345 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Murder"'.
J. Soto finds a lower court did not err in finding defendant guilty of murder. Defendant argued the court erred by allowing testimony on his previous domestic violence incidents, but because defendant raised self-defense arguments — making his “motive and intent” in the shooting a “material issue in the case” — prosecutors were entitled to offer evidence of situations in which defendant “was the aggressor in the past.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00231-CR, Categories: evidence, Fair Trial, murder
J. Gill finds the circuit court in 2019 properly convicted defendant of two counts of first-degree murder after law enforcement used saliva from an envelope he gave them to match his DNA to DNA collected from semen at the scene of an unsolved double murder and sexual assault from 1976. Although defendant's DNA was collected as part of a "ruse" concocted by law enforcement involving a fake survey the circuit court referred to as a "complete fabrication" designed to collect his DNA after he became a suspect based on DNA analysis, defendant's challenge to the surreptitious collection of his DNA fails because he voluntarily and with consent handed the envelope containing his saliva to law enforcement. Defendant's motion to suppress was properly denied, and his judgment of conviction stands. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Gill, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 2022AP000882-CR, Categories: Dna, evidence, murder
J. Kinsley finds the trial court erroneously denied defendant's motion to suppress statements made to police after he was pulled over. The arresting officer ordered defendant out of his vehicle, made several commands, accused him of several crimes, and questioned him for more than 44 minutes, all of which would have led defendant to believe he was in custody at the time of the questioning and required the officer to read him his Miranda rights. Additionally, the trial court erroneously admitted evidence of defendant's actions in Georgia before the victim was found dead in her home. The evidence was used only to establish intent - which was never challenged by defendant - and, therefore, it was "other acts" evidence that should have been excluded. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Kinsley, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1604, Categories: evidence, Miranda, murder
J. Mays finds the trial court properly allowed a witness to testify about previous criminal activity by defendant at his trial on several murder charges. The evidence, including testimony about credit card fraud and an admission to a previous murder, was used to establish motive. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Mays, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1586, Categories: evidence, 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. Anderson affirms the district court's dismissal of a postconviction relief petition for murder and attempted murder convictions, finding that the petitioner has not satisfied the newly-discovered-evidence or interests-of-judgment exceptions to the time limit for such petitions. Newly-discovered DNA evidence does not meet that threshold because the petitioner has not met the clear-and-convincing standard to show that it is exculpatory, and he has not otherwise shown that the interests of justice require a new trial. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Anderson, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: A23-0851, Categories: Dna, evidence, murder
J. Schumacher finds that defendant was properly convicted of second-degree murder for shooting his father following a dispute over their cattle farm because the lower court properly allowed the state to admit evidence that cattle had died and farm machinery had fallen into disrepair to establish motive. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Schumacher, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 23-0776, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Stabile finds that the trial court improperly granted defendant’s motion to decertify this case charging him with attempting to murder two police officers when he was 16 years old. The decertification order is defective due to the trial court’s failure to consider multiple criteria that it was required to take into account before granting decertification. Vacated.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Stabile, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: J-A24009-23, Categories: evidence, murder, Civil Rights
J. Dysart finds that defendant was properly convicted of second-degree murder. The evidence shows that the murder victim was defendant's former girlfriend's fiance' and that defendant was jealous of the relationship. Further, the girlfriend testified that defendant was angry at the time of the murder because she had stopped speaking to him. Also, the defendant was familiar with the residence where the shooting took place, took a cab to the area where the murder occurred, and would have known about the alleyway on the side of the house that would allow him access to the residence to avoid surveillance. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Dysart, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: 2023-KA-0540, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Hixson finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of attempted second degree murder, aggravated assault and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony when he punched, then shot a man nine times as he was inspecting his car for damage after a crash. Though defendant argues that witness identification of him as the suspect was questionable, the lower court felt otherwise. Evidence is sufficient to support his convictions and effective 20-year sentence. Affirmed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Hixson, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: M2022-01644-CCA-R3-CD, Categories: evidence, murder, Assault
