Charles Thomas White III was convicted of the murder of Randal Beck. He appeals from the denial of his motion for a new trial. 1
In response to statements appellant and his father gave police later that day, police examined Beck’s condo and found blood stains in several rooms, but primarily in the living room and centered on the sofa, in which there were several deep gashes. There were no signs of struggle or severe blood loss in the kitchen, and three professional-grade knives, which Beck was known always to have washed by hand, were found in the dishwasher. There was evidence that extensive effort had been made to clean the blood stains in the condo. Nevertheless, based on the extent to which blood had diffused into the foam of the living room sofa and had been wicked up by carpeting, expert testimony was adduced that a human being with Beck’s blood group had been significantly injured in the condo and that absent immediate treatment to stop the bleeding, death would result. The jury was authorized to find that Beck had received no treatment from medical professionals in the vicinity and that extensive efforts to locate Beck or his body had been unsuccessful.
The State also adduced the testimony of Britt Roseberry that around 2:30 a.m. on January 23, 1992, appellant came to the Waffle House where Roseberry was employed and told Roseberry that he had just slit the throat of a man, claiming later in the conversation that the man had made a homosexual advance, that they then fought in the kitchen of the man’s apartment, and that appellant had stabbed
Appellant testified at trial that he assumed, but did not know for certain, that Beck was dead as a result of injuries he inflicted on Beck in self-defense after he awoke from a drug-induced slumber to find Beck sexually assaulting him. Under appellant’s version of the events, on the evening of January 22, 1992, he was staying at Beck’s condo and discussing the possibility of working at Beck’s bakery, when Beck served him fruit drinks laced with alcohol without appellant’s knowledge and drugged appellant by giving him several pills, which Beck had represented would help him sleep, but one of which has side effects including hallucinations and disorientation. Appellant awoke during Beck’s assault, shoved the man away, and tried to leave the condo, but a fight ensued, during which Beck cut appellant’s finger with a knife Beck had grabbed in the kitchen. Appellant testified that in wresting the knife from Beck, the man moved into the knife and was cut in the neck. Despite this wound, Beck continued to fight until appellant ended the struggle by kicking Beck in the head, a blow which left Beck motionless on the floor with his eyes open. In the following hours, appellant left the condo three times: the first, to talk to his friend and shower at his friend’s apartment; the second, to a local restaurant for some tea; and the third time to the Waffle House where he discussed his situation with Roseberry. In between these trips appellant testified he returned to the condo and tried to clean up the blood stains, shifting Beck’s still inanimate body out of the way in order to facilitate the cleaning process. Around dawn, he put Beck into the victim’s vehicle, noticing that Beck had grown “a little more stiffer,” and drove off at 9:30 a.m. seeking a minister he knew. When unable to make contact with the minister, appellant drove up Georgia Highway 400, pulled off the road, and left Beck, naked and still displaying no sign of life, in the woods.
To prove the corpus delicti in a charge of murder, it is essential to establish that the person alleged to have been killed is actually dead, and that death was caused or accomplished by violence or other direct criminal agency of another human being ... and that the accused caused the death in the manner charged. [Cit.]
Grimes v. State,
It is of course true that the burden was upon the State toprove the corpus delicti, and to show also that the defendant was the perpetrator of the alleged offense. Both of these elements, however, could be shown by circumstantial as well as direct evidence. [Cits.]
Jester v. State,
However, circumstantial evidence must exclude only reasonable inferences and hypotheses and it is not necessary that such evidence be devoid of every inference or hypothesis except that of the defendant’s guilt. The question of whether there was a reasonable hypothesis favorable to the accused is a question for the jury. If [a] jury is authorized to find that the evidence, circumstantial though it may be, is sufficient to exclude every reasonable hypothesis save that of guilt, the verdict of the jury will not be disturbed by the appellate court unless the verdict is insupportable as a matter of law.
(Citations and punctuation omitted.)
White v. State,
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, we find that the jury reasonably could have found the evidence excluded every other hypothesis save the guilt of the accused, OCGA § 24-4-6, and found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
Jackson v. Virginia,
2. Evidence was adduced that conflicted with appellant’s self-defense claim, including the physical evidence of the struggle at the condo (which controverted appellant’s statement that the fight centered in the kitchen), the presence of three knives in the dishwasher, appellant’s attempt following the struggle to remove all signs of the fight, and appellant’s subsequent behavior regarding the disposal of Beck’s body. Accordingly, we find no error in the trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion for a directed verdict on his claim of self-defense. OCGA § 17-9-1 (a); see generally White, supra.
3. We have reviewed appellant’s contentions regarding the denial of his motions for change of venue and a gag order and find no grounds for reversal.
4. The record on voir dire reveals that neither juror appellant
5. Considering both the transcript of the hearing on appellant’s motion to suppress and the trial transcript, see generally
Sanders v. State,
6. Appellant contends the trial court erred by admitting testimony regarding Beck’s blood group. An employee of the American Red Cross (“ARC”) testified that ARC’s records showed Beck had donated blood in 1981 and that Beck had 0 positive blood. Contrary to appellant’s contention, the testing conducted in 1981 by ARC was not the type of investigation-generated written scientific report subject to the discovery provision of OCGA § 17-7-211. See
State v. Mulkey,
7. The transcript fails to support appellant’s claim that the State did not present into evidence the facts necessary to support the hypo
8. Given the overwhelming circumstantial evidence that Beck is dead, we find no reversible error in the trial court’s admission of testimony by Beck’s father that he believed Beck to be dead.
9. Appellant’s request to charge no. 9 was not adjusted to the facts of the case and therefore was properly refused by the trial court. See generally
Harper v. State,
Judgment affirmed.
Notes
The homicide occurred on or about January 23, 1992. White was indicted on February 4,1992 in Gwinnett County. He was found guilty on June 12,1992, and his sentence was filed