Lowe v. State
288 Ga. 662
| Ga. | 2011Background
- Antonia Lowe was convicted of malice murder in the death of Lula Bell Scott; the victim’s body was found in McDuffie County in September 2006 after being missing since early September.
- Witnesses testified Lowe and Scott lived together with Clarice Billings, and Lowe accompanied Billings in attempting to locate Scott before the disappearance.
- A confession by Lowe to the father of her child described striking Scott during a physical altercation inside Lowe’s tan Ford Expedition and shown that Lowe claimed to have snapped and hit her with the vehicle.
- Authorities linked vehicle parts found near the scene to Lowe’s Ford Expedition or a Ford F-150, and an insurance-payments/invoice suggested a deer-collision narrative Lowe allegedly pushed to investigators.
- A forensic examiner could not autopsy the body; a forensic dentist identified the victim, and a forensic anthropologist testified to multiple blunt-force injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle, supporting malice murder.
- The trial court denied Lowe’s new-trial motion; the jury found Lowe guilty on all charges, with aggravated assault merged and the felony murder count vacated.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was the evidence sufficient for malice murder? | Lowe contends insufficiency of the evidence. | State asserts sufficient evidence to convict. | Evidence sufficient to support verdict. |
| Did the trial court err denying the new-trial motion regarding credibility and circumstantial-evidence rule? | Jury verdict not supported when credibility disputed; reasonable-hypothesis rule applicable to circumstantial cases. | Trial court properly credited testimony; reasonable-hypothesis rule inapplicable here. | No error; credibility resolution upheld; rule not applicable. |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (sufficiency standard: rational trier of fact)
- Cutrer v. State, 287 Ga. 272 (2010) (clarifies sufficiency review for Georgia cases)
- Ricketts v. Williams, 242 Ga. 303 (1978) (trial court’s discretion on new trial credibility findings)
- Brown v. State, 251 Ga. 598 (1983) (direct evidence can support a conviction)
- Daniel v. State, 285 Ga. 406 (2009) (reasonable-hypothesis rule in circumstantial cases)
- Green v. State, 298 Ga. App. 17 (2009) (application of reasonable-hypothesis rule)
- Harkins v. State, 281 Ga. App. 512 (2006) (circumstantial-evidence considerations)