J. Ryan finds the trial court properly admitted screenshots of Facebook messages at defendant's trial even though they were submitted only one day before the trial began. The prosecution was not made aware of the evidence until it was submitted to the court and promptly informed defendant and provided the screenshots to his attorney. Meanwhile, testimony from defendant's co-conspirator that defendant was the shooter was sufficient to convict him of murder, even though the testimony was part of a plea deal with the state. In any case, that testimony was corroborated by surveillance footage. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Ryan, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1469, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Smith finds that defendant was properly convicted of murder and that his objections regarding the admission of certain evidence are without merit. The disputed testimony about a jail telephone call made by defendant in which he threatened an ex-girlfriend was relevant since it showed his knowledge about what had happened to the victim and also rebutted his theory that a different perpetrator murdered the victim. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 10-23-00146-CR, Categories: evidence, murder, Identification
J. Gremillion finds that defendant was properly convicted for the second-degree murder of his wife. Defendant claims that the trial court should have allowed him to present his defense that he was too intoxicated to form specific intent when he fatally shot his wife, but nothing on record shows that the trial court limited his intoxication defense, and his stepdaughters consistently testified that defendant and his wife fought before she died. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Gremillion, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: KA-23-614, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Jewell finds that defendant was properly convicted of murder for the shooting death of a victim in a shopping center parking lot. The circumstantial and forensic evidence, which included bullets recovered from the area of the shooting, was sufficient to support defendant's conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Jewell, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: 14-22-00561-CR, Categories: evidence, murder, Self Defense
J. Soto finds a lower court did not err in convicting defendant for murder. Defendant argued the evidence was insufficient and that his sentence should be reformed to criminally negligent manslaughter, including because he claimed the shooting was an accident. But there was in fact sufficient evidence that defendant acted “knowingly,” including because he initially lied about the circumstances of the shooting and attempted to hide evidence and leave town, which is “indicative of a consciousness of guilt.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00176-CR, Categories: evidence, murder, Manslaughter
J. Freudenberg finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder, as well as weapons charges, based on sufficient evidence. Officers discovered the victim after responding to a report of a bleeding body in the stairwell of an apartment building. Defendant was arrested, hiding in his girlfriend's mother's attic crawlspace, after the investigation turned up surveillance video showing he and his girlfriend and dog in the area at the time multiple witnesses heard sounds of a struggle, a dog barking, a woman's scream and a body falling down the stairs. Furthermore, counsel's objections to out-of-court statements were properly overruled and sustained. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Freudenberg , Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: S-23-130, Categories: evidence, murder, Weapons
J. Baker finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Defendant was taken into custody after having been identified as a suspect. She was found with the murder weapon, Mirandized and admitted she had been in an argument with the victim because he had allegedly struck her 14-year-old son. Sufficient evidence, including surveillance video and clothing worn by the assailant in the video found at defendant's home, support the conviction. Though it was later found a juror's sister worked for the defense attorney, no evidence shows the juror and attorney knew each other. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Baker , Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: CR-23-602, Categories: evidence, Jury, murder
J. Marcotte finds that defendant was properly convicted of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated burglary, and attempted armed robbery. There was evidence from the victims who knew defendant from previously hiring him that identified him as the attacker. Further, defendant confessed that thought he killed someone that night, and that the attempted murder victim's DNA was found on defendant's belongings, including a weapon. The victim suffered multiple stab wounds, both eyes were destroyed and both ears were punctured, resulting in the victim being blinded, sustaining brain damage, and being unable to find work. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Marcotte, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 55,514-KA, Categories: Burglary, evidence, murder
