Opinion ID: 1587246
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: The evidence was sufficient to support appellants' convictions of each offense. Commonwealth v. Benham, Ky., 816 S.W.2d 186, 187 (1991). There was ample evidence that appellants unlawfully entered Mrs. White's residence, see Part III, issue 3, supra, for the purpose of committing a crime, that Mrs. White was murdered while appellants were in the building, and that appellants were armed with deadly weapons while in immediate flight therefrom. KRS 511.020(1); Jackson v. Commonwealth, Ky., 670 S.W.2d 828, 830 (1984) (one who steals a deadly weapon during the course of a burglary is armed within the meaning of the statute). It is immaterial to the robbery convictions that the theft may have occurred after the murder so long as the theft and murder were part of the same criminal episode. Bowling, 942 S.W.2d at 307. The evidence afforded a reasonable inference that appellants went to Mrs. White's residence for the purpose of committing robbery and that the murder was committed in facilitation of the robbery. Appellants admitted to tampering with physical evidence by attempting to destroy the victim's body and each testified that the other committed both the murder and arson.