for the shooting death of a victim during a drug buy. There was sufficient evidence of defendant's "specific intent to kill the victim," and this includes testimony from a witness, detective and the doctor who performed the autopsy of the victim. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Fitzgerald, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: KA-23-484, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Tabor finds that defendant was properly convicted of second-degree murder after shooting a 16-year-old boy for taking his gun because video evidence proved defendant shot the victim in the back while he was running to flee from defendant. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tabor, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 22-1547, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Waite finds defendant was not deprived of a fair trial on a murder charge based on the lack of a black individual on the jury panel. The process used to select the pool was entirely random and involved sending 500 summons to residents without any knowledge of their race, while no prospective juror was dismissed because of their race. Meanwhile, the trial court properly allowed two witnesses to testify about injuries to the victim consistent with domestic violence because defendant's claim the injuries were caused by an accident allowed for the use of the "absence, mistake, or accident" exception to prior bad acts evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Waite, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1543, Categories: evidence, Jury, murder
J. Johnson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Multiple witnesses testify to multiple events, including having been robbed by a man in a gorilla mask associated with defendant, having heard defendant's voice screaming in a conflict with another, followed by gunshots, and having had a gun stolen by defendant's accomplice. Though an accomplice was involved, sufficient evidence supports the conviction. Defendant aided the accomplice in an aggravated robbery and is criminally responsible as a party to murder, as the accomplice intentionally caused the victim's death. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Johnson, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 09-23-00234-CR, Categories: evidence, murder, Accomplice Liability
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J. Procaccini affirms the district court's findings that police had probable cause to arrest the defendant, later convicted of first-degree murder, and that police did not materially misrepresent information in an application for a warrant to search the defendant's residence, along with its denial of the defendant's motion to admit reverse-Spreigl evidence and his request to cross-examine a lead investigator as to whether police had investigated unnamed suspects from a prior shooting. Security footage depicting the defendant having an "animated exchange" with the victim at a bar, monitoring the victim inside the bar, going outside to an idling vehicle and reaching inside, climbing into a car across the street and turning off the headlights, the victim walking toward the car and the victim's subsequent collapse in the street near the car was sufficient to establish probable cause to arrest the defendant for the victim's murder. The district court also did not clearly err in finding that police's description of this interaction as a "confrontation" in their search warrant application was not reckless misrepresentation. The district court also did not abuse its discretion in finding that prior crimes of another person in the car and at the scene were not relevant to this case and in excluding that evidence, since there are few similarities between those crimes and this one, or in denying the request to question the lead investigator, since it properly cited concerns about the risk of creating unfair prejudice or impugning the victim's character and about a lack of relevance. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Procaccini, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: A23-0154, Categories: Confrontation, evidence, murder
J. Vaidik finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for four counts of murder and one count of robbery. Police responded to a report of shootings to find a drug dealer and three associates shot multiple times, with the dealer's apartment having been ransacked. Surveillance footage shows a vehicle associated with defendant at the scene. A friend of the victims who left the apartment after defendant and his accomplices had arrived but before the shooting occurred also identified the defendant. Evidence from defendant's cell phone was properly admitted, with the search warrant supported by probable cause. Affirmed in part.
Court: Indiana Court Of Appeals, Judge: Vaidik , Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 23A-CR-898, Categories: evidence, murder, Robbery
J. Wall finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to life in prison after he acted as an accomplice in the shooting of a 16-year-old driver in a car chase. The defendant argued that he is entitled to a new trial after the lower court allowed body cam evidence that captured his victim's dying moments. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that the footage was admissible based on the value of what it captured. Affirmed.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court, Judge: Wall, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 125637, Categories: evidence, Fair Trial, murder
J. Stegall finds a lower court properly convicted the wife of a dependent adult, now deceased, for mistreatment and second-degree reckless murder. The wife and caregiver argued that she adequately cared for her husband of 45 years. However, the state presented sufficient evidence in court that she neglected to care for his wounds, failed to administer his medications, refused to help him to the toilet, and allowed him to starve, which resulted in his death. Affirmed.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court, Judge: Stegall, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 123650, Categories: evidence, Elder Abuse, Negligent murder
J. Weissmann finds that defendant was properly convicted of murder since the lower court took numerous measures to ensure the jury did not know the victim's mother had been convicted of murder during defendant's trial. Once that information was disclosed, the court properly declared a mistrial, and the second trial did not violate double jeopardy. Affirmed.
