At trial, defendant admitted he was referring in that conversation to Martin being shot. Defendant testified that he had not agreed with Dorothea to kill Martin nor had he intended that Martin be killed. He stated that he made the silencer for his teenage son to use when hunting squirrels. When called to testify by defendant's counsel, Dorothea refused, invoking her constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. In this appeal, defendant contends the Court of Appeals erred by affirming the trial court's failure to strike the evidence with respect to the charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
Defendant argues the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction.
A conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons by some concerted action to commit an offense. See Code 18.2-22. The crime may be proved by circumstantial evidence. In Virginia, the crime of conspiracy is complete when the parties agree to commit an offense. No overt act in furtherance of the underlying crime is necessary.