State v. German, 7 N.W.3d 206

Kevin S. German was convicted of second degree murder, kidnapping, and first degree false imprisonment, stemming from the abduction, assault, and killing of Annika Swanson and related crimes against another victim, E.A., over a two-day period in 2019.
The prosecution presented evidence that German and his girlfriend, Carter, orchestrated the crimes, including abductions, assaults, and ultimately the death of Swanson, whose body was found in a culvert on the German family property.
At trial, the State introduced digital and forensic evidence, testimony from involved parties, and medical expert opinions about cause of death (blunt force trauma, methanol, and methamphetamine toxicity).
German appealed, challenging evidentiary rulings, the correctness of jury instructions (specifically regarding aiding and abetting), the appropriateness of his kidnapping sentence under federal constitutional principles, and claiming ineffective assistance of trial counsel.
The Nebraska Supreme Court reviewed whether evidentiary and procedural decisions by the trial court prejudiced German's rights or constituted legal error warranting reversal.

Issue	German's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Admissibility of photograhs of Swanson’s child	Irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial, risked biasing jury	Photos necessary to establish timeline; probative of when Swanson last accessed messages	No abuse of discretion; evidence was relevant and not unduly prejudicial
Jury instructions on aiding and abetting (including manslaughter)	Court should have given more specific instructions; error to allow aiding unintentional manslaughter	Instructions given were accurate and followed standard pattern	No prejudice; instructions adequately covered law and no reversible error
Kidnapping sentencing under Alleyne v. U.S.	Jury must find beyond reasonable doubt whether victim was not released alive for life sentence	Jury’s murder conviction necessarily resolved the issue; no further findings needed	No error; the jury’s verdict made additional factfinding unnecessary
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Counsel failed to suppress statements, object to statements, request bias instruction, and advise on testimony	Counsel’s actions were either reasonable or record insufficient to prove deficiency/prejudice	No merit; claims either not specific, record insufficient, or no deficiency shown

Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (U.S. 2000) (jury must find facts increasing sentence beyond statutory maximum)
Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (U.S. 2013) (jury must find facts increasing mandatory minimum)
State v. Becerra, 263 Neb. 753 (Neb. 2002) (mitigating factors in kidnapping statute not elements of offense, do not need to be found by jury)
State v. Ramsay, 257 Neb. 430 (Neb. 1999) (elements and intent required for aiding/abetting liability)