Jones v. State

The weapon's possession charge put the defendant on notice that he was charged with felony murder predicated on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon-a knife.

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Charles Alvin Jones was convicted of malice murder, felony murder and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony in the stabbing death of his wife, Lanetta Marie Jones. He appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, the propriety of his sentence on malice murder and the effectiveness of trial counsel.1 Finding no error, we affirm. 1. The jury was authorized to find that appellant had known for several months that the victim was having an affair with another man. The victim spent the night with her lover and returned around 11:30 a.m. on the day of the crimes to the apartment she shared with appellant, their young daughter and the victim’s son by an earlier relationship. Appellant and the victim argued and appellant choked the victim until she lost consciousness; he then wrapped her in a blanket and placed her in a closet. After she revived, another struggle ensued that ended when appellant fatally cut her throat with a knife. Among the victim’s injuries were three superficial neck wounds that, according to expert medical testimony, indicated appellant had hesitated before he “worked up the courage” to inflict the deep cut that stretched across the victim’s throat and severed her left carotid artery and right internal jugular vein, causing her to bleed to death.

Appellant then called a friend in Florida and confessed that he had killed the victim; took the children to a movie; and thereafter purchased bags of ice, which, upon his return home, he placed around the victim’s body in the bathtub to stop it from smelling. Police officers, who came to the apartment in response to a call from the Florida friend about the killing, forced entry into the bathroom and found the victim’s body.

Jones v. State

The weapon's possession charge put the defendant on notice that he was charged with felony murder predicated on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon-a knife.

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