Kosturi v. State, 296 Ga. 512

Victim Angel Freeman (16) was dating Kevin Kosturi (15); relationship included repeated arguments and threats by Kosturi like “I’m going to kill her” and “If I can’t have her, no one can.”
On Feb 20, 2011, neighbor Robert Bethune gave Kosturi a loaded .38 revolver; on Feb 21 Kosturi lured Freeman to a wooden fort and shot her once in the heart at close range.
Kosturi initially told police a Hispanic man shot Freeman from 40 yards; after Miranda warnings (which he waived) and with his mother present, he gave alternative accounts: that Freeman shot herself and that he later accidentally shot her while playing with the gun.
Police recovered the gun where Kosturi said he threw it; gunshot residue was found on Kosturi’s hands; forensic evidence (stippling) indicated a close-range wound.
At trial Kosturi asserted an accident defense; State’s and defense firearms experts disagreed about whether the revolver’s trigger pull made an accidental discharge likely; Kosturi did not testify.
Jury convicted Kosturi of malice murder and related offenses; trial court sentenced him to life and other consecutive terms; Kosturi appealed only on sufficiency of the evidence grounds.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence to sustain convictions	State: evidence (threats, gun possession, inconsistent statements, GSR, close‑range wound) supports inference of intent and rejects accident	Kosturi: lacked criminal intent; death was accident or suicide; no criminal scheme shown	Court: Affirmed — viewed in light most favorable to verdict, evidence sufficed for a rational jury to reject accident and find guilt beyond reasonable doubt
Admission of testimony about medical examiner’s definition of “accident”	State: testimony admissible and not objected to at trial	Kosturi: suggests ME’s definition differed from statutory definition of accident	Court: Issue waived because Kosturi failed to object at trial
Jury instruction on accident defense	State: instruction proper	Kosturi: challenges instruction now	Court: Challenge waived because no contemporaneous objection was made

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence)
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (Miranda warning and waiver principles)
Smith v. State, 292 Ga. 620 (affirming sufficiency review under Jackson)
Brown v. State, 292 Ga. 454 (same)
Thompson v. State, 295 Ga. 96 (application of sufficiency review to similar facts)
Vega v. State, 285 Ga. 32 (jury role in resolving witness credibility and conflicts)
Miller v. State, 295 Ga. 769 (failure to object at trial waives appellate challenge to testimony)