Opinion ID: 1813007
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Hudson has not challenged the sufficiency of the evidence. This Court, however, has a mandatory obligation to review the sufficiency of the evidence in every case in which a sentence of death has been imposed. Jones v. State, 963 So.2d 180, 184 (Fla.2007). In this case, the State presented eyewitness testimony by Jennifer Fizzuoglio, whom Hudson was also convicted of kidnapping, establishing that when she arrived at the apartment, Hudson was there and that he pulled out a handgun and held both her and Peller at gunpoint for an extended period of time. She saw Hudson pick up the blanket and enter the bathroom where Peller was sitting on the floor. Fizzuoglio heard one shot and Peller was then dead. She testified that no one else was in the apartment at the time. Fizzuoglio also testified that Hudson forced her at gunpoint to leave with him in her car. The State also proved that Hudson's DNA was on the steering wheel of Fizzuoglio's red Mustang. The car was left with the engine running near the First Presbyterian Church, which is very close to the Dairy Queen where Hudson was picked up by his friend on the night of the murder. The murder weapon was found some months later buried in a flower bed at the First Presbyterian Church. Hudson also gave statements to police, not challenged on appeal, in which he admitted that he was being pressured to kill Peller, although he denies having done so. Hudson's roommate testified that about a month before the murder, he saw Hudson in possession of a handgun that looked like the murder weapon. A bullet that was capable of being fired by the murder weapon was found in the side pocket of Hudson's car the day after the murder. Hudson had Peller's credit cards and driver's license in his possession when he was arrested and had used the credit card for a purchase the day after the murder. He also had Fizzuoglio's driver's license in his possession. John Coyne, an acquaintance of Hudson's, testified that Hudson admitted committing the murder in a telephone conversation they had while Hudson was in jail. We conclude that the evidence against Hudson was legally sufficient to support his first-degree murder conviction.