Opinion ID: 867531
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Elderly Victim

Text: ¶ 7 An aggravating circumstance exists if at the time the murder was committed, the murdered person was ... seventy years of age or older. A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(9). The trial judge found that the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim was at least seventy years old at the time the murder was committed. Cañez, 202 Ariz. at 158-59, ¶ 90, 42 P.3d at 589-90. ¶ 8 In Ring III, we held that Ring II error in the finding of the (F)(9) aggravator will be harmless if (1) the jury also convicted the defendant of an age-dependent crime committed against the murder victim, Ring III, 204 Ariz. at 561, ¶ 86, 65 P.3d at 942; (2) the defendant stipulated to the victim's age; or (3) overwhelming evidence established the victim's age. Id. ¶ 9 The jury did not convict Cañez of an age-dependent crime, nor did Cañez stipulate to the victim's age. However, the evidence presented concerning the victim's age was overwhelming and uncontroverted. Cañez neither objected to nor controverted the testimony of the victim's son that the victim was born on June 26, 1918, nor did he contest that the crime was committed on February 22, 1996. This testimony was corroborated by a birth certificate, photographs of the victim's body, and testimony by the coroner that the autopsy results were consistent with the body of a 77-year-old man. Although Cañez objected to the admission of the victim's birth certificate on authentication grounds, that objection was overruled, and Cañez did not present any evidence that controverted the validity of the birth date contained on the document. Based on the foregoing, we conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that no reasonable jury presented with this evidence could fail to find that the victim was more than seventy years old at the time of the crime. Therefore, the trial judge's finding that the State proved the (F)(9) aggravating factor beyond a reasonable doubt is harmless error.