On the evening of March 31, 1999, Jennifer Agnes Lee was seen leaving her office in a new gold Ford Explorer with a man later identified as Robert Lee Vaughn. Shortly before 7:00 a.m. the next morning, her body was found at a construction site. Ms. Lee had been killed by manual strangulation and later run over by a vehicle. The letter and digits “P235,” which constitute a portion of the standard tire size for Ford Explorers, were imprinted on her thigh. Just over a month later, after Vaughn was identified, two detectives contacted him and, as soon Ms. Lee’s name was mentioned, Vaughn became weak-kneed and had to sit down. He agreed to accompany them to police headquarters for an interview, which was videotaped. He initially denied, but later admitted, that he was present at Ms. Lee’s office and that they went to dinner on March 31. A blood stain on the carpet of Vaughn’s gold Ford Explorer was determined to be of human origin, but could not be tested successfully for DNA. A hair obtained from a shock absorber assembly underneath the vehicle was tested for mitochondrial DNA mtDNA. The FBI Crime Laboratory concluded that Vaughn could be eliminated as the source of the hair, and that Ms. Lee could not be excluded, because her hair matched that which came from underneath the vehicle. Vaughn was arrested and charged with alternative counts of malice murder and felony murder during the commission of aggravated assault. Defense counsel filed a motion to suppress the videotaped interview and a motion in limine to exclude the mtDNA evidence. The trial court denied both motions and a motion for reconsideration. After a jury trial, Vaughn was found guilty of malice murder and felony murder. Treating the felony murder count as surplusage, the trial court entered judgment of conviction for malice murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. A motion for new trial was denied, and Vaughn appeals.
1. A review of the evidence reveals that, when construed most strongly in support of the jury’s verdict, it is sufficient to find him guilty of malice murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979; Moody v. State , 277 Ga. 676, 678 1 594 SE2d 350 2004.
