Benson v. State
294 Ga. 618
| Ga. | 2014Background
- Benson and Williams were romantically involved in 2007; Benson stayed at Williams's DeKalb County home regularly.
- Benson, facing financial difficulties, borrowed over $10,000 from Williams in 2007.
- A dispute over the loan occurred Oct. 28, 2007; police investigated but found no violence at that time.
- On Oct. 29–30, 2007, Williams disappeared; Benson did not report her missing and provided conflicting stories.
- A body part–scattered remains were found Oct. 30 near Benson's Newton County property; coroner ruled homicide of unknown cause.
- Evidence included credit-card activity tied to Benson, a hotel-camera recording of Benson towing Williams's car, and keys found at Benson's business.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for malice murder and corpus delicti | Benson argues insufficient proof of malice and death by criminal cause. | State contends evidence supports malice and corpus delicti beyond reasonable doubt. | Evidence adequate; jury could find malice and criminal death beyond reasonable doubt. |
| Closure of courtroom during voir dire and impact on trial | Closure improper, excluded family members from voir dire. | No objection at trial; any error procedural bar, or ineffective assistance claim. | Procedurally barred; no ineffective-assistance showing of material prejudice. |
| Ineffective assistance of counsel regarding charge requests | Counsel erred by withdrawing requests to charge corpus delicti and proximate causation. | Charge as a whole properly instructed on corpus delicti and causation; withdrawal harmless. | No reasonable probability that outcome differed; no reversible error. |
Key Cases Cited
- Wrisper v. State, 193 Ga. 157 (1941) (corroborates corpus delicti proof when body cause is unknown)
- Richardson v. State, 276 Ga. 548 (2003) (corpus delicti may be shown by indirect evidence)
- Hinton v. State, 280 Ga. 811 (2006) (undiscovered death evidence supports corpus delicti finding)
- Jackson v. State, 287 Ga. 646 (2010) (proximate causation liability for foreseeability of criminal conduct)
- Reid v. State, 286 Ga. 484 (2010) (ineffective assistance for failure to object to closure evaluated for prejudice)
- Pennie v. State, 292 Ga. 249 (2013) (charge sufficiency on proximate causation supports non-ineffectiveness finding)
- Cowart v. State, 294 Ga. 751 (2013) (procedural bar to appellate review of unpreserved issues)
- State v. Abernathy, 289 Ga. 603 (2011) (closure issue preserved for ineffective-assistance analysis)