Court: Indiana Court Of Appeals, Judge: Weissmann, Filed On: March 11, 2024, Case #: 23A-CR-606, Categories: evidence, murder, Double Jeopardy
J. Wall finds a lower court properly convicted a defendant for unlawful possession of a weapon and attempted first-degree murder. The defendant argued that his 586 month prison sentence is unreasonable and that he was entitled to a new trial after discovering that the lead detective in his case launched a sexual relationship with his daughter, who served as a confidential informant. However, the defendant failed to present sufficient evidence in court that the relationship started before of during his criminal proceedings. Affirmed.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court, Judge: Wall, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: 120994, Categories: evidence, Firearms, murder
J. Musseman finds the trial court properly granted defendant's motion for immunity from various alternative charges for murder and manslaughter, committed either during commission of a misdemeanor or in the heat of passion. Defendant shot and killed his half-brother after having learned of an ongoing domestic altercation the brother was having with his wife. The court thoroughly evaluated defendant's claim of immunity, finding he demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that he was not engaged in an unlawful activity, was on a public roadway when he was attacked by the brother, and that he reasonably believed deadly force was necessary to prevent death or bodily harm. Affirmed.
Court: Oklahoma Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Musseman , Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: S-2023-720, Categories: evidence, murder, Justification
J. Bell finds the trial court improperly convicted defendant for murder. The state admitted a recording of a phone call defendant made to his defense during pretrial detention in which he indicated his presence at the murder scene. Though the state argues defendant violated jail policy by using another inmate's telephone access code and waived his attorney-client privilege by making a three-way call, this is not sufficient to establish waiver of attorney-client privilege. The recording was improperly admitted. Reversed.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Bell , Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 83672, Categories: evidence, murder, Due Process
J. Wright finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for the capital murder of her 18-month-old son. Defendant, wet, as if just having showered, arrived at the outpatient facility with her son in her arms. Employees testified defendant was in distress, telling them her son would not wake up. Injuries were observed on the child's body consistent with abuse, including bruises on the child's face in the shape of the mother's handprint. Rigor also indicated the child had been dead for a period of time. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright , Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 09-21-00255-CR, Categories: evidence, murder, Child Victims
J. Savoie finds that defendant was properly convicted of second degree murder for the shooting death of his estranged wife who had a restraining order against him. There was sufficient evidence to convict defendant of the crime, and this includes the testimony of the victim's daughter that placed him inside the home shortly before the murder. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Savoie, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: KA-23-259, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Stabile finds that the trial court in part correctly denied a group of newspaper and media outlets’ motion to intervene and in sealing of the public docket of a man who allegedly hired a hitman to shoot and kill a former business partner after business relations soured. Its decision to seal certain arrest warrant information was appropriate given the sensitivity of Pennsylvania’s ongoing investigation. Affirmed in part.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Stabile, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: J-S99001-23, Categories: evidence, murder, Discovery
[Consolidated.] J. Warren finds that the trial court properly granted defendant's motion to suppress evidence related to one victim's shooting death provided to a detective by defendant's previous attorney. Defendant was indicted for murder and other offenses. The attorney's disclosures violated attorney-client privilege. The state cannot mention the attorney as the source of any physical evidence given to the detective. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion to suppress cell phone records related to both shootings. Both search warrants were supported by probable cause and the affidavits allowed the judges to reasonably infer that one of the target phone numbers belonged to defendant. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Warren, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: S23A0900, Categories: evidence, murder, Search
J. LaGrua finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, concealing the death of another and a firearm offense. The trial court correctly admitted evidence of Facebook messages and evidence of the victim's bank records which implied that defendant stole from him. The bank records evidence was intrinsic evidence necessary to explain defendant's financial motive and was not unfairly prejudicial. Defendant cannot show that the evidence of the Facebook messages between defendant and a co-conspirator probably impacted the trial outcome. Defendant failed to show that her trial counsel's performance was deficient or that she was prejudiced by the alleged deficiencies. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: LaGrua, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: S24A0095, Categories: evidence, Ineffective Assistance, murder
J. Warren finds that the trial court improperly convicted defendant of murder. The trial court incorrectly admitted into evidence a 33-second-long portion of a rap music video showing defendant holding a semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine. The video's prejudicial impact in portraying defendant as a gunman outweighed its minimal probative value. There was other undisputed evidence showing that defendant was part of a rapper's entourage and was likely present at a nightclub around the time of the shooting. The probative value of the video to show defendant's motive was slight and other evidence was presented to establish motive. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Warren, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: S23A0860, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Soto finds a lower court did not err in convicting defendant for murder. Defendant raised a number of issues with his conviction, including arguing a lower court had improperly negated his sudden-passion claim that he had “snapped” and killed the victim because she rejected him, but while the record does indeed show that defendant was both “jealous and possessive,” courts have long held that “a rejection of a romantic proposal does not qualify as adequate cause for purposes of the sudden passion defense,” not least because a person of “ordinary temper” does not murder people based on romantic rejections. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 08-22-00177-CR, Categories: evidence, murder, Jury Instructions
