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Bryant v. State

The evidence supported the defendant's convictions arising from the rape and murder of his former girlfriend's mother.

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After being found guilty of murder, felony murder, rape, aggravated assault, and burglary, Willie Lee Bryant appeals, contending that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to obtain a DNA expert.1 For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

1. In the light most favorable to the verdict, the record shows that Tisha Person found her mother, Candiace Person, dead on the floor of her bedroom on the evening of November 26, 2005. The phone lines in the home had been cut. The victim died of asphyxiation, and bruising around her face and neck were consistent with having been strangled. During the autopsy, semen was found in the victim’s vagina, and DNA testing showed that it could have been contributed by Willie Bryant, the defendant. Bryant had previously been Tisha’s boyfriend, and he often visited the victim’s home. In fact, Bryant had been known to visit the victim when Tisha was not present. When Bryant was arrested and informed of the DNA that was discovered, he told police that he had been having a consensual sexual relationship with the victim, though he did not admit to the murder. In addition to this evidence, police discovered that Bryant frequented a hotel that was located approximately 100 yards from a gas station where the victim’s credit card was fraudulently used shortly after her murder. Also, it was determined that Bryant had previously been charged with the rape of a former girlfriend. In that prior incident, Bryant was accused of cutting his girlfriend’s phone lines, entering her home, and choking and raping her.

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