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Hubbard v. State5/25/1999
A jury convicted Jerry Wayne Hubbard of first-degree murder and assessed punishment at twenty-five years' confinement. In two points of error, appellant contends the trial court erred in denying his motions for directed verdict and for new trial because the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to support the jury's verdict. We affirm.
Appellant and Carla Jill Richards, the deceased, had lived together for several years. Both drank heavily and had a history of arguing about financial difficulties. The deceased was in poor health and had recently lost her job. Several witnesses testified that the deceased was depressed about her financial state but no one testified that they believed she was suicidal. One defense witness testified to taking a gun from the deceased's hand once in the past after the deceased threatened suicide. On the day of her death, the deceased received a letter informing her that she had been turned down for social security disability benefits.
On the evening of August 29, 1997, appellant called 911 and told the dispatcher that the deceased had shot herself in the head during an argument. Police arrived within minutes to find the deceased seated on a couch with a .22 caliber revolver on the floor between her legs. Her head was slumped to the left and her arms were hanging between her legs. Patrol officers Chris Bardwell and Darryl McGee, arriving within minutes of each other, each testified that appellant was intoxicated. Each officer testified that he found the deceased's position to be odd. Bardwell testified that he thought the deceased's position was too perfect_as if she had been set up. Bardwell testified that the suicides he had previously investigated did not look like this one. Bardwell also testified that appellant was extremely calm. At one point during the evening, appellant asked Bardwell, "Can you push someone too hard[?]". McGee testified that the deceased should have fallen over to the right if she had shot herself while sitting on the couch. McGee also testified that appellant seemed indifferent and was not crying or upset. At one point, after appellant had slept for a while, he asked McGee, who was reading a newspaper, for the sports page.
Officers investigating the death discovered that two pillows, soaked with blood on one side, had been turned over, concealing the blood-soaked sides. A crime scene technician also observed that, while the deceased had been shot in the right temple and there was no exit wound, the blood on the couch was all to the left of the deceased. It was the crime scene technician's opinion that the deceased had been shot while lying on the couch and the pillows had been moved.
Grand Prairie police detective Alan Frizzell testified he was the first detective at the crime scene. His suspicions were immediately raised because appellant's statements to police at the scene did not appear to match the physical evidence. It was Frizzell's opinion that the deceased was shot while lying on the couch. On September 2, 1997, appellant contacted Frizzell from jail and asked to speak with the detective. Frizzell testified that appellant gave a voluntary written statement in which appellant stated he and the deceased had argued about money and their plans for the evening. The deceased had then pulled her gun. As appellant and the deceased struggled over the gun, it discharged. When appellant disengaged himself from the deceased, she was in a sitting position. Frizzell testified that appellant's statement was inconsistent with the physical evidence at the crime scene. He further testified that appellant's clothing was not rumpled, and appellant did not appear to have been in a struggle when Frizzell saw hi
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