345 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Murder"'.
Per curiam, the North Dakota Supreme Court finds that the district court properly entered judgment after a jury convicted defendant of murder under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life. Sufficient evidence supports the conviction. Affirmed.
Court: North Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 16, 2024, Case #: 2024ND100, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Johnson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Officers discovered the victim's body, shot in the face with a shotgun, inside the trailer after a 911 report. Defendant, in a confused state of mind, was sitting on the porch and claimed that the victim had broken into his residence, though officers saw that she was wearing socks and slippers with no dirt on them. Though defendant said that he did not know the victim, it was later discovered that he had recently met her on a dating website. Though defendant says the shooting was accidental, sufficient evidence supports the conviction. No ineffective assistance is found; and testimony from defendant's ex-wife and work associate involving threats he had made about shooting them while pointing a gun at them was properly admitted. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Johnson , Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 09-22-00385-CR, Categories: evidence, Ineffective Assistance, murder
J. Alley finds a lower court did not err in admitting a confession and evidence obtained via in a warrantless search in the murder trial of a former Border Patrol agent accused of killing multiple women, especially targeting sex workers. Defendant “voluntarily waived his right to remain silent” when he told investigators during an interview that "he was ‘clean[ing] up the streets’ of Laredo,” and multiple legal theories support the authorities’ search of his vehicle. Most notably, they had probable cause for the search, as a purse belonging to a woman who escaped was “in plain view” on his truck's floorboard. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Alley, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00025-CR, Categories: evidence, murder, Search
J. Connors finds that the lower court properly convicted and sentenced defendant for murder. On appeal, defendant argues that the lower court erred “by admitting evidence of the victim’s state of mind.” However, it was not an abuse of discretion for the court to allow the victim’s statements to a friend that she was afraid of defendant. Additionally, the lower court gave an “immediate instruction” regarding the burden of proof following a certain query by the prosecutor during closing argument. Affirmed.
Court: Maine Supreme Court, Judge: Connors, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 2024ME35, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Lawrence finds the trial court properly allowed the prosecution to present evidence of defendant's previous manslaughter convictions at his trial on a murder charge. The testimony, including that he previously disposed of a body on his property, was relevant to the current case and showed a "common plan" to hide a body following a murder. Affirmed.
Court: Mississippi Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lawrence, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 2022-KA-1066, Categories: evidence, murder
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J. Riedmann finds the trial court properly convicted defendant by plea agreement for second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person based on sufficient evidence. Defendant called 911, saying he was using CPR on a person with a gunshot wound. Defendant then reported the victim was dead, admitting he had shot her because she would not stop yelling. Officers discovered the victim with multiple gunshot wounds, later finding defendant at his brother-in-law's house pursuant to another 911 call. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Riedmann , Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: A-23-942, Categories: evidence, Firearms, murder
J. O'Neil finds a lower court improperly sentenced a defendant to second degree murder after he shot and killed a coworker inside of a vehicle. The State argued that it properly presented evidence in court concerning items located in the defendant's residence, which included firearms and ammunition, and that he is an unreasonable person. However, the defendant sufficiently showed in court that the government improperly submitted evidence that was harmless and prejudicial. Reversed.
