Opinion ID: 2356004
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Appellant first claims that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions for first-degree murder and attempted murder. [3] With respect to his conviction for the first-degree murder of Basil Blakeney, appellant states that the Commonwealth did not demonstrate that he killed Basil and that, even if it did, it was insufficient to show that he did so with the specific intent to kill. As for the attempted murder of Duana Swanson, appellant claims that, while he admittedly was in an altercation with Swanson, he did not take a substantial step towards killing her. Although he may have intended to cause her bodily harm, appellant contends, the Commonwealth failed to prove that he had the specific intent to kill her. Appellant does not develop either argument in any meaningful fashion. He does not discuss the evidence at trial, or tie it to any theory of insufficiency. The Commonwealth responds that the evidence was sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant acted with specific intent to kill both when he murdered Basil and when he attempted to murder Swanson. Additionally, the Commonwealth states that no evidence of legal justification for appellant's actions was presented at trial. In its Pa.R.A.P.1925(a) opinion, the trial court determined that the evidence satisfied the elements of murder in the first degree as to Basil. Specifically, the evidence demonstrated that: (1) Basil Blakeney was a fourteen-month-old child who was unlawfully killed; (2) appellant was responsible for the killing of Basil; and (3) the jury could infer specific intent from appellant's use of a deadly weapon upon a vital part of Basil's body. The trial court also found the evidence sufficient to prove the attempted murder of Duana Swanson because the jury could find specific intent to kill from appellant's use of a deadly weapon upon a vital part of Swanson's body, and thereby took a substantial step towards the goal of killing her. Evidence presented at trial is sufficient when, viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, the evidence and all reasonable inferences derived therefrom are sufficient to establish all elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Edwards, 588 Pa. 151, 903 A.2d 1139, 1146 (2006), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 2030, 167 L.Ed.2d 772 (2007) (citing Commonwealth v. Bridges, 563 Pa. 1, 757 A.2d 859, 864 (2000)). In the case of first-degree murder, a person is guilty when the Commonwealth proves that: (1) a human being was unlawfully killed; (2) the person accused is responsible for the killing; and (3) the accused acted with specific intent to kill. 18 Pa. C.S. § 2502(d); Commonwealth v. Spotz, 563 Pa. 269, 759 A.2d 1280, 1283 (2000), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 1104, 122 S.Ct. 902, 151 L.Ed.2d 871 (2002). An intentional killing is a [k]illing by means of poison, or by lying in wait, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate and premeditated killing. 18 Pa.C.S. § 2502(d). The Commonwealth may prove that a killing was intentional solely through circumstantial evidence. The finder of fact may infer that the defendant had the specific intent to kill the victim based on the defendant's use of a deadly weapon upon a vital part of the victim's body. Commonwealth v. Rivera, 565 Pa. 289, 773 A.2d 131, 135 (2001), cert. denied, 535 U.S. 955, 122 S.Ct. 1360, 152 L.Ed.2d 355 (2002). A conviction for attempted murder requires the Commonwealth to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had the specific intent to kill and took a substantial step towards that goal. 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 2502. The evidence adduced at trial overwhelming proved appellants guilt of both crimes. On February 1, 2000, police escorted appellant from his estranged wife Sacha's home following a domestic dispute. Throughout the remainder of the day appellant made numerous visits and placed repeated phone calls to the residence seeking to speak with his wife. Appellant cut the phone lines and warned Garth George to stay away from the residence because he [appellant] was getting ready to do something. In the early hours of February 2, 2000, appellant broke into the home where Sacha and Duana Swanson lived with their young children and attacked Swanson with a butcher knife, stabbing her in the chest, a vital part of the body. Appellant did so in full view of, and notwithstanding the presence of, Officer Vernouski, who had his gun drawn. Appellant then made stabbing gestures at the police officers and asked them to shoot him. Showing total disregard for the child's safety, appellant picked Basil up from the bed where the helpless baby had been sleeping. Appellant held his knife to Basil's throat, and cut it several times in a back-and-forth sawing motion. In murdering the infant, appellant nearly decapitated him. These actions were witnessed by a number of police officers, most notably Officer Vernouski, who shot appellant three times in a futile attempt to prevent him from continuing to cut the baby's throat. The foregoing evidence was overwhelmingly sufficient to support the jury's finding that appellant committed the first-degree murder of Basil Blakeney. Cutting the phone lines and breaking into the residence armed with a knife established that appellant planned to commit a violent crime. Appellant's cold-hearted conduct in repeatedly cutting the neck of Basil, a vital part of the baby's body, with a deadly weapon, clearly established his specific intent to kill. See Rivera, 773 A.2d at 135. The foregoing evidence was also sufficient to support the jury's finding that appellant was guilty of the attempted murder of Duana Swanson. Appellant entered Swanson's residence without permission, dragged her out of bed by her arm, stabbed her in the chest with a butcher knife, and choked her until she lost consciousness. The jury could readily infer specific intent to kill from appellant's deliberate act of stabbing Swanson in the chest. That inference is made stronger by appellant's repeated attempts to stab her again, and by choking her until she was unconscious.