Opinion ID: 1880670
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Premeditated Murder Charge

Text: We also hold that the trial court properly denied the motion for judgment of acquittal as to the premeditated murder charge. Premeditation exists when there is a fully formed conscious purpose to kill. Wilson v. State, 493 So.2d 1019, 1021 (Fla.1986). Premeditation may be formed in a moment and need only exist `for such time as will allow the accused to be conscious of the nature of the act he is about to commit and the probable result of that act.' DeAngelo v. State, 616 So.2d 440, 441 (Fla.1993) (quoting Asay v. State, 580 So.2d 610, 612 (Fla. 1991)). Premeditation can be inferred from circumstantial evidence such as the nature of the weapon used, . . . the manner in which the homicide was committed, and the nature and manner of the wounds inflicted. Sochor v. State, 619 So.2d 285, 288 (Fla.1993) (quoting Larry v. State, 104 So.2d 352, 354 (Fla.1958)). Moreover, [t]he deliberate use of a knife to stab a victim multiple times in vital organs is evidence that can support a finding of premeditation. Jimenez v. State, 703 So.2d 437, 440 (Fla.1997), receded from on other grounds by, Delgado v. State, 776 So.2d 233 (Fla.2000). In this case, the evidence established that Dacosta was stabbed with a Torx screwdriver thirty-six times in the chest and four times in the head. One of the stab wounds to the head penetrated her brain, causing the wound that killed her. She had twelve wounds on her right hand that were consistent with defensive wounds. The State also presented testimony that eyewitnesses had last seen Dacosta alive with Boyd, that her blood was in Boyd's apartment, that Boyd's DNA was on material found under Dacosta's fingernails, and that items at the scene where Dacosta's body was discovered were consistent with items from Boyd's apartment. Under these facts, there was competent, substantial evidence to create an inconsistency with Boyd's theory of innocence and to support the conviction for premeditated murder. See Francis v. State, 808 So.2d 110 (Fla.2001) (twenty-three stab wounds to one victim and sixteen to another supported finding of premeditation as to both victims). Even if the evidence was insufficient, the State argues that the evidence also supports a first-degree murder conviction on the basis of felony murder. We agree. Since Boyd was also convicted of sexual battery and armed kidnapping, the conviction for first-degree murder would stand even absent sufficient evidence of premeditation. See San Martin v. State, 717 So.2d 462, 470 (Fla.1998) ([R]eversal is not warranted where the general verdict could have rested upon a theory of liability without adequate evidentiary support when there was an alternative theory of guilt for which the evidence was sufficient.).