State v. Bowen, 356 P.3d 449

On Jan 11, 2012 Bowen drove with Doyle from a Williston, ND bar; surveillance and phone records place Bowen and his white Dodge Dakota with Doyle that night. Doyle’s body was found on Jan 20 in a ditch off Highway 2; injuries were consistent with being struck by a slow-moving vehicle and he died later of hypothermia after multiple traumatic injuries.
Physical evidence near the body included a Hardee’s receipt tied to Bowen’s credit card, a GPS unit linked to Bowen’s mother’s address, a beer can with Bowen’s blood, and a linear trail of items leading from the roadway to the ditch.
Bowen initially told investigators he left Doyle near Hardee’s; after confronted with receipt evidence he admitted stopping on the shoulder, exiting the truck after an altercation, doubling back, and leaving without rendering aid; he denied running Doyle over.
Bowen purchased new tires and washed his truck (including undercarriage) shortly after Doyle’s death; investigators found Bowen’s hairs in the truck.
The State located and called as a witness Dianna Nelson, who testified Bowen called her after leaving Doyle, said Doyle fell beside the truck and Bowen drove away and was unsure if he had run over Doyle; Bowen moved to exclude Nelson for late disclosure—motion denied.
Bowen was convicted by a jury of negligent homicide and sentenced to 20 years; he appealed denial of the motion to exclude Nelson and denial of his motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the district court abused its discretion by allowing Nelson to testify	State: it diligently searched for Nelson, disclosed her interview weeks before trial, and Bowen knew of Nelson from earlier statements so he suffered no unfair surprise	Bowen: late disclosure of Nelson as material witness deprived him of adequate time to prepare and warranted exclusion	Court: No abuse of discretion — State’s efforts were diligent, defense knew Nelson’s identity and substance of her statements, had interview and opportunity to interview her, and declined a continuance
Whether evidence was insufficient to sustain negligent homicide conviction (causation and failure to render aid)	State: physical, circumstantial, and testimonial evidence (Hardee’s receipt, GPS, beer can with Bowen’s blood, pathology consistent with slow-speed run-over, Nelson’s testimony, Bowen’s inconsistent statements, post-event truck cleaning) support causation and that Bowen’s failure to render aid caused death	Bowen: State failed to show his specific vehicle caused Doyle’s injuries or that his omission was the but-for cause of death	Court: Evidence—direct and circumstantial—allowed a rational jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt Bowen caused Doyle’s injuries and that leaving him injured without aid was the but-for cause of death; motion to dismiss properly denied

State v. Grindheim, 323 Mont. 519, 101 P.3d 267 (2004) (late addition of witness did not require exclusion where defendant knew witness and substance of testimony)
State v. Giddings, 349 Mont. 347, 208 P.3d 363 (2009) (permitting additional witnesses shortly before trial was permissible where defense knew nature of testimony and had time to prepare)
State ex rel. Kuntz v. Mont. Thirteenth Judicial Dist. Court, 298 Mont. 146, 995 P.2d 951 (2000) (criminal liability may attach where defendant places another in danger and fails to render aid)
State v. Jackson, 354 Mont. 63, 221 P.3d 1213 (2009) (standard of review on sufficiency: view evidence in light most favorable to prosecution and assume jury’s reasonable inferences)
State v. Bier, 181 Mont. 27, 591 P.2d 1115 (1979) (for negligence-based crimes the State must prove defendant’s conduct was cause-in-fact of death)