Opinion ID: 1060393
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Connie Branam Murder

Text: The trial court ruled that the State could introduce evidence about the murder of Branam, but the State could not introduce the fact that Appellants had been convicted of the Branam murder. The trial court found that the evidence about the Branam murder was admissible because it was relevant to establishing the identity of Griffin's killers. We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it ruled that this evidence was admissible. The evidence regarding the Branam murder showed that when Appellants went to Howie's Hideaway with Branam the day after Griffin was killed, they acted suspiciously by repeatedly questioning the barmaids about whether they remembered seeing them with Griffin on the previous day and by attempting to fabricate a story about drinking at the bar with Griffin after he had been released from jail. In addition, the evidence showed that when Newman told Appellants that she remembered them from the day before, Sutton attempted to convince Newman to come with them. When Newman refused, Sutton threatened her. This evidence suggests that Appellants had the intent to silence any witness who could connect them with Griffin's murder. Thus, the evidence of Branam's murder was highly relevant to establishing the identity of Griffin's killers because it tended to show that Appellants had killed Branam in order to conceal the fact that they had murdered Griffin. In addition, we conclude that the highly probative value of this evidence was not outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Under these circumstances, we cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted this evidence. This issue has no merit. [9]