Opinion ID: 2230040
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Criminal Sexual Conduct

Text: To show accomplice liability for aiding and abetting first-degree murder while committing criminal sexual conduct, the state must prove, among other things, that the person aided by the defendant caused the victim's death, and, at the time of the victim's death, the person aided by the defendant was committing first-degree criminal sexual conduct with force or violence. Minn.Stat. § 609.05; Minn.Stat. § 609.342 (2004). The state could prove that Earl aided and abetted Katie Zapzalka's rape by showing either that Earl had a knowing role in the commission of the crime and did nothing to thwart its completion, or that the crime was reasonably foreseeable by Earl as a probable consequence of committing or attempting to commit the crime intended. State v. Arrendondo, 531 N.W.2d 841, 845 (Minn.1995); Minn.Stat. § 609.05, subds. 1-2 (2004). Earl argues that he did not have a knowing role in the commission of first-degree murder while committing criminal sexual conduct. He claims that the rape came as a complete surprise, and that he learned of it only afterward. He also claims that criminal sexual conduct was not reasonably foreseeable to him as a consequence of the burglary he intended to commit. The state argues that because Earl took no action to thwart Katie's murder, and because he played a knowing role in the overall chain of events leading to her murder, Earl should be held liable for Carpenter's criminal sexual conduct as well. Although Earl testified that he was unaware of the rape until after the fact, he also admitted that he saw Carpenter remove Katie Zapzalka from the kitchen and lay her on her bed. He also admitted that by the time he saw Carpenter put Katie on the bed, he knew there was nothing worth stealing in the house. He further admitted that he stood guard in the living room while Carpenter returned to the bedroom after incapacitating Chromey and Jerrod Zapzalka. Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the conviction, the jury reasonably could have found that the only reason Carpenter told Earl to stand guard was to prevent the interruption of the rape. We hold that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict of guilty of aiding and abetting first-degree murder while committing criminal sexual conduct.