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Abston v. State

The defendant had the victim's blood on his jeans and boots, and the defendant had a motive and opportunity to kill the victim.

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Following a jury trial, appellant Steven Wayne Abston was convicted of malice murder and possession of a knife during the commission of certain crimes in connection with the stabbing death of his father, Jeffrey Abston. Abston appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial,1 arguing that the circumstantial evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his convictions. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The evidence at trial shows that Abston was staying with the victim at the time of the crimes. The victim suffered from tuberculosis, and an employee of the Chatham County Health Department made house calls to deliver medicine to him. After August 16, 2006, the employee was unable to reach the victim. He stopped by the victim’s house on August 17 and on the morning of August 18, but no one answered the door. On the afternoon of August 17, the employee attempted to call the victim, and someone who claimed to be the victim but did not sound like him answered the phone and told the employee not to come to the house because he was about to leave. On August 18, the victim’s daughter received an automated phone call from the victim’s bank regarding fraud on the victim’s account. She called the victim’s house, and Abston answered the phone and told her the victim was not at home. The daughter’s husband went to the victim’s house at approximately 2:00 p.m. but was unable to contact him.

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