Opinion ID: 1154678
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Specific Intent to Kill or Inflict Great Bodily Harm

Text: Specific criminal intent is defined as ... that state of mind which exists when the circumstances indicate that the offender actively desired the prescribed criminal consequences to follow his act or failure to act. La.R.S. 14:10(1). Specific criminal intent need not be proven as a fact, but may be inferred from the circumstances of the transaction and the actions of the defendant. State v. Graham, 420 So.2d 1126, 1127 (La. 1982) (citations omitted). Marcus Garner and Keith Collier testified that when the defendant exited the car at the Busy Bee, he stated that he was going to rape the vicitm. The condition of going to rape the victim. The condition of the victim, as shown by the crime scene and autopsy photographs, which were attested to by Dr. Mashburn, reveals that she was not only strangled to death but was also brutally beaten over the head, face and neck. [8] Additionally, the defendant's postcrime statements, that the victim had to be snatched from a fence, that the defendant pulled the victim from the fence and dragged her to the back, and that he raped the victim and killed her, confirm what the photographs and autopsy evidence impart. This evidence overwhelmingly established the defendant's specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm. Resistance and Force The victim's utmost resistance was also clearly established. It is logical to infer from the evidence that the defendant beat the victim to subdue her resistance efforts. The bruises on her inner right thigh and knee and the lower portion of her left leg, as well as the bloody or muddy palm print found on her inner right thigh, all indicate that the victim's legs were forced apart for intercourse. Additionally, Marcus Garner testified that the defendant told him that the victim struggled and had to be snatched from a fence to which she was clinging. Keith Collier stated that the defendant told him that he apprehended the victim in her yard, grabbed her from the chain link fence to which she was clinging, and dragged her into the woods. This description of the events is also in accord with physical evidence found in the yard by Investigator DeLacerda and Detective McComic. They stated that the broken flower pots, spilled bucket, and scuff or kick marks near the gate and along the fence indicated that a struggle had recently taken place. Additionally, Detective McComic found evidence that someone had been dragged outside of the yard through the grass. [9] Further, the extensive bruising on the victim's body indicates her resistance was great and force was necessary to overcome it. As to the degree of force used to overcome this resistance, Dr. Mashburn testified that the crime scene and autopsy photographs graphically displayed the intensity of force that the victim endured. According to Dr. Mashburn, the victim sustained serious injuries over her entire face and neck, had severe swelling and contusions on the right side of her upper lip, cheek, jaw and neck, and bruises between her chin and collar bone from the strangulation. Further, the autopsy report reflects that the victim was 5 feet 4 inches in height, and weighed between 100 and 120 pounds. The Capital Sentence Investigation Report reveals that the defendant is 5 feet 11 inches tall, and weighs approximately 162 pounds. At the time of the crime, the defendant worked part-time in the timber industry as a wood hauler. It is reasonable to infer from this evidence that the defendant was significantly stronger than the victim, and was able to overcome her resistance. We find that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude that the victim resisted to the utmost and that this resistance was overcome by force. Victim Alive During Intercourse The defendant also claims that only a living being can be the victim of a rape, and that the state did not prove that the victim was alive when the aggravated rape occurred. [10] There is sufficient evidence that the victim was alive during intercourse. The bruises and palm print found by Dr. Mashburn on the victim's inner thighs show resistance, and therefore life at the time of intercourse. Additionally, by examining inflammatory changes and hemorrhaging under the victim's skin, Dr. Mashburn determined that the beating took place prior to death. The state's theory was that the victim was beaten, knocked unconscious, dragged into the woods and raped. During the course of the rape she regained consciousness, resisted, and the defendant strangled her. Dr. Mashburn testified that this theory was consistent with his autopsy findings. This theory is also consistent with what the defendant told Keith Collier only hours after the crime. Keith Collier testified that the defendant stated that he had vaginal and anal intercourse with the victim, and that he choked her while he was having sex with her. These facts are clearly sufficient to support the conclusion that Paula Manning was alive when the rape occurred. [11] Assignment of Error XXIV has no merit.