Opinion ID: 1203661
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Spencer contends that the evidence is insufficient as a matter of law to support the jury's finding that a rape and capital murder occurred. More specifically, he asserts that there is insufficient evidence that his penis penetrated the victim's vagina. We do not agree. When the victim was discovered, she was nude except for a pair of shorts. She had been bound, beaten, and strangled to death. The posterior of her vagina was bruised. Sperm were found in her vagina and in her rectum. Viewing this evidence and all reasonable inferences deducible therefrom in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, we hold that the evidence clearly supports the jury's finding of penetration. See, e.g., Spencer I, 238 Va. at ___, 384 S.E.2d at 779; Tuggle, 228 Va. at 509-12, 323 S.E.2d at 549-50. [13]