Blackmon v. State
306 Ga. 90
Ga.2019Background
- On April 29, 2015, Bobbie Blackmon was shot and later died; her husband Danny Blackmon was indicted for malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, firearm-possession during a felony, and possession of methamphetamine. At trial the jury convicted him of felony murder and related charges but acquitted on malice murder. Sentence: life for felony murder plus additional terms.
- Facts supporting guilt: prior evening argument about alleged photos; appellant threatened Turner and intercepted Bobbie and Turner on the road, telling Turner to return and threatening to shoot the car; chaotic and threatening conduct at the home later that night (throwing tools, attempting to ignite a propane tank).
- Later that night appellant returned with a shotgun; Bobbie was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the neck; appellant admitted shooting her and claimed he intended to shoot himself and that the discharge was accidental. Investigators recovered slug trajectory evidence and found the shotgun required ~3.75 pounds trigger pressure.
- Turner's testimony recounted statements Bobbie made during the roadside intercept and after returning home (expressing fear, saying she loved family, "this is it for her," and asking Turner to stay with her). The trial court admitted those statements under the excited-utterance exception over appellant's hearsay objection.
- Appellant filed an untimely motion for new trial, later allowed out-of-time; trial court denied the new trial. Appellant appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia raising (1) admission of Bobbie’s hearsay statements and (2) alleged reliance on facts not in evidence in the new-trial order.
Issues
| Issue | Blackmon's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admissibility of Bobbie’s out-of-court statements to Turner (hearsay) | Statements were hearsay and inadmissible; admission was abuse of discretion | Statements were admissible as excited utterances (and alternatively under residual exception) because they related to a startling event and were made while under its stress | Court affirmed: statements were properly admitted under the excited-utterance exception (OCGA § 24-8-803(2)) given the roadway threat and subsequent conduct |
| Trial court relied on facts not in evidence in denying new trial | The court based its order on facts (e.g., that Bobbie heard the roadway threat) not supported by testimony | Turner testified appellant threatened to shoot the car on the roadway; the court could reasonably infer Bobbie heard it from her conduct; thus findings were supported | Court affirmed: trial court’s factual findings were supported by the record and not clearly erroneous |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency of the evidence)
- Robbins v. State, 300 Ga. 387 (excited-utterance timing and totality-of-circumstances analysis)
- Ledford v. United States, 443 F.3d 702 (excited utterance and hearsay nuances in domestic-threat contexts)
- United States v. Belfast, 611 F.3d 783 (timing for excited utterance need not be strictly contemporaneous)
- United States v. Joy, 192 F.3d 761 (excited utterance admitted minutes after threat)
- Woodward v. Williams, 263 F.3d 1135 (victim’s statements relating to a startling domestic confrontation admissible as excited utterances)
- Jones v. State, 304 Ga. 320 (role of jury in resolving credibility and sufficiency review)