345 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Murder"'.
J. Bokor finds the trial court properly denied defendant a new trial after he was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder. The record supports the trial court's finding that the newly discovered evidence defendant claimed in his motion, which involved an eyewitness saying defendant was not at the scene of the crime, was unreliable in part due to the witness' cocaine addiction and would not have resulted in reasonable doubt of defendant's guilt. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Bokor, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 22-1173, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Kyzar finds that defendant was properly convicted of second degree murder and given a life sentence stemming from her role in the shooting death of a victim found along a riverbank in a park. There was sufficient evidence of defendant's involvement in the robbery, kidnapping and murder of the victim. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Kyzar, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: KA-23-350, Categories: evidence, murder, Robbery
J. Lowy affirms defendant’s murder conviction for killing his wife. The defendant claims his daughter’s murder and the testimony of two latent print examiners should not have been allowed in evidence, that not enough was done to rule out the possibility of a different culprit, and that there wasn’t enough evidence to identify him as the culprit or establish his crimes’ premeditation, but he fails to substantiate any reversible error. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Lowy, Filed On: January 30, 2024, Case #: SJC-12420, Categories: evidence, murder, Due Process
J. Weimer finds that the district court should not have denied defendant's petition for post-conviction relief on his convictions for first degree murder. The state improperly suppressed exculpatory evidence when it did not disclose serology notes related to blood found on a jacket at the murder scene which do not match the DNA of the victims or defendant. Further, the state did not properly disclose that a jailhouse informant, who testified that defendant admitted to the crime, received special treatment regarding probation for his testimony. Reversed and vacated.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Weimer, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2021-KP-00812, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Sanchez finds that the district court properly entered a conviction against an individual on one count of conspiracy to aid and abet his brother to Mexico to avoid prosecution for the murder of a police officer. The evidence was sufficient to show that the individual knew about and specifically intended to help his brother cross the border to Mexico to avoid prosecution. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Sanchez, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 21-10109, Categories: evidence, murder, Conspiracy
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J. Womack finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder based on sufficient evidence, including eyewitness testimony. The prosecution's mentioning that defendant went to the victim's home to recover his car, which was sold while he was in jail, implied a conviction for that offense. The prosecution was duly warned after the defense objected, and the statement does not support a mistrial. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Womack , Filed On: January 25, 2024, Case #: CR-23-1, Categories: evidence, murder, Due Process
J. Bower finds that defendant was properly convicted of assault and attempted murder of a police officer because evidence indicated he attempted to crush an officer in a patrol car with his tractor and only stopped when he could not gain traction on the road. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bower, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: 21-1425, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Moore finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion seeking postconviction relief following an evidentiary hearing. Defendant was convicted for attempted murder for the shooting of his deceased (by suicide) cousin's surviving girlfriend. Ever-changing postconviction testimony of another cousin and defendant's brother regarding the identity of the shooter is not credible. Evidence presented in the evidentiary hearing cannot overcome the strength of the victim’s trial testimony identifying defendant as the shooter. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Moore , Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: A-22-869, Categories: evidence, murder, Due Process
J. Bates finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's post-conviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Even if his counsel had objected to defendant's new girlfriend's testimony that defendant put a gun in her mouth, there is no reasonable probability that the result of the trial would have been different. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bates, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: SD37871, Categories: evidence, Ineffective Assistance, murder
J. Poochigian finds that the state should have given defendant the notice called for by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act after obtaining evidence from a phone company and Facebook using several warrants. However, despite the violation, defendant was made aware of the evidence prior to trial, so the Act's purpose was achieved and suppression of the evidence was not required. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Poochigian, Filed On: January 22, 2024, Case #: F084307, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Hudson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for first-degree murder based on sufficient evidence. The fiancé of the victim testified that defendant, during an altercation at the victim's house, hit the victim with a baseball bat, and returned to the home several times while carrying a gun. Defendant shot the victim at a party soon after. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Hudson , Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: CR-22-615, Categories: evidence, murder, Due Process
