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Russell v. State

The evidence did not support a jury charge on voluntary manslaughter in the defendant's trial for killing his estranged wife and another woman.

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Appellant Demetrius Russell was convicted of two counts of murder and related offenses in connection with the June 22, 2008 shooting deaths of Victoria Renfroe and Andrea Smith. Russell now challenges his convictions, contending that the evidence was insufficient and that the trial court erred in declining to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter and in various evidentiary rulings. Finding no error, we affirm.1

Construed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdicts, the evidence adduced at trial established as follows. At approximately 5:00 a.m. on June 22, 2008, Victoria Renfroe and Andrea Smith were shot and killed at Renfroe’s home on Eastwood Drive in DeKalb County, where the two women were living with their young children. Renfroe’s next door neighbor, who at that time was in his driveway preparing to leave for work, heard nine gunshots and female screams from the home and then observed a man run out of the front door of the house holding a gun. The neighbor called 911, and responding officers found the victims: Smith had been shot dead while lying on a living room sofa, and Renfroe had been shot dead lying in a bed. There were no signs of forced entry into the home.

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