Opinion ID: 1649597
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether there was insufficient evidence to convict of murder.

Text: ¶ 12. Campbell argues that because the prosecution presented insufficient evidence upon which a jury could convict, this Court must now reverse and render. He asserts that the State's case is based solely on circumstantial evidence as there was neither direct evidence of guilt nor a statement by the defendant that could have been taken as an admission of guilt. This Court has repeatedly held that [D]irect evidence is unnecessary to support a conviction so long as sufficient circumstantial evidence exists to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Underwood v. State, 708 So.2d 18, 35 (Miss.1998) (quoting Conner v. State, 632 So.2d 1239, 1252 (Miss. 1993), overruled on other grounds, Weatherspoon v. State, 732 So.2d 158 (Miss. 1999)). Campbell cites McRee v. State, 732 So.2d 246, 250 (Miss.1999), for the proposition that in a circumstantial evidence case, guilt must be shown to the exclusion of every reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence. ¶ 13. Circumstantial evidence need not exclude every possible doubt, but only every other reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Tolbert v. State, 407 So.2d 815, 820 (Miss.1981). Each case must be determined from the circumstances shown in the testimony and the facts must consistently point to but one conclusionguilt. Hilliard v. State, 749 So.2d 1015 (Miss. 1999); Hester v. State, 463 So.2d 1087, 1091 (Miss.1985) (quoting Sanders v. State, 286 So.2d 825, 828 (Miss.1973)). ¶ 14. The facts proven by the State to convict Campbell are as follows. The State proved that Campbell was home alone with Charlotte at approximately 4:15 to 4:30 p.m. on August 11, 1997, and that the time of death was between 4:30 and 5:30 that same afternoon. In giving his post-arrest statement, however, Campbell estimated that he had not seen Charlotte for six to eight hours before her body was discovered. The State argues that a reasonable juror could consider Campbell's statement as evidencing Campbell's consciousness of guilt. Since the evidence of Campbell's statement as well as the blood stains collected from his clothing are inadmissible, they cannot be considered in determining the sufficiency of the evidence. ¶ 15. Beyond this, the State offered evidence regarding Campbell's reaction to the crime scene. When Campbell returned to his trailer at about 7:00 p.m., accompanied by Jerome Henry, they found the door locked. After rounding the corner to the back of the trailer, Campbell dropped to his knees and stated [s]omebody killed that girl. On direct examination, Henry testified that all he could see after rounding the corner was a stomach or something, and that he could not identify the body from where he was standing. When Henry asked him whose body it was, Campbell responded, Charlotte. At that time, Charlotte's head was not visible as it was covered by a speaker box. The State theorizes that a reasonable inference from this evidence is that Campbell persuaded Henry to accompany him back to the trailer to have a witness to his feigned surprise at finding Charlotte murdered. ¶ 16. On the contrary, the fact that Campbell identified Charlotte even though her head was covered does not warrant an inference of prior knowledge. The record indicates that Charlotte had spent the previous night with Campbell and that she showered at the trailer on the morning of August 11. The body was found immediately outside the trailer door with the door wide open. Blood was splattered on the trailer and the threshold. Her arms and torso from the breast down were visible as were her clothes and underclothes. Certainly Campbell would have been familiar with Charlotte's stature, build, and wardrobe. ¶ 17. Campbell argues that Henry and Campbell were not actually standing together when they first saw the body, but rather that Campbell was in front of Henry so that Campbell had a better view of the body. Although on direct examination Henry stated that he and Campbell were standing together at the time Campbell identified the body as being Charlotte's, on cross-examination Henry clarified his statement, testifying that Campbell was eight to ten feet in front of him as they walked to the back of the trailer. Campbell urges that the State incorrectly contends that Campbell and Henry were standing together and that the State is making a misleading reading of the record regarding the word together. The record indicates that Henry's statement is broader than that the two men were literally standing together sharing the same perspective. The eight to ten foot separation and the high weeds gave Campbell and Henry different perspectives and undercuts any inference that just because Henry could not see the body clearly enough to identify her, then Campbell could not either. ¶ 18. Excluding the evidence of Campbell's statement and the blood stains found on his pants, the evidence supporting the jury's verdict amounts to the following: (1) Campbell's was present at the location, his home, shortly before the victim's death; (2) Campbell's identified the victim when he and Jerome Henry discovered the body, the face obscured by a speaker box, saying that somebody killed that girl, and (3) he identified her while standing eight or ten feet from Henry who could not do so, from his own point of view. ¶ 19. In appeals from the denial of a motion for judgment not withstanding the verdict, the sufficiency of the evidence as a matter of law is viewed and tested in the light most favorable to the State. Esparaza v. State, 595 So.2d 418, 426 (Miss. 1992); Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d 803, 808 (Miss.1987); Harveston v. State, 493 So.2d 365, 370 (Miss.1986). The credible evidence, properly admitted, consistent with the defendant's guilt must be accepted as true, and the prosecution must be given the benefit of all favorable inferences which may be reasonably drawn from the evidence. Collier v. State, 711 So.2d 458, 461 (Miss.1998) (quoting Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d at 808; Coleman v. State, 697 So.2d 777, 787 (Miss.1997)). Conflicts concerning the weight and credibility to be accorded the evidence are to be resolved by the jury. Hilliard, 749 So.2d at 1017; Gathright v. State, 380 So.2d 1276, 1278 (Miss. 1980). This Court may reverse only where the evidence so considered is such that reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty. Collier, 711 So.2d at 461 (citing Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d at 808); Gossett v. State, 660 So.2d 1285, 1293 (Miss.1995); Fisher v. State, 481 So.2d 203, 212 (Miss.1985). ¶ 20. Of course, the evidence and inferences so viewed must, in order to sustain the verdict of guilty, allow the jury to conclude guilt beyond every reasonable doubt, and in circumstantial evidence cases such as this, to the exclusion of every reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence, which in turn means the facts must consistently point to but one conclusion guilt. McRee v. State, 732 So.2d at 250. Evidence which merely establishes the probability of guilt is not enough. Steele v. State, 544 So.2d 802, 809 (Miss. 1989). ¶ 21. While it is true that in appeals from a denied motion for j.n.o.v., the jury verdict is to be supported by applying all evidence and all warranted inferences most favorable to the jury's conclusion, it is also true that the inferences must be warranted by the circumstances and the evidence must be sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A careful examination of the evidence properly submitted to the jury compels the conclusion that Campbell's discovery of the body and identifying it while the face was obscured is insufficient to support the conviction.