Murphy v. State

The evidence supported the defendant's convictions for five counts of felony murder, aggravated battery, arson in the first degree and child cruelty arising after she set a fire at a motel because she was angry with a drug dealer who lived there.

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Following a jury trial, appellant Sheree Dionne Murphy was found guilty of five counts of felony murder, aggravated battery, arson in the first degree, and cruelty to a child, all of which charges were related to a motel fire resulting in the deaths of five people.1 She was sentenced to life in prison, and she now appeals from the denial of her motion for new trial, asserting, among other things, that she was denied her constitutional right to be present at all critical stages of the proceedings, that the State failed to provide her with notice prior to trial of an expert opinion, see OCGA § 17-16-4 a 4, and that the guilty verdicts were the result of 1 extrajudicial information improperly introduced to jurors during their deliberations and 2 an outside influence that caused a deliberating juror to surrender her vote for acquittal. After carefully reviewing the record, we find no reversible error and affirm appellant’s convictions.

1. The evidence presented at trial authorized the jury to find that on June 7, 2007, appellant, who was upset with a drug dealer because he would not front her drugs, poured an accelerant on and set fire to a stack of mattresses placed in a stairwell directly under the second floor motel room where the drug dealer lived. Then fourteen-year-old Shae’von Butler lived on the second floor of the same motel with her mother, Shakita Jones, her siblings, Devon Butler, Jr. and Desha Butler, and her stepfather, Fred Colston, Jr. Shae’von’s uncle, Melvin Jones, was also staying at the motel with the family. Shae’von and her family members were unable to exit their room before being trapped in the bathroom by fire and smoke, and everyone except Shae’von died from smoke inhalation. Shae’von suffered severe burns to her face, hands, shoulders, and leg.

Murphy v. State

The evidence supported the defendant's convictions for five counts of felony murder, aggravated battery, arson in the first degree and child cruelty arising after she set a fire at a motel because she was angry with a drug dealer who lived there.

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