Thompson v. State, 308 Ga. 854

Peggy Thompson was found dead on Oct. 29, 2014; autopsy ruled homicide from blunt‑force head injuries and asphyxia; male DNA matching Timmy Thompson was recovered.
Timmy Thompson was indicted for malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault; a jury convicted him of felony murder and sentenced him to life without parole; other counts deadlocked.
At trial the State introduced testimony from Peggy’s adult daughter, son, and stepdaughter about past beatings and strangulations by Thompson against them and against Peggy.
The trial court admitted that testimony as OCGA § 24‑4‑404(b) other‑acts evidence (to show intent, absence of accident, corroboration) and gave a limiting instruction to the jury.
Before trial Thompson sought sequestration of witnesses; the court exempted the three family witnesses under the Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights (OCGA § 17‑17‑9) and they heard each other’s testimony.
Thompson appealed, arguing (1) improper admission of other‑acts testimony and (2) error in failing to apply sequestration to those witnesses; the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed.

Issue	Thompson's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Admissibility of other‑acts testimony under OCGA § 24‑4‑404(b)	Testimony only showed bad character; irrelevant and unduly prejudicial	Evidence was relevant to intent, absence of accident, corroboration; probative value outweighed prejudice; sufficient proof of the acts	Affirmed — testimony admissible under Rule 404(b); three‑part Bradshaw test satisfied
Sequestration exception for victim’s family (OCGA § 17‑17‑9)	Family witnesses should have been sequestered to prevent collusion and shaping of testimony	Statute permits victims/immediate family to remain; no showing they were material/necessary or that presence would impair a fair trial	Affirmed — trial court acted within discretion to exempt the witnesses from sequestration
Sufficiency of the evidence for felony murder	(No sufficiency challenge by Thompson)	Evidence (injuries, timing, DNA, testimony of prior abuse) supported inference of intent and felony murder	Affirmed — evidence sufficient to sustain felony murder conviction (Jackson standard)

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for sufficiency of the evidence review)
Bradshaw v. State, 296 Ga. 650 (2015) (three‑part test for admissibility of other‑acts evidence under Rule 404(b))
Booth v. State, 301 Ga. 678 (2017) (application of 404(b) and relevance of prior domestic acts)
Smart v. State, 299 Ga. 414 (2016) (prior domestic violence admissible to show motive or intent in spouse homicide)
Olds v. State, 299 Ga. 65 (2016) (Rule 403 exclusion is extraordinary; caution against excluding probative evidence solely for prejudice)
Naples v. State, 308 Ga. 43 (2020) (404(b) analysis and permissible purposes)
Castillo‑Velasquez v. State, 305 Ga. 644 (2019) (prosecutorial need when defendant’s account negates intent)
Nicely v. State, 291 Ga. 788 (2012) (victim/family exceptions to sequestration discussed)
Davis v. State, 299 Ga. 180 (2016) (purpose of sequestration rule: prevent collusion and shaping of testimony)
Moore v. State, 297 Ga. 773 (2015) (trial court’s discretion in sequestration exceptions)