Opinion ID: 1624316
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Pregnancy of the Female Victim

Text: It was not prejudicial error to admit evidence that the female victim was pregnant at the time of her murder. The fact that the female victim was pregnant was only minimally presented during trial. It related to her physical condition and the jury was entitled to hear such evidence. This Court has previously stated that evidence about whom and what the victim was prior to death was properly admitted. See Templeman v. Commonwealth, Ky., 785 S.W.2d 259 (1990); Campbell v. Commonwealth, Ky., 788 S.W.2d 260 (1990); McQueen v. Commonwealth, Ky., 669 S.W.2d 519 (1984). The pregnancy of the female victim was not sensational or shocking or prejudicial or likely to induce any undue sympathy. The brief reference to her pregnancy was fair comment to explain her identity. It did not deprive Wheeler of a fair trial. Cf. Bowling v. Commonwealth, Ky., 942 S.W.2d 293 (1997). Wheeler also argues that KRS 532.025 is unconstitutional as applied to him because the jury could have considered three deaths by including the unborn child in finding the aggravating circumstances supporting the death penalty. The indictment does not mention the death of an unborn child. The jury instructions directed the consideration of two deaths, that of the male and female victims. Wheeler was not denied a fair trial or due process of law under either the federal or state constitutions. The admission of evidence relating to pregnancy was not fundamentally unfair. The probative value of the evidence was not substantially outweighed by the danger of undue prejudice. See KRE 403. The reference to pregnancy was not error. The statute is not unconstitutional.