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. Anderson finds that defendant was properly convicted of the second degree murders of his ex-girlfriend and her friend. In this case, there was testimony from witnesses that the girlfriend's dying declaration indicated defendant shot her. Also, the phone records show many missed calls from defendant to the girlfriend before the shooting after he saw her earlier in the day, and the accident reconstruction expert testified as to the matching up of the damage to defendant's car with that of the victims' car. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Stephens, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 55,550-KA, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Barrett finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. After receiving an anonymous tip, officers discovered the victim's decomposing body inside a vacant building. Witness' interviews implicated defendant and an accomplice. The accomplice agreed to testify in exchange for a plea agreement, saying defendant told him he was going to kill the victim for being a snitch. Multiple witnesses saw defendant with a handgun on the day of the murder, saying he was seeking ammunition, while the accomplice said defendant shot the victim in the chest and twice in the face. The accomplice's testimony was sufficiently corroborated. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Barrett , Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: CR-23-661, Categories: evidence, murder, Witnesses
J. Tabor finds that defendant was properly convicted of attempted murder and other charges following a drive-by shooting based on evidence including a dash camera recording of statements defendant made when he called his sister while detained in a police cruiser for an outstanding warrant, of which the police became aware while responding to a single-vehicle crash. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tabor, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 21-1893, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Baker holds that defendant is entitled to a new trial because cumulative errors led to his conviction for deliberate homicide. The state implicitly suggested to the jury that defendant and his girlfriend were drug dealers. The state also failed to disclose that defendant's home was burglarized by associates of the homicide victim on the night of the homicide, and it failed to attempt to unlock the victim's phone, which may have shown a broader conspiracy against defendant. Reversed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: Baker, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: DA 21-0290, Categories: evidence, murder, Prosecutorial Misconduct
Per curiam, the appeals court finds the trial court partially erred in denying defendant's motion for postconviction relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel at his trial which ended in him being convicted of attempted first-degree murder and other charges. The trial court did not attach enough findings to totally refute defendant's claim it denied regarding unimpeached video testimony from the victim, so the case is remanded for the trial court to either hold an evidentiary hearing or attach the needed records. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 22-1055, Categories: evidence, Ineffective Assistance, murder
J. King finds the lower court properly denied the defendant's suppression motion. Police tracked a pair of men that vaguely matched the description witnesses of a murder gave. The two men carried small black bags. An officer approached the pair at an apartment complex, and they immediately tried to escape, but the defendant was unsuccessful. Before the officer could cuff the defendant, he flung his bag into the courtyard below. Inside the bag was a pistol matching the description of the murder weapon, along with cannabis. The defendant argued the officer had no right to search through his bag, but the defendant relinquished ownership of the bag when he threw it away. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: King, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 23-4179, Categories: evidence, Firearms, murder
J. Stiles finds that defendant was properly convicted and sentenced for the second-degree murder of his wife after shooting her in their trailer. Defendant's claim that two letters he allegedly wrote while he was in jail and awaiting trial were improperly admitted lacks merit since the letters were authenticated by two witnesses. Also, the probative value of the letters outweighed any prejudicial effect. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Stiles, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: KA-23-629, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Dato finds that the trial court erred by allowing the state to present hearsay testimony during a murder trial. The state failed to show it diligently tried to locate the witness before it relied on her preliminary hearing testimony, so defendant's murder conviction is reversed. Also, lying in wait and torture murder special circumstances against a co-defendant based on placing the victim in a fire while allegedly alive are supported by sufficient evidence and may be retried. And the trial court improperly allowed the state to introduce evidence that defendant was a Satan worshipper, as it had minimal probative value. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Dato, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: D082754, Categories: Confrontation, evidence, murder
J. Jackson finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of 13 crimes including the premeditated attempted murder of law enforcement when he went on a three-day crime spree that ended in him crashing a stolen vehicle into a busy intersection during rush hour and engaging in a shootout with law enforcement, injuring two police officers. Evidence is sufficient to support his convictions and sentence to a determinate term of 35 years 8 months and a total indeterminate term of 30 years to life. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: A166011, Categories: evidence, Firearms, murder