Opinion ID: 1305836
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 25

Heading: Admission of Photographs of Other Murders

Text: Williams confessed to John Howard Williams, his brother, that he had shot and killed the four men and set fire to the house in Rice. The court permitted the Commonwealth to introduce photographs of each victim's head showing that each had been shot in the head and that parts of the head were partially burned. The Commonwealth claimed that the photographs were relevant not only to establish Williams's future dangerousness by indicating the atrociousness of the Prince Edward County murders, but also to corroborate the testimony of John Williams as to Williams's confession to him. The court admitted the photographs over Williams's objection that the four victims' autopsy reports, which were admitted in evidence, showed the same things that the photographs did and that the photographs were inflammatory. The parties make the same arguments on appeal. The fact that the autopsy reports reflect the same facts as the photographs does not make the photographs inadmissible. See Spencer, 238 Va. at 312, 384 S.E.2d at 796 (even though videotape of crime scene admitted in evidence, still photographs of crime scene also admissible). And the decision whether to admit photographic evidence of the crime establishing the same facts as another exhibit is within the sound discretion of the trial court. Id. at 312, 384 S.E.2d at 796. We think that the photographs were relevant for the reasons advanced by the Commonwealth, and we find no abuse of the trial court's discretion in admitting them in evidence.