Opinion ID: 863365
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: ¶2. Although there was no eyewitness to the actual crime, the testimony of the various witnesses allows us to piece together the events of the evening in question. ¶3. Cora Lanette Moore testified that while walking in the G.P. area of Greenwood, Mississippi, she saw King driving a green truck. He asked if she wanted to get high, and the two proceeded to procure and smoke crack cocaine. She further testified that King began to act weird which, in turn, caused her to feel nervous. Thus, she chose to leave King's company. Moore testified that as she got out of the truck, King noticed Emma Lou Pitts (Pitts), the victim, and asked Moore to get Pitts to step over to the truck. Pitts got into the truck, and it drove off in the direction of Pitts's residence. ¶4. Next, Shinner Ellis testified that on the evening in question, she went to the victim's home on several occasions to see if Pitts wanted to join her in smoking some crack cocaine. She further testified that on at least two of these occasions, King was present, appeared intoxicated, and was treating the victim poorly (pulling her by the arm and waving a gun around). King was next seen by Ellis on her third trip to Pitts's home. She testified that King was drenched wet, carrying a screwdriver, and speaking to two police officers. At this time, she overheard King tell the policemen that he had just been robbed and thought that he had stabbed one of his assailants with the screwdriver. Upon knocking on Pitts's door, Ellis received no answer so she left. Finally, Ellis returned a fourth time and noticed smoke. Along with Rosemary Robinson, she banged on Pitts's door and got a neighbor to phone the fire department. ¶5. Early Nichols, Officer Michael Johnson, and Officer Reginald Dean all testified, as Ellis had, that King came running down the alley and told them the story of being robbed. The officers were in the area investigating an unrelated crime and looking for stolen merchandise. It was during their search that King approached them. The officers testified that King was soaking wet on the front part of his body but dry on his back. Furthermore, they noticed some blood on his shirt but no signs of injury to King's person. When asked, King declined filing a report on the alleged robbery. During the same search, the officers noticed a water leak under the bathroom of what was later discovered to be Pitts's home. They then left the area. ¶6. King was next seen by Michael Buchanan walking around the area without a shirt. Buchanan related that King had told him of the alleged robbery. King said the robbers had taken about $800, his truck, and his keys. Buchanan informed King that he knew where his truck was and took him to it. At which time, King then produced the allegedly stolen keys, got in the truck, and drove off. Buchanan also testified to hearing King tell the police officers of the robbery, as well as Lee Bell and another individual saying they had heard the same story. ¶7. The police officers returned to the area a couple of hours later in response to the call about the fire. After the fire was put out, Pitts's body was found in her bathtub. The medical examiner would later testify that she had died of fresh water drowning. In addition to the signs of drowning, the medical examiner testified that Pitts was beaten quite severely; she had bruises and several cuts on her head and face. Specifically, the medical examiner noted that Pitts had a large contusion covering her left eye and cheek, other bruises to her lips, a series of small cuts on her forehead, larger scraps on her left cheek, a scratch and small cut on her left hand fingers, a bruise on her left arm, and a large contusion across much of her chest. ¶8. With additional help, the officers again searched the area, this time looking for evidence related to the fire and apparent homicide. In the search, they found a cell phone belonging to King's girlfriend, Catherine Andrews, under a burnt paper sack. ¶9. To fill in the gaps, Andrews, King's live-in girlfriend for five years, testified that King had left the house between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. that evening. He returned between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m., and explained that he had been robbed in G.P. He also explained that he had dropped her phone and was going to return to the area to look for it. After an unsuccessful solo attempt, King persuaded Andrews to come with him but upon seeing the fire engines, left the area before looking for the phone. Later that morning, after King was taken into custody, the police searched Andrews's home with her permission. She identified and handed over the shirt, which was still quite damp and somewhat hidden, and the pants King had been wearing that evening. ¶10. King has consistently denied killing Pitts and setting fire to her house, and he has persisted in claiming he had been robbed. ¶11. The only other pertinent facts concern the handling of evidence. All possible evidence was placed in plastic evidence bags and labeled. Bloody paper towels found near the scene of the crime were identified as having human blood on them; however, the blood was inconsistent with both Pitts and King. The shirt obtained from Andrews was bagged as evidence, but not frozen. It was later tested, and the blood found on the shirt was identified as human blood. However, the samples had degraded to such a degree that DNA testing revealed no results.