State of Tennessee v. Carl J. Wagner, 2012 Tenn. LEXIS 746

In August 2008, Wagner shot Adriel Powell in a Nashville apartment laundry room during an alleged drug deal.
The State charged Wagner with premeditated first degree murder, first degree felony murder, and especially aggravated robbery.
Police recovered physical and DNA evidence linking Wagner to the crime, including bloodstains matching Wagner and Powell, and a firearm-related evidentiary trail.
Wagner provided an interview at Vanderbilt Hospital in which he admitted carrying a .45 caliber handgun and described events leading to the shooting.
The jury convicted Wagner of felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, and second degree murder; the latter merged with felony murder, yielding life for felony murder and 22 years for the robbery.
The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed, finding the evidence insufficient for especially aggravated robbery, prompting the State to appeal to determine sufficiency under Tennessee law.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the evidence suffices for especially aggravated robbery	State contends the circumstantial proof plus Wagner's confession establish taking of the backpack	Wagner argues lack of corroboration of the backpack taking makes the conviction improper	Yes; sufficient evidence supports the conviction for especially aggravated robbery
Whether the evidence suffices for felony murder	State argues there was a causal link between the robbery attempt and the killing	Wagner contends self-defense or mutual combat negates intent to commit robbery	Yes; sufficient evidence supports felony murder

Dorantes v. State, 331 S.W.3d 370 (Tenn. 2011) (circumstantial evidence can support a conviction; corpus delicti concerns still apply)
Banks v. State, 271 S.W.3d 90 (Tenn. 2008) (corpus delicti requires corroboration for confessions)
Housler v. State, 193 S.W.3d 476 (Tenn. 2006) (corpus delicti and corroboration principles in Tennessee)
Smith v. State, 24 S.W.3d 274 (Tenn. 2000) (corroboration rule in confession cases)
Ashby v. State, 139 S.W.3d 872 (Tenn. 1911) (early corpus delicti guidance on corroboration)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (standard for evaluating sufficiency of convicting evidence)
State v. Bland, 958 S.W.2d 651 (Tenn. 1997) (limits on weighing evidence on appeal; jury credibility)
State v. Parker, 350 S.W.3d 883 (Tenn. 2011) (standard of review for sufficiency of evidence)
State v. Pierce, 23 S.W.3d 289 (Tenn. 2000) (temporal/continuity connection in felony murder)
State v. Buggs, 995 S.W.2d 102 (Tenn. 1999) (timing/connection in felony murder)