27 results for 'cat:"Intent" AND cat:"Murder"'.
J. Torbitzky finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of murdering his pregnant wife. The evidence was sufficient to show that he did not kill her in a fit of rage, but planned the killing because he regretted not divorcing her before the pregnancy. In addition, he purchased supplies to clean the murder scene, dispose of the body, and texting her phone as if he didn't know where she was. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Torbitzky, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: ED110819, Categories: intent, murder
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that defendant was improperly convicted of attempted murder and assault because evidence does not indicate defendant knew his passenger was armed and planned to shoot at another person. However, evidence supported defendant's conviction for possessing a gun outside his home or business. Reversed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: KA 18-01371 , Categories: Firearms, intent, murder
J. Wilson finds that defendant was properly convicted and sentenced to life without parole for the murder of a 17-year-old in a drive-by shooting after the teenager allegedly shorted a purchase of Xanax by a group of defendant's friends. Defendant asserts that the state did not prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt regarding his specific intent, but the state presented witnesses that placed defendant and his friends in the drive-by shooting, and his testimony shows he felt provoked to kill or help to kill the teenager in retaliation for the failed drug buy. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Wilson, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: KA-23-414, Categories: Evidence, intent, murder
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J. Schumacher finds that defendant was properly convicted of first-degree murder for killing a man during a drug buy because the state proved malice aforethought by providing evidence that defendant set up the drug buy and attempted to rob the victim before shooting him as he lie on the ground following a scuffle. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Schumacher, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 22-2029, Categories: Evidence, intent, murder
J. Troutman finds that the appellate division properly vacated defendant's conviction for first-degree murder in a gang-related slaying after finding that an element of the crime was not supported by legally sufficient evidence. While testimony showed defendant boasted of stabbing the teenage victim in the neck, and he and his co-defendants engaged in a "course of conduct" that included using knives and machetes, missing was the necessary first-degree element of taking pleasure in delivering the fatal wound that caused the victim to bleed out while trying to get to a hospital. Affirmed in part.
Court: New York Court Of Appeals, Judge: Troutman, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: 21, Categories: intent, murder
J. Garcia finds that the appellate division properly held that defendant's actions in strangling and beating a woman to death met the threshold of torture to support a conviction for first-degree murder. The woman's severe injuries, her acknowledged abusive relationship with defendant, and an inadvertent recording of their last encounter were sufficient proof for a rational jury to find that defendant took pleasure in inflicting extreme pain on her in the fatal attack. Affirmed.
Court: New York Court Of Appeals, Judge: Garcia, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: 22, Categories: intent, murder
J. Anderson affirms the defendant's convictions first-degree premeditated murder and attempted first-degree premeditated murder. The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying motions to strike a juror for cause and for a change of venue, since the juror did not express actual bias and the defendant failed to renew the venue motion following voir dire. The circumstances of the murder, namely the bombing of a clinic and shootings of staff members after repeated statements encouraging the murder of nurses, also support the inference that the defendant intended to kill his victims. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Anderson, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: A22-1340, Categories: intent, Jury, murder
J. Hardin-Tammons finds that the lower court properly found defendant guilty of murder and armed criminal action. The state presented sufficient evidence to prove he intended to shoot the victim given that her death was caused by a close-range shot to the head. Further, the court did not plainly err by not instructing the jury on the lesser included offense of involuntary manslaughter. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hardin-Tammons, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: ED111322, Categories: intent, murder, Jury Instructions
J. Badding finds that defendant was properly convicted of the attempted murder of his girlfriend because intent to kill was established by the victim's extensive injuries and a text message defendant sent to his brother following the assault. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Badding, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 22-0936, Categories: Evidence, intent, murder
J. Stiles finds that defendant was properly convicted of attempted second degree murder and aggravated battery after she hit two sisters with her vehicle following an altercation. The evidence does not support defendant's argument that she was "justified in attempting to defend the occupants of her motor vehicle" and indicates that she followed the victims into the alley "with the intention of running them over." Affirmed in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Stiles, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: KA-23-395, Categories: intent, murder, Battery
J. Moore affirms the defendant's first-degree murder conviction, finding that the state has provided sufficient evidence to prove that the defendant intended to kill his victim when, while using methamphetamine, he entered his neighbor's home and stabbed her with a kitchen knife. Evidence that the defendant was exhibiting paranoid delusions at the time does not preclude him from having intended to kill his neighbor.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Moore, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: A22-0718, Categories: Drug Offender, intent, murder