Court: Arizona Court Of Appeals Division Two, Judge: O'Neil, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 2 CA-CR 2023-64, Categories: evidence, Firearms, murder
J. Stacy finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder, conspiracy to commit murder and improper disposal of human remains. An online dating profile led investigators to defendant after the victim was reported missing. Cell phone activity, including text messages and location pings clearly linked defendant, her accomplice and the victim. Other evidence, including surveillance-video-documented purchases of items used in the dismemberment and disposal of the victim's body also supports the convictions. Statements made by the accomplice involving getting sexual gratification from torture and killing were properly admitted as related to the furtherance of the conspiracy. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Stacy , Filed On: May 10, 2024, Case #: S-21-980, Categories: evidence, murder, Mayhem
J. Landau finds that the trial court properly admitted extraneous offense evidence during the guilt phase of defendant's murder trial. Evidence that defendant assaulted the murder victim's teenage son a few months before the murder had significant probative value that was not outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice to defendant. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Landau, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 01-23-00173-CR, Categories: evidence, murder, Sentencing
J. Hudson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for capital murder, aggravated residential burglary, robbery and theft. Defendant was arrested after DNA evidence showed he was involved in an apartment break-in and murder. The court properly denied defendant's motion to exclude officer testimony involving fresh blood drops she saw that dried before being taken as evidence. Defendant thoroughly impeached the witness, and the jury was free to determine the weight held by the officer's testimony. The testimony was properly admitted, as the officer's opinion was based on her experience as a crime-scene specialist. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Hudson , Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: CR-23-710, Categories: Burglary, evidence, murder
J. Webb finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder, rape and abuse of a corpse. The suffocated victim was found wrapped in a bedspread on the side of the road with injuries indicating the victim had been beaten and sexually assaulted. An investigation revealed the victim had been in a relationship with defendant, leading to a warrant to search the home where signs of a struggle and blood spatter were found, along with pillow shams matching the bedspread in which the victim was wrapped. Defendant's DNA found on a cigarette butt near the victim's body, as well as the victim's DNA found in the trunk of defendant's vehicle support the conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Webb , Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: CR-23-745, Categories: evidence, murder, Sex Offender
J. Hixson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for the first-degree murder of his 3-year-old son. Defendant's girlfriend testified defendant punished the child by whipping him on his back with a belt and wooden spoon for peeing on himself and cussing, also saying this instance was more violent than previous punishments. After leaving the room, the girlfriend returned when things got quiet to see the child lying motionless on the floor. The child died later that day after receiving medical attention. Sufficient evidence, including forensic/medical photographs, the belt, an extension cord and the broken wooden spoon demonstrate defendant knew his conduct of repeated blunt-force trauma to the child's head and torso was deadly. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hixson , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: CR-23-196, Categories: evidence, murder, Child Victims
J. Moore affirms the defendant's second-degree murder conviction, finding that while the district court abused its discretion in admitting evidence that a witness received threatening phone calls from an unknown caller, the defendant has not demonstrated that there was a reasonable possibility that this evidence significantly impacted the verdict. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Moore, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: A22-0316, Categories: evidence, murder, Witnesses
J. Greer finds that defendant was properly convicted of first-degree murder for killing his girlfriend's aunt in light of the mountain of circumstantial evidence supporting his conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Greer, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 22-1711, Categories: evidence, murder
C.J. Hudson partially affirms the defendant's convictions stemming from a 1993 cold-case murder. The district court did not err in finding that the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in DNA found on a discarded napkin at a hockey game and that analysis of the DNA was therefore not a search. Any error in precluding the defendant from presenting evidence of an alternative perpetrator at trial was harmless, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding expert testimony as late discovery. Prosecutors' statements in closing arguments did not constitute error, circumstantial evidence was sufficient to support the jury's verdict that the defendant was guilty of first-degree murder, and the defendant did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel. It was, however, error to convict the defendant of both first-degree felony murder and second-degree intentional murder, a lesser-included offense. Affirmed in part.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Hudson, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: A22-1679, Categories: Dna, evidence, murder
J. Hoyle finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Testimony from neighbors shows defendant and his girlfriend were experiencing tension in the relationship after their daughter was born, and that this was exacerbated by defendant's recent wreck in his truck and a winter storm. A female witness with whom defendant had flirted in the past testified the girlfriend retrieved a gun when defendant taunted her with the flirtation. Defendant shot and killed the girlfriend when attempting to take the gun from her. His version of how the shooting occurred was inconsistent with the blood spatter evidence and other forensic evidence, such as the fact that the bullet did not exit the girlfriend's skull. A rational factfinder reasonably could infer that defendant intentionally or knowingly shot the victim. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Hoyle , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 12-23-00208-CR, Categories: evidence, Firearms, murder
