Chezmin Brittany Suter v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 67 Va. App. 311

On May 21, 2014, Suter, Andrew Roberts, and another woman went to Tropical Delights in Virginia Beach; an altercation occurred between Suter and employee Tyrone Martin.
Roberts confronted Martin after Suter claimed Martin spat on her; Roberts produced a gun and fired shots that struck Martin inside the restaurant; surveillance video captured the events.
Suter stood near Roberts with an unobstructed view, then drove Roberts and the other woman away from the scene immediately after the shooting.
Martin died from his gunshot wounds two days later; Roberts was later arrested; Suter was identified from the surveillance video and interviewed by police.
A grand jury indicted Suter for accessory after the fact to murder (Code § 18.2-19), obstruction of justice, attempted assault and battery, and driving without a license; the trial court convicted her of accessory after the fact (Class 6 felony for a Class 1/2 felony), obstruction, and driving without a license.
On appeal Suter challenged only the sufficiency of the evidence for accessory after the fact to murder, arguing she could not have known a homicide had occurred because the victim died two days after she aided Roberts.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Suter could be convicted as an accessory after the fact to murder when she aided the shooter before the victim died	Commonwealth: Suter observed the shooting, knew a felony had been committed, and drove the shooter away, satisfying accessory-after-the-fact elements	Suter: At the time she rendered aid the victim was still alive; under common law the felony (murder) was not complete, so she lacked the requisite knowledge that a homicide occurred	Reversed: Under common-law rule adopted in Virginia, the underlying felony (murder) must be complete (victim dead) when assistance is rendered; because death occurred two days later, conviction for accessory to murder cannot stand; remand for possible misdemeanor accessory trial

Commonwealth v. Dalton, 259 Va. 249 (summary of common-law accessory-after-the-fact elements)
Manley v. Commonwealth, 222 Va. 642 (accessory must know or should know principal committed a felony)
Little v. United States, 709 A.2d 708 (D.C. App. 1998) (aid rendered while victims still alive cannot support accessory-to-homicide conviction)
Maddox v. Commonwealth, 349 S.W.2d 686 (Ky. 1960) (adopting relaxed rule allowing accessory liability even if death occurs later)
United States v. McCoy, 721 F.2d 473 (4th Cir. 1983) (accessory must have known victim was dead or dying at time assistance was provided)