J. Doyle finds that defendant was properly convicted of first-degree murder and other charges after he shot and killed a nephew he had accused of stealing because evidence clearly established malice aforethought in the case. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: 21-1426, Categories: intent, murder
J. Brown finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant for first-degree murder and battery arising from a dispute over a gun purchase. Defendant's argument that the state failed to prove that he shot the victims on purpose is without merit. Witnesses testified that defendant was angry and had punched a wall. They also testified to seeing him load the gun and place it in his waistband. He shot one of the victims in the head at close range, and shot the other victim twice in the back as he fled. All evidence supports the finding of purposefulness. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Brown , Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: CR-22-775, Categories: intent, murder, Battery
J. Tabor finds that defendant was properly convicted of first-degree murder for shooting the victim during a robbery, even though defendant contends he reacted with fear when the victim reached for a weapon, because malice aforethought could be inferred by defendant's "decision to gather accomplices and secure a gun" before going to the apartment where he robbed the victim and his friends. Meanwhile, witnesses saw defendant commit the crime. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tabor, Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: 22-1017, Categories: Evidence, intent, murder
J. Mumin finds that the trial court should not have given a jury a concurrent intent instruction on an attempted murder charge. The evidence does not support the theory that, in his effort to kill his primary target, defendant was trying to create a "kill zone" to kill all the police outside the door of the room where he was hiding. The number of shots defendant fired and the openness of his target area only show he had a conscious disregard for life, not a specific intent to kill. Reversed in part.
Court: California Supreme Court, Judge: Corrigan, Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: S271049, Categories: intent, murder, Jury Instructions
J. Erickson finds that a lower court properly sentenced defendant on charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in a crime of violence that resulted in the death of his girlfriend, who was discovered face down in a pool of blood in his kitchen. Defendant argues that the murder of his girlfriend was carried out during the "heat of passion." However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court, beyond a reasonable doubt, that defendant planned the murder, purchased a firearm, and then shot and killed her for engaging with other men. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Erickson, Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: 22-3447, Categories: Firearms, intent, murder
J. Fisher finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of murder and assault for pouring gasoline on his sleeping stepfather and setting it alight. Defendant had a well-documented history of mental health crises, but expert testimony established his actions demonstrated intent to cause harm and that defendant realized he had done something wrong, as he fled and hid out for two days before seeking mental health treatment at a hospital. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Fisher, Filed On: July 27, 2023, Case #: 110611, Categories: intent, murder, Experts
J. Badding finds that defendant was properly convicted of first-degree murder for shooting his girlfriend's paramour because malice aforethought was established by evidence indicating defendant followed the victim and engaged in an extended confrontation. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Badding, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 21-1718, Categories: Evidence, intent, murder
J. Benton finds that the district court properly sentenced defendant for second-degree murder after she shot and killed her husband. Second-degree murder is a crime of violence, and defendant exhibited malice afterthought after she caught her husband cheating. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton , Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 22-2471, Categories: intent, murder, Sentencing
J. Soto finds a lower court ruled correctly in convicting defendant of murder and giving him a life sentence after he killed an escort at his home. Defendant argued that he “freaked out” after the victim raised her prices and threatened to call police and that there was not adequate evidence to support “the jury’s rejection of his sudden-passion claim,” but the jury was “free to reject” these arguments and did not commit a legal error by doing so. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 08-22-00207-CR, Categories: intent, Jury, murder
J. Soto finds a lower court ruled correctly in convicting defendant of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he shot and killed a woman he had been romantically involved with. Defendant argued there was not sufficient evidence for the jury to reject his assertion that he “acted under the influence of sudden passion,” but defendant had a “preexisting suspicion” that the victim was involved with another man and jurors correctly determined that his actions were “purposeful and made after cool reflection.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: May 30, 2023, Case #: 08-22-00196-CR, Categories: intent, murder, Domestic Violence
J. Seymour vacates the defendant's sentence for unlawful possession of ammunition and witness tampering, finding that the sentencing court's use of a cross-reference to the sentencing guideline for attempted murder was erroneous since the defendant was not shown to have specifically intended to kill his ex-girlfriend in the underlying offense. A finding of malice aforethought is not sufficient to justify the cross-reference. The error also was not harmless. Vacated.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Seymour, Filed On: May 22, 2023, Case #: 21-6059, Categories: Firearms, intent, murder