J. Anderson finds that while the district court did not err in concluding that the defendant had abandoned a privacy interest in genetic information extracted from semen he left at a crime scene and garbage he left in a bin, it abused its discretion in excluding evidence he proffered on the grounds that it did not have an "inherent tendency" to connect an alternative perpetrator to the murder at issue. The evidence proffered was admissible, the district court held the proffer to an unobtainable legal standard, and the error was not harmless. Reversed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Anderson, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: A22-1823, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Buller finds that defendant was properly denied relief from his first-degree murder conviction even though he recanted his confession because multiple witnesses testified about other incriminating statements which corroborated defendant's confession to police. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Buller, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 23-0247, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Hart finds misjoinder of criminal offenses is reviewed under "plain error" analysis and that, even if a trial court improperly allowed numerous charges to be tried at the same time, it is not a structural error that requires reversal of a defendant's convictions. In this case, while evidence of defendant's drug charges may have persuaded the jury he was inclined to commit crimes, the error was harmless as it pertained to his murder charge because of the overwhelming evidence in support of that charge, including that he went to his backpack to retrieve a gun before he shot the victim following a scuffle. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 2024CO26, Categories: Criminal Procedure, evidence, murder
J. Rawlinson finds that the district court improperly denied a habeas corpus petition challenging a first-degree murder conviction. The matter involves a "cold case" which ended with a conviction 35 years after the murder but was based entirely on circumstantial evidence after the trial judge excluded exculpatory evidence of another viable suspect who was the last person to see the victim alive. The decision was based on an unreasonable determination of facts. Reversed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Rawlinson, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 21-55038, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Wall finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for 25 years following the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy who sold him a BB gun and not Glock pistol. The defendant argued that he was denied a fair trial when the State interviewed prospective jurors and asked them if they would do their "job" in court, unfairly suggested that he was not thinking about his daughter while committing a violent crime, and then erred in certifying him as an adult. However, the State presented sufficient evidence in court that the defendant submitted three versions of the incident, falsely claiming that he took the rap for the actual killer because he was "freaked out," and then attempted to reframe an evidentiary challenge as a prosecutorial error. Affirmed.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court, Judge: Wall, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 125430, Categories: evidence, Firearms, murder
J. Egerton finds that the trial court properly admitted defendant's confession before denying his petition for resentencing on murder, robbery and burglary convictions. He forfeited his claim that his confession was involuntary by failing to raise in at trial, and resentencing hearings, which have a narrow purpose, are not the place to litigate evidentiary issues for the first time. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Egerton, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: B324572, Categories: evidence, murder, Sentencing
J. Kemp finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for capital murder and aggravated robbery, sentencing him to life plus 40 years in prison. A homeowner called her husband about a suspicious person at the house and the husband, on his way home, found a body in the street with multiple gunshot wounds. Police dash cam recorded defendant escaping in the victim's truck, and the victim's DNA was discovered on defendant's bloody pants when he was later arrested on multiple warrants. Defendant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence. Certain evidence was properly admitted as cumulative of other evidence admitted at trial, and Ring camera photos of the truck were properly authenticated by detective testimony. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Kemp , Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: CR-23-574, Categories: evidence, murder, Due Process
Per curiam, the North Dakota Supreme Court finds that the district court properly entered judgment after a jury found defendant guilty of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Sufficient evidence supported conviction. Affirmed.
Court: North Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: 2024ND87, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Jensen finds that the district court properly entered criminal judgment after a jury found defendant guilty of felony murder. Defendant argued that the district court improperly allowed the state to remove “knowingly” from the charge of felony murder and use only the culpability level of “intentional.” Any error was not obvious and sufficient evidence supported conviction. Affirmed.
Court: North Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen , Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: 2024ND78, Categories: evidence, murder
J. Golemon finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Testimony from 13 witnesses, ballistics and firearms evidence, photographs, and surveillance video clearly showing shots fired from defendant's vehicle support the conviction. Though defendant claims self-defense, the record shows no request for such a jury instruction. Counsel's decisions at trial all fall within the range of reasonable professional assistance. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Golemon , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 09-22-00337-CR, Categories: evidence, Ineffective Assistance, murder
J. Smith finds that despite defendant's claim he did not open his knife before he threw it at the moving vehicle being driven by the victim, his murder and assault convictions were supported by sufficient evidence and the state proved intent by introducing testimony from a hotel employee that he and the victim had argued before she drove away, as well as surveillance footage that showed him throwing the knife. The issue of whether defendant opened the knife consciously prior to throwing it was irrelevant because his decision to throw the object clearly proved an intent to cause harm, while his initial denial of throwing anything also weighed against his credibility as a witness. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1680, Categories: evidence, murder, Assault
J. Thacker finds the lower court properly convicted the defendant of two counts of murder with a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking crime and one count of killing a witness to prevent communication with law enforcement. The defendant robbed a fellow drug dealer before killing her and her 7-year-old son, whom he feared would testify. The defendant contends his rights were violated when investigators used a cell site simulator to obtain his location. The combination of his number being the last the deceased dialed and him being the last to see her, according to her family, is enough probable cause to believe that the location information sought is evidence of, or will lead to evidence of, the misdemeanor or felony being investigated. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Thacker, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 23-4013, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, murder