Appellant Wayne Matthews appeals his convictions for malice murder and robbery by force arising from the death of the victim Jimmy Atkins.1 Appellant and the victim were in a romantic relationship which the victim ended a few days prior to his murder. On the day of the murder, appellant and Ricardo Love went to the victim’s house to recover appellant’s personal items. Appellant entered the house while Love waited on the porch. After two hours passed, appellant called Love inside at which time Love saw appellant choking the victim. Appellant and Love bound the victim’s wrists and ankles with duct tape that appellant had brought to the house. The victim’s mouth and nose were also covered with duct tape. The two took items from the victim’s house, including the victim’s ATM card, and drove away in the victim’s jeep. The victim was found dead by Atlanta police after his employer asked the victim’s landlord to check on him. The cause of the victim’s death was determined to be manual strangulation. At trial, surveillance video taken on the days following the victim’s death showed appellant, at various Atlanta locations, attempting to use the victim’s ATM card. There was also forensic evidence introduced at trial, including appellant’s fingerprints on the driver’s side of the victim’s jeep, appellant’s DNA under the victim’s fingernails, and a bite mark from the victim on appellant’s arm. The lead detective testified that, after his arrest and arraignment, appellant made an unsolicited comment that he was glad the victim was dead. 1. Appellant complains the evidence was insufficient because Ricardo Love’s testimony as an accomplice was uncorroborated. “To sustain a conviction in a felony case upon the testimony of an accomplice, there must be corroborating facts or circumstances, which, in themselves and independently of the testimony of the accomplice, directly connect the defendant with the crime, or lead to the inference that he is guilty. . . .” Baines v. State , 276 Ga. 117 1 575 SE2d 495 2003. See also OCGA § 24-4-8. The necessary corroborating evidence may be circumstantial and it may be slight. Id. at 119; Judkins v. State , 282 Ga. 580 1 652 SE2d 537 2007. The sufficiency of any corroborating evidence is for the trier of fact to decide. Id.
In this case, Love’s testimony was corroborated by the other evidence in the case, including, but not limited to, the medical examiner’s confirmation that the victim died by manual strangulation, the discovery of appellant’s DNA under the victim’s fingernails, the bite mark on appellant’s arm, and the discovery of appellant’s fingerprint’s on the victim’s jeep. Accordingly, appellant’s assertion that Love’s testimony was uncorroborated is without merit. The evidence adduced at trial and summarized above was sufficient to authorize a rational trier of fact to find appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of malice murder and robbery by force. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.
