### The Honorable Richard H. Battey, Chief Judge, United States 1 

### District Court for the District of South Dakota. ___________ No. 95-1601

___________ United States of America, * * Appellee, * Appeal from the United States * District Court for the District v. * of South Dakota. * Gilman Keven Keester, aka * [PUBLISH] Kevin Keester, * * Appellant. *

___________ Submitted: October 17, 1995 Filed: December 8, 1995

___________ Before McMILLIAN, BRIGHT and BOWMAN, Circuit Judges.

___________ PER CURIAM.
Gilman Keven Keester appeals his nine-year sentence imposed by th e distric t court after he pleaded guilty to the voluntary manslaughter o f 1 his former wife, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1112 and 1153. For reversal , Keester a rgues that the district court erred in refusing to grant a reduct ionfor acceptance of responsibility and in departing upward fou r offens e levels from the sentencing range recommended in the presentenc e report (PSR). We affirm the district court's judgment for the following
reasons. First, because the district court is in a unique position to ev aluate accept ance of responsibility, we will not disturb a district court' s decision to deny or grant the reduction unless

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that decision is clearly erroneous. United States v. Furlow , 980 F.2d 476 , 476 (8 th Cir. 1992) (en banc), cert. denied , 113 S. Ct. 2353 (1993)
. Althoughentering a guilty plea and admitting offense conduct constitute significant evidence of accepting responsibility, "this evidence may b e outweig hed by conduct of the defendant that is inconsistent with suc h acceptance of responsibility." U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, comment. (n.3).
Here, the district court found that Keester inflicted serious injury but did n ot secure immediate help for the victim, did not accompany th e victimto the hospital, and had an extended history of domestic abus e against the victim. We additionally note that (1) the victim previously had been hospitalized due to Keester's abuse, (2) Keester previously had failed to attend domestic abuse classes as ordered by the tribal court, (3 ) Keester's mother and sister did not get the victim to the hospital until the afternoon followi ng the night she was beaten, and (4) Keester changed his st ory to law enforcement officials several times during th e invest igationas additional facts came to light. Under thes e circ umstances, we conclude the district court did not clearly err i n denying the reduction.

We likew ise reject Keester's challenge to the upward departure. A district court may depart from the applicable gu idelines range if it finds an aggravating or mitigating circumstance not ad equately considered by the Sentencing Commission . 18 U.S.C. § 3553(b); U.S.S.G. § 5K2.0. We review the district court's decision to depart upward for abuse of discretion, an d will affirm the departure unless it is unreasonable. United States v
. Passmore , 984 F.2d 933, 936 (8th Cir. 1993); United States v. Saunders , 95 7 F.2d 1488, 1493 (8th Cir.), cert. denied , 113 S. Ct. 256 (1992).

Here , the district court determined that a four-level upwar d departure from Keester's offense level resulted in a reasonable

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senten cing range. After hearing testimony from medical personnel, th e victim's relatives, and the defendant, the distr ict court found the victim suffe red a severe beating consisting of a series of blows which cause d internal bleeding, swelling of the brain, coma, and eventual death. The victim was bruised, swollen, and scratched, with reeds in her hair and dir t coveri ng her fingernails. She was denied immediate medical attention , dragged from vehicle to vehicle, and deposited at the hospital withou t identification, unconscious, and so swollen as to render identification an d notice to her family impossible. The district court concluded Keester's conduct was unusually heinous, see U.S.S.G § 5K2.8, particularly in light of his failure to seek prompt medical attention and his history of domesti c abuse. We cannot say the district court abused its discretion.

We think it is proper and appropriate for this court to affirm a sentencing judge's exercise of discretion to depart from the sentencing guidelines, either upward or downward, for adequate reasons supported by the record. That is the case here.

AFFIRMED.
A true copy.

Attest:
CLERK, U. S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.