J. Keough finds the trial court properly admitted other acts evidence, including text messages between defendant and one of the victims, because the messages proved a volatile and sometimes violent relationship that established motive and intent for the murders. Meanwhile, autopsy photos of all the victims were properly admitted into evidence because they were used to show the timing of each murder in relation to defendant's setting the house on fire and were not unduly graphic or repetitive. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Keough, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-158, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon during a crime. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to allow the jury to reject defendant's claim that he was framed by a police officer. The trial court correctly admitted into evidence entries from the victim's journal, which was found in a closet at the crime scene. The victim, defendant's wife, wrote in the days before the crime about her volatile relationship with defendant and about her fear of what might happen between them. There was no evidence that the victim had a motive to fabricate her statements. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: S23A1089, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Lowy vacates the defendant’s murder conviction. The strongest piece of physical evidence used to convict the defendant was a bloody leather jacket combined with witness testimony supporting that the blood belonged to the murder victim, but DNA testing 20 years after the conviction proved that the blood was not the victim’s. Vacated.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Lowy, Filed On: January 12, 2024, Case #: SJC-13399, Categories: Dna, evidence, murder
J. Edelstein finds that while the testimony of the state's key witness contained some inconsistencies, including a claim he never touched any weapon used in defendant's crimes that was rebutted by DNA evidence found on a gun magazine, his identification of defendant as the shooter, both at trial and during a photo lineup, was sufficient to convict defendant of the majority of the shooting-related crimes with which he was charged. However, the grainy surveillance footage of the third shooting - the sole physical evidence presented by the prosecution - and the same witness's identification of defendant by his gait was insufficient to prove defendant committed that particular crime and all convictions related to it must be vacated. Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Edelstein, Filed On: January 11, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-92, Categories: evidence, murder, Identification
J. Worthen finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder based on sufficient evidence. Witnesses saw defendant hit his lover's ex with his truck, severing the victim's leg. Furthermore, defendant's blood was found on the driver's seat, and when he was arrested, he was found to have injuries consistent with his chest having hit the steering wheel. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Worthen , Filed On: January 11, 2024, Case #: 12-22-00313-CR, Categories: evidence, murder, Vehicular Homicide
J. Tabor finds that defendant was properly convicted of first-degree murder after shooting a police officer. Officers did not use excessive force in attempting to detain defendant, and he knowingly and willfully shot and killed a sergeant while police attempted to enter his home in an act that did not constitute self defense. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tabor, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 22-1103, Categories: evidence, murder, Self Defense
J. Greer finds that defendant was properly convicted of attempted murder and other charges in connection with a drive-by shooting because circumstantial evidence proved that defendant actively participated in the crimes by driving the SUV at the time of the shooting and by refusing to cooperate with police. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Greer, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 21-1185, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Wood finds the trial court properly convicted defendant by guilty plea for first-degree murder based on sufficient evidence. The 77-year-old victim was found with a gunshot wound to the face during an officer's welfare check, and witnesses identified defendant running from the residence after they had heard a gunshot. Defendant's waiver of his right to counsel was voluntary, knowing, and intelligent. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wood , Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: CR-22-701, Categories: evidence, murder, Due Process
