Culpepper v. State
289 Ga. 736
| Ga. | 2011Background
- Jenny Neville was found stabbed to death in her Duluth duplex on September 12, 2006, after suffering 22 stab wounds.
- Appellant Alvenio Culpepper resided in the other apartment; blood-stained socks and a t-shirt were found in his unit.
- A cordless telephone handset and base were found in Neville's apartment atop Culpepper's television; a knife was found under a floormat outside the apartment.
- A handwritten note with Culpepper's fingerprints stated sentiments about family and drugs; Culpepper confessed to stabbing Neville in statements and a videotaped interview after arrest in Pennsylvania.
- Neville's car was later found near the Pennsylvania city where Culpepper was arrested; charges included malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, theft, and possession of a knife during a felony.
- The jury convicted Culpepper of malice murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony; he was sentenced to life for malice murder and concurrent terms for other offenses.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does aggravated assault merge into malice murder? | Culpepper contends aggrav. assault merges with malice murder since same stabbing events. | State argues distinct facts; nonfatal wounds could support separate aggravated assault if separated by a deliberate interval. | Aggravated assault merges into malice murder; vacate aggravated assault sentence. |
| Does armed robbery merge into malice murder? | Armed robbery merges into malice murder under the required evidence test. | Armed robbery has an element (taking property) not required for malice murder; not merged. | Armed robbery does not merge; conviction and sentence remain. |
| Do felony murder convictions merge into malice murder counts and affect sentences? | Felony murder counts should be surplusage once malice murder conviction exists. | Valid guilty verdicts on alternative malice murder counts require treatment of counts as surplusage. | Felony murder counts treated as surplusage; case remanded for resentencing on remaining counts. |
Key Cases Cited
- Green v. State, 283 Ga. 126 (2008) (felony murder predicate may be surplusage when malice murder exists)
- Drinkard v. Walker, 281 Ga. 211 (2006) (required evidence test for merger of offenses)
- Lucky v. State, 286 Ga. 478 (2010) (distinct elements prevent merger of armed robbery and malice murder)
- Bell v. State, 284 Ga. 790 (2009) (merger of aggravated assault into malice murder when no separate interval)
- Coleman v. State, 286 Ga. 291 (2009) (no deliberate interval between nonfatal and fatal wounds; aggravated assault merges)
- Mikell v. State, 286 Ga. 722 (2010) (analysis of multiple stab wounds and intervals for aggravated assault)
- Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (1993) (surplusage doctrine for overlapping felony murder and malice murder charges)