State v. Longoria, 301 Kan. 489

A.D., a 14-year-old girl, was found murdered and burned near a Great Bend asphalt plant; DNA and gasoline-linked evidence tied Longoria to the crime scene and vehicle used.
Longoria, who moved to Great Bend in 2010, engaged in a lengthy pattern of text messages with A.D. to pursue a relationship, while denying contact at trial.
Forensic evidence included a DNA semen stain on the car floor mat and gasoline residues on Longoria’s shoes; an AutoZone gasoline jug near the burial site and a collection of personal items were found along roadside ditches.
Longoria was arrested after a high-speed pursuit in a Venture Ford Explorer that had been missing; a redacted arrest video was admitted over objection.
The jury convicted Longoria of capital murder (based on aggravated sodomy and attempted rape), vehicle burglary, and theft, and sentenced him to life without parole for capital murder plus concurrent/consecutive terms for other offenses.
Additional trial developments included DNA, duct tape patterns on the victim, and various witnesses supporting or challenging the State’s theory, culminating in a direct appeal with eight challenged issues.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Venue change due to pretrial publicity	Longoria asserts presumed and statutory prejudice from pervasive publicity	State contends no abuse of discretion; venue denial was proper	No abuse of discretion; no presumptive prejudice established
Failure to instruct felony murder as a lesser included offense	Felony murder should have been instructed as a lesser included offense	Amendments retroactively exclude felony murder as a lesser included offense; no reversible error	Not reversible; retroactive amendment applies; no new trial required
Failure to instruct unintentional but reckless second-degree murder	Should have instructed on reckless second-degree murder as lesser included offense	Evidence supports premeditation; skip rule forecloses relief	Not reversible; evidence supports premeditated murder; skip rule absence does not mandate instruction
Admission of before-death photograph of A.D.	Photograph was irrelevant or unduly prejudicial	Photo identified victim and aided proof of identity; probative value outweighs prejudice	Photograph admissible; relevant and not unduly prejudicial
Prosecutor's rebuttal misconduct	Sarcasm and insinuations biased jurors	Prosecutor used sarcasm within latitude allowed; arguments tied to evidence	No reversible misconduct; within wide latitude and tied to evidence

State v. Mireles, 297 Kan. 339 (2013) (felony murder as lesser included offense previously recognized)
State v. Cheever, 295 Kan. 229 (2012) (felony murder treated as lesser included offense prior to 2013 amendments)
State v. Carr, 300 Kan. 1 (2014) (Skilling factors for presumed prejudice and venue-change analysis)
State v. Plummer, 295 Kan. 156 (2012) (skip rule discussed as route to harmless error)
State v. Williams, 295 Kan. 506 (2012) (standard for reviewing first-on-appeal failure-to-instruct issues)