J. Robinson finds that defendant was properly convicted of attempted second degree murder and aggravated criminal damage of property. There was testimony regarding defendant and the victim's hostile relationship, including evidence of threatening texts made by defendant before the shooting. Further, witnesses testified that they heard gunshots as defendant drove by the victim's home, and they observed gunshot damage to the home after the incident. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Robinson, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 55,287-KA, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Cox finds that defendant was properly convicted of second degree murder. In this case, defendant did not object to the determination that he was competent to stand trial. Further, autopsy evidence was properly admitted because the photographs were used by the coroner to show the hemorrhage under the victim's scalp and to support the finding that the cause of death was homicide. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Cox, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 55,363-KA, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Pitman finds that defendant was properly convicted of second degree murder. The evidence shows that defendant stabbed the victim, the father of her ex-girlfriend's child, when the victim attempted to retrieve his daughter after defendant and the mother were involved in a fight. Witnesses testified that when the victim arrived to pick up his child, defendant asked him if he wanted to fight, armed herself with two knives and swung them at the victim. Therefore, defendant did not act in self defense. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Pitman, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 55,450-KA, Categories: evidence, murder, Self Defense
J. Stone finds that defendant was properly convicted of second degree murder. In this case, the jury was shown surveillance footage showing the clothing defendant wore on the day of the murder, and that, based on geolocation data, defendant walked the approximate distance from his work to the crime scene. Further an eyewitness testified that the shooter was wearing the same clothes that defendant was wearing that day. Also, the murder weapon was found in defendant’s home inside a deep freezer, and the trigger contained his DNA. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Stone, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 55,440-KA, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Cassel finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for first-degree murder based on sufficient evidence. Witness testimony, as well as fingerprint and DNA evidence, link defendant to the scene of the shooting. Furthermore, the trial court properly sustained the state's oral motion to continue due to new evidence of defendant's cell phone, which had been seized in a different investigation. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Cassel , Filed On: January 5, 2024, Case #: S-23-225, Categories: evidence, Ineffective Assistance, murder
J. Bell finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for first-degree murder and sexual assault with the use of a deadly weapon. The 16-year-old victim's corpse was found with a stab wound to the neck, strangled and wrapped in a tarp in a remote area. A used condom with defendant's and the victim's DNA was found near the body. The evidence supports the conviction and the sentence of life with the possibility of parole after 46 years. Any error involving defendant's ex-girlfriend's testimony regarding his propensity for sexual violence is harmless. Affirmed.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Bell , Filed On: January 4, 2024, Case #: 85331, Categories: evidence, murder, Sex Offender
J. Torres finds the lower court did not properly convicted defendant in the murder of a friend who was attacked by her boyfriend. The court properly convicted defendant of reckless indifference murder, as there was evidence she had been involved in an altercation and witness testified to her erratic and fearful behavior afterwards. After being convicted of murder, she should not have also been convicted of aggravated assault, which overlaps the murder charge. There was not evidence, however, to find her guilty of use of a deadly weapon, the scissors used in the murder. Affirmed and vacated in part.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Torres, Filed On: December 29, 2023, Case #: CRA22-12, Categories: evidence, murder, Assault
J. Mays finds security camera footage showing defendant's vehicle in the vicinity of the crime scene, along with eyewitness testimony about the shooting, was sufficient for the jury to convict him on complicity murder and weapons charges. Meanwhile, the trial court properly admitted the detective's testimony about possible motives for the crime discussed by police prior to defendant's arrest. Defendant's attorney was able to fully cross-examine the detective to avoid any confusion on the part of the jury about the timeline of events in the case. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Mays, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4791, Categories: evidence, Jury, murder
J. Herndon finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for two counts of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon. Defendant was charged after he reported his having fatally shot his 70-year-old neighbor and her friend. Though defendant had a tumultuous relationship with the victims for many years, substantial evidence, including surveillance video, supports the finding that defendant shot the unarmed victims in the head during an argument, while no evidence supports his claims of self-defense. Affirmed.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Herndon , Filed On: December 27, 2023, Case #: 85120, Categories: evidence, murder, Prosecutorial Misconduct
J. Carbullido finds the trial court did not properly convict defendant of murder, as it did not hold a evidentiary hearing after reports of possible juror misconduct. One juror had mentioned knowing defendant had previously been incarcerated and the trial judge did not begin an investigation or give curative instructions. Vacated.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Carbullido, Filed On: December 27, 2023, Case #: CRA22-10, Categories: evidence, Jury, murder