A jury found Elmon Elmore guilty of the malice murder of Cleo Geeter. After the trial court entered its judgment of conviction and a life sentence on the jury’s guilty verdict, Elmore moved for a new trial. The trial court denied Elmore’s motion, and he appeals.
1. Geeter had been dead for several days when his body was found in a vacant house about a block from the apartment he shared with Elmore. Geeter died from blunt force trauma to the head. Items used to wrap the body, such as tape, string and a shower curtain, matched similar items found in the apartment. Geeter’s bed was dismantled, and his mattress was soaked with blood. Blood also was found in the trunk of Geeter’s car, which Elmore was driving at the time of his arrest. Before the murder, Elmore used Geeter’s name and, after the murder, he continued to pose as Geeter. Prior to discovery of the body, Elmore was evasive about Geeter’s whereabouts. He was in possession of Geeter’s credit cards, and even applied for a driver’s license in Geeter’s name and withdrew money from Geeter’s bank accounts. An eyewitness identified Elmore as the man he saw driving Geeter’s car from the vacant house shortly before Geeter’s body was discovered. This evidence is sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find proof of Elmore’s guilt of the malice murder of Geeter beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia,
2. Prior to trial, Elmore filed a motion pursuant to former OCGA § 17-7-211 for production of scientific reports. Fingerprints were found on a beer bottle near Geeter’s body and, although these fingerprints had not been tested, the State disclosed their existence to the defense. At trial, Elmore relied upon the absence of any fingerprint evidence as a weakness in the State’s case. The State then requested a test of the fingerprints found on the beer bottle. This test resulted in a positive match with Elmore’s fingerprints. The State made an immediate disclosure, but Elmore objected to admission of the test results and sought a continuance. The trial court ordered the State not to tender the test results until the following day, so that Elmore could “explore the issue further. . . .” In addition, the trial court authorized Elmore to seek “a further continuance” at that later time. Thereafter, Elmore interviewed the State’s proposed fingerprint wit
The State is not precluded from introducing evidence of the result of a scientific test performed immediately prior to or during the trial, “absent a showing that the prosecution attempted to circumvent the discovery process. [Cits.]” Wellborn v. State,
3. Prior to trial, Elmore filed a pro se motion seeking appointment of new counsel on the ground that the attorney currently representing him was ineffective. Elmore urges that the trial court erred in failing to conduct a hearing on this motion. However, the record indicates that, without ever invoking a ruling on his pro se motion, Elmore proceeded to trial with his originally appointed counsel and thereby waived the issue for appellate review. See Pruitt v. State,
4. Elmore enumerates as error the trial court’s failure to give a requested “two theories” charge. At the time of Elmore’s trial, such a charge was authorized in a case based entirely upon circumstantial evidence. See General v. State,
A review of the charge shows that the trial court gave proper instructions on circumstantial evidence. Therefore, the failure to give Elmore’s requested “two theories” charge was not error. Brinson v. State,
Judgment affirmed.
Notes
The murder occurred on or about April 12, 1991. The grand jury returned its indictment during the May 1991 Term. The jury found Elmore guilty on January 31, 1992 and, on that same day, the trial court entered the judgment of conviction and life sentence. Elmore filed his motion for new trial on February 3, 1992, and the trial court denied that motion on February 6,1997. Elmore filed his notice of appeal on March 7,1997. The case was docketed in this Court on March 12, 1998. Oral argument was heard on May 18, 1998.