Faircloth v. State

Appellant Ronnie Faircloth was convicted of murder and other offenses in connection with the September 2007 shooting death of his wife. Faircloth appeals the denial of his motion for new trial, asserting the trial court erred in admitting evidence of prior difficulties between the couple and testimony regarding past statements made by the victim. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.1

Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, the evidence adduced at trial established as follows. On September 24, 2007, Norma Faircloth was killed by a gunshot to the head in the apartment she had moved into after recently separating from her husband. The couple had been married for 27 years, throughout which Faircloth had inflicted physical and verbal abuse on his wife on a regular basis. From the time their three sons were young, the victim had made known to them her intention to leave their father as soon as they were grown. In September 2007, the victim finally carried out this plan, moving into her own apartment just three days before she was killed.