 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
STATE v. DOWNEY2/27/1997
rged. The defendant claimed that the trigger action on the rifle was sensitive. The victim had risen from her chair, and he saw her fall to the ground. The defendant was evasive when asked about his exact position and that of the victim when the gun was fired. During the course of the interview, the defendant was angry and stated that he was "pissed" about what had happened. He was not sad, remorseful or confused at any point. After the interview, one of the officers typed a statement of the defendant's recitation of events. The defendant read the statement, initialed two corrections, and signed it.
Later that same evening, police officers drove the defendant to the house of his friend Bill Cleary. Over the next few days, the defendant told Cleary different versions of what had occurred. He stated first that he picked up the rifle and was startled by a loud noise, the gun slipped, and, as he grabbed for it, the safety was dislodged and the rifle discharged. In the second version, he stated that he dropped the rifle and, as it fell, the butt hit the floor, causing it to discharge. Cleary did not believe the defendant's story and demanded that he tell him the truth. The defendant replied that after Anthony and Weidelman left, he and the victim
had a "slight spat," he shot her and she got what she deserved.
In the weeks preceding the shooting, the defendant, on two occasions, made disparaging remarks and threatening motions to the victim. On both occasions the defendant was intoxicated. Approximately one to two months before the shooting, he was seen making a motion with his hand as if it were a gun and pointing at the victim's shoulder. While making the motion, he said, "If you know what's good for you, you'll do as I've told you to do or else you know what I'll — but you know what's at home waiting." Approximately three to four weeks prior to the shooting, the defendant again made disparaging remarks to and about the victim and again made a gun-like motion with his hand pointed at the victim.
I
The defendant first claims that there was insufficient evidence of intent to kill to sustain the guilty verdict. We disagree.
When reviewing an insufficiency claim, our courts apply a two-prong test. "First, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict. Second, we determine whether upon the facts so construed and the inferences reasonably drawn therefrom the jury reasonably could have concluded that the cumulative force of the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. . . . Our inquiry into whether the evidence in the record would support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt does not require us to ask if we believe that the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but rather if any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. . . . Once a defendant has been found guilty of the crime charged, we conduct our judicial review of all of the
evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Marsala, 44 Conn. App. 84, 93-94, 688 A.2d 336 (1997).
A
The defendant first asserts that the jury's conclusion that the defendant intended to kill the victim was based on speculation and conjecture. We disagree.
Intent to kill is an essential element of murder. See General Statutes § 53a-54a. The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant "had the conscious objective to cause the death of the victim." State v. Montanez, 219 Conn. 16, 20, 592 A.2d 149 (1991). " he question of intent is purely a question of fa
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Connecticut DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|