J. Erickson finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 12 years for imprisonment of a child and life in prison for second- degree murder. The defendant argued that he was provided with inadequate representation after he abused and murdered his girlfriend's 11- month- old toddler, claimed in court that the she died from choking on baby wipes, and then demanded an evidentiary hearing. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies, and that there was "virtually no chance" that he would have obtained an acquittal based on evidence. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Erickson, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 23-1182, Categories: evidence, murder, Child Victims
[Consolidated.] J. Hunter vacates defendant's conviction for being a principal to second degree murder because it was rendered by a non-unanimous jury. However, defendant's conviction for conspiracy to commit second degree murder was proper because a witness testified that defendant was present when the murder took place, that defendant shook hands with the person who shot the victim, and that defendant led the police to the victim's body. Vacated in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Hunter, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 55,497-KA, Categories: evidence, Jury, murder
J. Pitman finds that defendant was properly convicted of attempted second degree murder. The witnesses testified to defendant beating the victim with a jack handle and that defendant was the aggressor, first with his girlfriend, then against the victim who intervened. The evidence showed that defendant beat the victim even after they were unconscious and does not show that defendant was acting in self-defense. Also, as a result of defendant's attack, the victim is partially paralyzed, blind in one eye, requires 24-hour care, and cannot feed himself or move from the bed to a wheelchair without assistance. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Pitman, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 55,210-KA, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Murphy finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. The victim's stepson testified that defendant had confronted them outside their apartment, firing shots into the air. The stepson left to call 911, hearing more shots as he ran, then returned to find the victim on the ground and defendant gone. Security video showed defendant fleeing in a vehicle associated with him, while other eyewitnesses also identified defendant as the shooter. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Murphy , Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: CR-23-322, Categories: evidence, Firearms, murder
J. Thompson finds that defendant was properly convicted of second degree murder. It is undisputed that defendant shot the victim, his friend, four times after an argument concerning the robbery of defendant's home. The evidence shows that the much smaller victim was on the ground, unarmed, and attempting to get away from defendant when he was shot twice in the back of the head. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Thompson, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 55,491-KA, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Greene finds that defendant was properly found guilty of second degree murder and given a life sentence for the shooting death of a victim at a community center where a party was taking place. The witness testimony, cell phone records and other evidence was sufficient to identify defendant as the perpetrator. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Greene, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 2023KA0781, Categories: evidence, murder, Identification
J. Aarons finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of murder, robbery, and weapon possession after codefendants ripped off marijuana sellers and defendant shot one of the dealers following a car chase. Witnesses established that defendant brandished a gun upon taking the marijuana and shot the victim after approaching his vehicle. Defendant contends a robbery could not have occurred since "owning" marijuana was illegal in New York at the time, but this claim lacked merit. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Aarons, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 112197, Categories: evidence, murder, Robbery
J. Fischer upholds defendant's murder convictions for the shooting of two teenage girls and death sentences. The strained relationship between defendant and the victims, multiple threats made by defendant in the course of his relationship with his girlfriend - the victims' mother - and his decision to retrieve his gun from another room during their argument and fire 13 shots at the victims proved prior calculation and design and allowed the jury to convict him of aggravated murder. Meanwhile, the trial court properly admitted various autopsy and crime scene photos because they were used to illustrate various perspectives of the crime scene and injuries sustained by the victims. Although defendant was raised in a toxic, abusive environment and was diagnosed with some mental health issues, this mitigating evidence is far outweighed by the brutality of his crimes, which involved murdering two unarmed teenagers in front of their mother. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Fischer, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-604, Categories: Death Penalty, evidence, murder
J. Hellman finds the post-conviction court properly denied defendant's claim that he was deprived of his right to a fair trial under the due process clause due to conflicting witness statements. “Any inconsistency is the result of [the witness’s] mistaken recollection of his trial testimony, not because [they] had new evidence to provide.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Hellman, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: A179156, Categories: evidence, murder, Sentencing