 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Evans4/22/1999
This slip opinion is subject to revision and may not reflect the final opinion adopted by the Court.
Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District
Appeal From: Circuit Court of Taney County, Hon. James Eiffert and Hon. John Jacobs.
Citation:
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED. Shrum, P.J., Garrison, C.J., and Barney, J., concur.
Opinion:
A jury convicted Appellant Rodney Clay Evans ("Defendant") of murder in the first degree pursuant to Section 565.020.1, RSMo 1994, for the murder of Sheilah Evans, his wife. The trial court entered its judgment of conviction and imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility of probation or parole. Defendant brings appeal 20530 from this judgment, raising six points of trial court error, discussed below. Defendant also filed a motion to vacate the judgment and sentence per Rule 29.15, Missouri Court Rules (1996). The motion court denied relief after an evidentiary hearing. Defendant brings appeal 22505 from that order.
Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction. "Appellate review is limited to a determination of whether there is sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror might have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." State v. Chaney, 967 S.W.2d 47, 52 (Mo. banc 1998). In applying this standard, the Court accepts as true all of the evidence favorable to the State, including all favorable inferences drawn from the evidence and disregards all evidence and inferences to the contrary. Id. "Even where evidence of a defendant's guilt is solely circumstantial, the evidence is sufficient to support a conviction if the evidence is such that a reasonable juror would be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt." State v. Myszka, 963 S.W.2d 19, 23 (Mo.App. 1998). All of the elements of a homicide case, including the corpus delicti may be proved with circumstantial evidence. Id. The jury resolves questions of credibility and inconsistencies in the evidence. State v. Neely, 979 S.W.2d 552, 561 (Mo.App. 1998). A jury may accept part of a witness's testimony while disbelieving other portions. State v. Redmond, 937 S.W.2d 205, 209 (Mo. banc 1996). A jury may also draw certain inferences from a witness's testimony, but reject others. Id.
The events which serve as the impetus for this case occurred on September 8 and 9, 1994. An in depth recitation of the evidence is essential to the understanding of the issues on appeal. On the night of September 8, Defendant picked up his wife, Sheilah Evans ("Sheilah") at the Airport in Tulsa. The couple returned to their home in Nixa about 1:00 a.m. on September 9th. Approximately two hours after Defendant and Sheilah returned home, Defendant called 911 to report that he had found his wife unconscious in the pool. The Nixa police department and paramedics arrived at the residence at 2:55 a.m. and described Defendant as administrating CPR to Sheilah at the shallow end of the outdoor pool located in the back yard of the home. Defendant appeared to be upset. The first officer on the scene, Tim Matthews, could smell intoxicants upon Defendant's person. There was a large amount of water adjacent to the deep end of the pool. Both Sheilah and Defendant were nude. After taking over CPR but getting no response, paramedics pronounced Sheilah dead on the scene at 3:06 a.m.
When asked what happened, Defendant told Officer Matthews that when he and his wife returned from the airport he had made them each a strawberry daiquiri and that they had gone to bed and had sexual intercourse. After finishing, Sheilah told him that she was going to take a bath. After about twenty minute
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Missouri DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|