Kimbrough v. State

The trial court did not err in admitting evidence of a prior similar crime in which the defendant invaded a woman's home at night through a back window, attacked the woman, stole her personal items and left in her car.

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A jury convicted Benny Kimbrough of murder and other offenses arising from the strangulation death of Ramatoulie Demba.1 On appeal, Kimbrough asserts that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of an independent crime. Finding no error, we affirm. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence established that Demba was last seen alive when she went shopping with a friend on July 7, 2004. Four days later, friends went to check on Demba because they were unable to reach her by phone. When they found the back window of her house had been broken, they summoned police who discovered her decaying body in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor. Demba, a Gambian national, had been strangled with her African headdress.2

The police also found a bloody paper towel on the living room floor and observed that Demba’s car and furniture were missing. Demba’s vehicle was located in the possession of Franklin Hudson; Hudson stated that Kimbrough loaned him the car in exchange for crack cocaine. When the police located Kimbrough, they observed cuts on his hands. Kimbrough’s DNA was identified on the bloody paper towel found in Demba’s living room, his fingerprints were on a jewelry box in her bedroom, and his blood and fingerprints were found on receipts located in her vehicle. Other witnesses testified that Kimbrough had attempted to sell several items stolen from Demba’s home, including a television, camera, jewelry, and an African- style dress.

Kimbrough v. State

The trial court did not err in admitting evidence of a prior similar crime in which the defendant invaded a woman's home at night through a back window, attacked the woman, stole her personal items and left in her car.

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