Opinion ID: 867372
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Humphreys murder photographs

Text: ¶ 54 Pandeli argues that photographs relating to the Humphreys murder were improperly admitted because he did not contest any of the facts of the murder, and thus the photographs were irrelevant and unduly prejudicial. [4] Pandeli objects to exhibits 218-246, 248-250, and several photographs that were never admitted into evidence. We do not address the photographs that were not admitted. The photographs that were admitted into evidence show where Humphreys' body was found, her body at the crime scene, the severe defensive wounds to her hands, her slit throat, a moon-shaped knife wound on her chest, a different wound on her chest, wounds on her back, and a photograph of the folder in which the photographs were kept by the police. ¶ 55 The photographs shown to the jury were relevant to corroborate the testimony of the detectives and the medical examiner concerning the Humphreys murder. See Hampton, 213 Ariz. at 173, ¶ 20, 140 P.3d at 956 (stating that photos demonstrating the nature and the placement of the victims' injuries were relevant to corroborate the testimony of the State's witnesses). They were also relevant because they rebutted Pandeli's mitigation evidence. The photographs allowed the jury to see the similarities between the two murders, and they assisted the jurors in deciding whether Pandeli was entitled to a sentence more lenient than death. Additionally, they tended to show that Pandeli did not commit the Iler murder impulsively and that he might pose a future danger to others if not sentenced to death. ¶ 56 The photographs were not so prejudicial as to render Pandeli's trial fundamentally unfair. Exhibits 218-219, 232-234, and 246 do not show Humphreys' body. And although the photos of Humphreys' body are somewhat gruesome, the jurors likely were not unduly shocked in light of the detectives' and medical examiner's testimony regarding Humphreys' injuries and the fact that the jurors had seen the photographs of Holly Iler's body during the aggravation phase. See McGill, 213 Ariz. at 155, ¶ 32, 140 P.3d at 938. Moreover, the trial court carefully examined the photographs and excluded photos that were cumulative or unduly prejudicial. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the Humphreys murder photographs.