Opinion ID: 2081007
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Defendant's Motion for Severance of Counts

Text: Conner claims that the three murder counts should have been severed and tried separately. The facts reveal that the murder of Tony Moore occurred in the course of an argument over what to do following the murder of Steve Wentland, and that the murder of Bruce Voge occurred as Conner was trying to arrange for the disposal of Moore's body. These murders all occurred within a short period of time and were all connected with one another. They were not joined solely because they were of similar character, but were properly joined because they were connected and committed during one crime spree. The trial court properly determined that trying the three counts together would not be too confusing and complex for the jury to distinguish between the separate counts and a review of the record does not reveal an exceedingly complex or confusing trial in violation of Ind. Code § 35-34-1-11.