Donyeil Ladon Cunningham was convicted of malice murder in the stabbing death of Jim Daniel Bowers. He appeals, contending the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and challenging evidentiary rulings by the trial court.1 Finding no error, we affirm. 1. Cunningham contends that the evidence at trial was not sufficient to authorize the verdicts. That evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict as it must be, Harvey v. State , 274 Ga. 350 2 554 SE2d 148 2001, established that after an afternoon spent smoking crack cocaine, Cunningham had an argument with his girlfriend and left her car taking with him a pink-handled steak knife she used for opening the car’s trunk. Cunningham went to the victim’s house and together they smoked more crack cocaine purchased by the victim. The victim’s body was subsequently found near a farm where Cunningham once worked. Expert medical testimony established that the victim had sustained between 45 and 57 stab wounds to the face, neck and both the front and back of the body. The victim bled to death from multiple perforations to his jugular veins and carotid artery. There were no stabbing or defensive injuries on the victim’s extremities and there was a boot print in blood on his bare back. Police found a broken pink-handled steak knife at the scene and recovered bloodied clothing items and boots left by Cunningham at his girlfriend’s house and another location; the boots had a tread consistent with the print on the victim’s back. The victim’s car was found in another location; it showed signs of having been wiped clean and the police were unable to recover any fingerprints. Although the victim had cashed his paycheck that afternoon, no money was found at the scene and the victim’s empty wallet was subsequently recovered.
In his statement to the police, Cunningham claimed that he accepted a ride home from the victim but instead of going to his house, the victim drove to a parking lot, turned off the vehicle and then tried to touch Cunningham’s penis while propositioning him for oral sex. Cunningham stated that while fending off the victim’s advances he repeatedly stabbed the victim in the neck with the steak knife and used his pocket knife after the steak knife broke. Cunningham also introduced evidence that in August 1986 the then-teenaged victim had propositioned a man with a request for oral sex.
