Boring v. State, 289 Ga. 429

Appellant Courtney Boring was convicted of malice murder and firearm possession and sentenced to life plus five years.
The State sought to admit highly prejudicial character evidence from the victim’s daughter’s bedroom items linking to a 'gothic' lifestyle and alleged satanic influences.
The State's theory tied the murder to appellant avenging her mother's interference with her relationship with Linville; no direct nexus shown between the items and the crime.
Forensic evidence indicated the rifle found was the murder weapon, the autopsy deemed the death homicide, and the shooting occurred inside the home with no forced entry.
Investigators targeted appellant; other suspects were ruled out; timeline largely supported by cell phone records and witness statements.
The trial court admitted the contested evidence over objections, and the conviction was challenged on appeal as reversible error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence	Boring argues evidence sufficed to convict beyond reasonable doubt	State contends evidence supports guilt beyond reasonable doubt	Evidence sufficient to sustain verdict
Admissibility of character evidence linking to 'gothic/satanic' beliefs	State claims evidence relevant to state of mind and motive	Admission was prejudicial and not linked to the crime	Admission reversible error; highly prejudicial without nexus to crime

Wolfe v. State, 273 Ga. 670 (Ga. 2001) (relevance of evidence does not escape exclusion when highly prejudicial)
Lindsey v. State, 282 Ga. 447 (Ga. 2007) (harmless error standard for nonconstitutional error)
Sumlin v. State, 283 Ga. 264 (Ga. 2008) (prosecutor improper closing argument injecting new evidence)
Alexander v. State, 270 Ga. 346 (Ga. 1998) (prosecutor's description of defendant's alleged gang ties; reversible error where no evidence)
McIntyre v. State, 266 Ga. 7 (Ga. 1995) (evidence of satanic cult admissible when tied to motive or retaliation)
Dawson v. Delaware, 503 U.S. 159 (S. Ct. 1992) (evidence of association with disturbing group improper where no connection to crime)