Opinion ID: 854034
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Pointing as he did at trial to the circumstantial nature of the State's case, Kriner argues that the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the killer. It is well settled that a murder conviction may be based entirely on circumstantial evidence. See, e.g., Bradford v. State, 675 N.E.2d 296, 299 n. 1 (Ind.1996). The question, therefore, is whether adequate circumstantial proof was presented. When a verdict rests on circumstantial evidence, the State need not overcome every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Rather, circumstantial evidence will be deemed sufficient if inferences may reasonably be drawn that enable the trier of fact to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Saylor v. State, 686 N.E.2d 80, 84 (Ind.1997), petition for cert. filed (U.S. May 1, 1998) (No. 97-8913). In this review, we do not reweigh the evidence or assess the credibility of witnesses. Id. Although Kriner is correct that mere presence at or near the scene of the crime is insufficient to prove his involvement, Menefee v. State, 514 N.E.2d 1057, 1059 (Ind. 1987), far more evidence than mere presence was offered in this case. This includes: (1) although the FBI shoe tread examiner was unable to conclude that the shoe prints in McKinstry's blood necessarily came from Kriner's shoes, the similarity (particularly the distinct CONS insignia on both sets of prints) was striking; (2) Kriner's presence in the nearby parking lot of the adult bookstore around the likely time of death; (3) Kriner's appearing to retrieve something from the back seat of his car before he left the parking lot and his wearing a different shirt when he returned empty handed an hour later, without any sign that he had been inside the bookstore; (4) the gun that could reasonably have been found to be the murder weapon was found abandoned nearby; and (5) Kriner's access to the gun. In addition, there was evidence supporting the conclusion that Kriner had one or more motives for committing the murder: (1) robbery, if the jury credited a police officer's testimony that Kriner said he saw McKinstry put Kriner's $75 loan payment in a desk drawer where no money was found after the killing; and (2) hostility, if the jury credited testimony by a Foundry co-worker relaying McKinstry's and Kriner's exchange of threats and insults less than forty-eight hours before McKinstry was killed. See Hicks v. State, 690 N.E.2d 215, 222 (Ind.1997) ([h]ostility is a paradigmatic motive for committing a crime) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Kriner asks us to view each piece of evidence in isolation. Circumstantial evidence by its nature is a web of facts in which no single strand may be dispositive. In a prosecution based on circumstantial proof, the evidence in the aggregate may point to guilt where individual elements of the State's case might not. Mitchell v. State, 541 N.E.2d 265, 268 (Ind.1989) ([T]he combination of facts and the inferences which [the evidence] permit[s], which tie appellant to these crimes, reinforce one another and as a composite show more than mere opportunity or presence). That is certainly true of this case. Cf., e.g., Beecher v. State, 567 N.E.2d 861 (Ind.Ct.App.1991) (murder convictions supported by sufficient circumstantial evidence). We conclude that the evidence viewed as a whole and most favorably to the judgment supports the finding of guilt.