Opinion ID: 1466624
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: sufficiency of evidence of wanton murder.

Text: Appellant asserts it was error to deny his motions for a directed verdict of acquittal on the primary offense of wanton murder, arguing that the prosecution did not adequately prove the aggravating factor that he acted under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life. A person is guilty of wanton murder when: Including, but not limited to, the operation of a motor vehicle under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person and thereby causes the death of another person. KRS 507.020(1)(b). The term wantonly as used in this statute was clarified in Elliott v. Commonwealth, Ky., 976 S.W.2d 416 (1998). The definition[] of `wantonly'... make[s] no reference to the defendant's state of mind with respect to his conduct, but refer[s] only to his state of mind with respect to the result of that conduct or to the circumstance which prompted the conduct. Id. at 419. So, [e]ven though he did not intend to kill, if he was aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his conduct would result in the death of another person, he is guilty of second-degree manslaughter or, if accompanied by the statutory aggravating circumstances, wanton murder. Id. The decision as to whether the aggravating circumstances (extreme indifference to human life and grave risk of death to another) were present is best left to the jury to decide. Brown v. Commonwealth, Ky., 975 S.W.2d 922, 924 (1998) (citing Walden v. Commonwealth, supra note 1, at 105); Nichols v. Commonwealth, Ky., 657 S.W.2d 932, 935 (1983)). A directed verdict on a charge of wanton murder is proper only when the evidence is insufficient to permit a reasonable juror to believe that the defendant acted with extreme indifference to human life. Estep v. Commonwealth, Ky., 957 S.W.2d 191, 193 (1997). [Wantonness] ... presupposes an awareness of the creation of substantial homicidal risk, a risk too great to be deemed justifiable by any valid purpose that the actor's conduct serves. Since risk, however, is a matter of degree and the motives for risk creation may be infinite in variation, some formula is needed to identify the case where [wantonness] should be assimilated to [intention]. The conception that the draft employs is that of extreme indifference to the value of human life. The significance of [intention] is that ... it demonstrates precisely such indifference. Whether [wantonness] is so extreme that it demonstrates similar indifference is not a question that, in our view, can be further clarified; it must be left directly to the trier of facts. KRS 507.020 (1974 Commentary) (quoting Model Penal Code § 201.2 cmt. 2 (Tent. Draft No. 9 1959)). There was sufficient evidence here for the trier of fact to find that Appellant acted wantonly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life. Walden, supra , held that evidence of the defendant's intoxication and extreme rate of speed was sufficient to support a conviction of wanton murder by vehicular homicide. Id. at 104-05. The defendant's level of intoxication at the time of the accident is a significant factor in considering whether the evidence was sufficient to support a murder charge. Hamilton v. Commonwealth, Ky., 560 S.W.2d 539, 542 (1977) (citations omitted). As noted, supra, there was substantial evidence in this case that Appellant was intoxicated at the time of the accident. And there was evidence, i.e., the statement Appellant made to Earls in Jellico, Tennessee, that Appellant was well aware of the risk of driving while intoxicated. There was also evidence that Appellant was driving his vehicle at a high rate of speed when he lost control and struck the guardrail. Earls testified that Appellant told him he was going to show Earls what his car had, spun the tires, and drove so fast that Earls feared there would be an accident. Centers testified that she heard Appellant's vehicle approaching and estimated its speed at 65 to 70 miles per hour. Trosper estimated the vehicle was still going 48 to 49 miles per hour when it went into the ditch after striking the guardrail. On a motion for directed verdict, the court must draw all fair and reasonable inferences in favor of the Commonwealth, as questions of credibility and weight of the evidence are matters for the jury. Commonwealth v. Benham, Ky., 816 S.W.2d 186, 187 (1991). There was evidence in this case of both intoxication and excessive speed from which a jury could reasonably infer an extreme indifference to human life. Appellant was not entitled to a directed verdict of acquittal.