The appellant, Eddie Scott, appeals from his conviction for the felony murder of Frank Mealer.1 On appeal, Scott contends, among other things, that the trial court erred in ruling that a 911 audiotape had been properly authenticated, and that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that Scott’s contentions have no merit, and we thus affirm his conviction for felony murder. 1. A 911 operator, Susan Bell, testified that on August 8, 2001, a woman identifying herself as Sharon Hester called and stated that Scott was beating “the hell out of” the victim. An officer who responded to the 911 call observed injuries and abrasions on Mealer’s head, face, and left arm. Mealer refused medical treatment that morning. Later that afternoon, Mealer asked his friend, Eddie Williams, to come over because he had been beaten. When Williams arrived about 5:30 to 6:00 p.m., Mealer was holding his head and complaining of a headache. At the time of the incident, Mealer was taking Coumadin, a blood-thinning medication, and several other medications because he had a prosthetic heart valve. Williams went to get Mealer some food, and then returned to work. About 8:30 p.m., Williams returned to Mealer’s home, and found that Mealer’s speech was slurred and that he was in extreme pain.
Williams then took Mealer to Newton General Hospital, where doctors ordered that he be transported to Atlanta Medical Center by helicopter. In Atlanta, it was determined that Mealer had developed three blood clots on his brain, and that one side of the brain had partially shifted to the other side as a result of the pressure caused by the blood clots. On August 21, 2001, surgery was performed to treat the blood clots. After the procedure, Mealer’s condition initially improved, but he subsequently developed a blood infection in his bladder and in his prosthetic heart valve. Because the infections could not be treated by antibiotics, Mealer had to undergo heart valve replacement surgery. On September 27, 2001, during that surgery, Mealer suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. On December 1, 2001, Mealer died. A pathologist testified that the cause of death was a bacterial infection involving the heart, which arose from treatment for the blood clots.
