Kenneth Fleming Shepherd was tried by a jury for various crimes in connection with the shooting death of his 14-year old half sister, Elizabeth Burgess. The jury found Shepherd not guilty by reason of insanity of malice murder, and guilty but mentally ill of the remaining charges.1 With regard to the malice murder verdict, the trial court ordered civil commitment pursuant to OCGA § 17-7-131 d. Shepherd was also sentenced to life imprisonment for felony murder predicated on possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and to a five-year consecutive term for possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. The remaining counts were merged for purposes of sentencing. On appeal, Shepherd asserts that the jury’s verdicts of not guilty by reason of insanity of malice murder and guilty but mentally ill of the remaining counts are mutually exclusive and cannot stand; that by virtue of his civil commitment and his sentence of life imprisonment he is being punished twice for the same killing in violation of his double jeopardy rights; and that the trial court erred in its instruction to the jury on felony murder. Finding no merit to these contentions, we affirm.2
Shepherd shot and killed Elizabeth in their family home. He walked across the street to a neighbor’s house where he called 911 and told the operator that his sister had fallen and needed an ambulance; he then returned home. When an ambulance arrived, Shepherd met two EMTs at his front door. They asked the location of the injured person and the circumstances of the injury. At that point, Shepherd replied that his sister had been shot. They then asked if he knew who shot her, and Shepherd replied, “I did.” The EMTs left the house immediately and called for law enforcement assistance. Shepherd met the EMTs in his driveway, and when asked the location of the gun, Shepherd replied that he had thrown it back behind the house. Shepherd also volunteered that his sister had been “sexually harassing” him, and “I did what I had to do.” Once law enforcement assistance arrived, the paramedics were able to assess the victim and to confirm that she was dead.
