Nolan Cecil Boatright was convicted of malice murder, burglary and other crimes arising out of the shotgun killing of Scott Hudgins. He appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial1 challenging the admission of a co-indictee’s videotaped statement to police officers, the effectiveness of his trial counsel and the trial court’s charge to the jury. Finding no reversible error, we affirm. 1. The evidence adduced at trial authorized the jury to find that the victim was residing in a home in placeCityDallas where Craig Aiken had lived several years earlier. The victim and Shane Whitlow, who was helping the victim remodel the kitchen, were at the home around midnight on April 17, 2007 when co-indictee Michelle Ray, who is the mother of appellant’s child, and Heather Pate entered the home and asked after Craig Aiken. Whitlow told them Aiken was not there and returned to a bedroom where his visiting girlfriend was resting. Whitlow heard someone “bust in” the front door; appellant and co-indictee Timothy Ray Michelle’s cousin then kicked open the bedroom door, demanding the whereabouts of Aiken. Although the electricity was off at the house and lighting was provided by candles, Whitlow recognized appellant, the Rays and Pate because he had known them for several years and had once dated Michelle Ray. Appellant was armed with a shotgun with a laser sight that he had purchased en route to the home and that he had loaded before entering the home. He first targeted Whitlow, who testified that he briefly wrestled with appellant over the shotgun but was pushed onto the bed. Appellant then targeted Whitlow’s girlfriend but turned away when told she was pregnant. Whitlow testified that he then saw the victim standing in the doorway and heard him ask, “what’s going on, Shane” when appellant turned and shot the victim in the upper right chest. Whitlow testified that there was “no doubt in his mind” that the victim “never made any type of movement toward” appellant just before the shooting. It is uncontroverted that appellant and the victim had never previously met. Appellant and all of the others in the home then fled. The entire incident lasted no more than 30-45 seconds. The victim, who was carrying a baseball bat and a piece of chain, stumbled outside, where he died; his body was found by police officers who came to the home after they were informed several hours later about the shooting. Forensic evidence established that the victim was standing no further inside the bedroom than the doorway when he was shot and that he was, at a minimum, 18 inches away from the gun when it was fired.
Both appellant and co-indictee Timothy Ray testified that the victim, while holding something in his hand, came to the bedroom shortly after appellant had pointed the loaded shotgun at Whitlow and the girlfriend; that appellant raised the shotgun and pushed or poked the victim with it, telling the victim to move so they could leave; and that the victim refused to retreat but instead kept walking steadily toward appellant, who backed up until he came to the wall. Ray testified that appellant “had his finger on the trigger and boom” shot the victim as the victim was pushing appellant; appellant testified that he “stumbled backwards and tripped into . . . stuff and the firearm went off.”
