Brandon Thomas Woody v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.), 43A03-1611-CR-2610

On Feb. 18, 2015, Brandon Woody went to Tara Thornburg's home with two others to obtain marijuana; an encounter ended with Thornburg and her boyfriend Joshua Knisely shot dead.
Thornburg called 911 and later identified Woody to responding Officer Denton before dying; police recovered shell casings, live rounds, duct tape, gloves, and other items at the scene.
Two co-defendants (DeHart and Hursey) were present; Hursey later implicated Woody and testified against him; DeHart and Woody were tried together.
At trial the State introduced: Thornburg’s 911 call and statements to Officer Denton, audio recordings of three rap songs performed by Woody, and witness testimony about a prior choreographed rap performance in which Woody handled a handgun.
The jury convicted Woody of two counts of murder; he received consecutive 60-year sentences and appealed the admission of the three categories of evidence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admission of Thornburg’s statements to 911 and Officer Denton (confrontation clause)	Statements are nontestimonial because they were made during an ongoing emergency to obtain help	Statements are testimonial; admission violated Sixth Amendment right to confrontation	Admitted: statements were nontestimonial (ongoing emergency), so no Confrontation Clause violation
Admission of testimony about Woody’s prior choreographed rap with a handgun (Evid. R. 404(b)/403)	Evidence shows prior possession and a weapon malfunction similar to facts at the crime; probative of identity/motif	Improper character/prior bad-act evidence and unfairly prejudicial; weapon at party not shown to be same as murder weapon	Admitted: not 404(b) prior bad act; probative value (weapon possession/jam) not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice
Admission of Woody’s recorded rap songs (Evid. R. 404/403)	Songs probative of intent/identity/context	Lyrics reference prior crimes and are highly prejudicial; limited probative value	Admitted at trial but any error harmless: overwhelming independent evidence of guilt (victim ID, co-defendant testimony, corroboration)
Harmless-error assessment for rap recordings	N/A	Admission infringed fairness and prejudiced jury	Even if admission erred, error harmless given substantial independent evidence supporting conviction

Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (testimonial-statement Confrontation Clause framework)
Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813 (911-call analysis; primary-purpose test distinguishes testimonial from nontestimonial statements)
Michigan v. Bryant, 562 U.S. 344 (objective circumstances and ongoing-emergency inquiry)
Zanders v. State, 73 N.E.3d 178 (standard for abuse of discretion review of evidentiary rulings)
Hoglund v. State, 962 N.E.2d 1230 (harmless-error test for improperly admitted evidence)
Hubbell v. State, 754 N.E.2d 884 (weapons not used in the crime may be prejudicial; discussed and distinguished)
Fuentes v. State, 10 N.E.3d 68 (possession of a firearm generally not a misdeed for 404 purposes)
Rogers v. State, 897 N.E.2d 955 (similar principle on firearm possession and character evidence)
Houser v. State, 823 N.E.2d 693 (harmless-error considerations for admission of evidence)