Mathis v. State

The victim's sister's testimony that the victim told her to come if she ever heard the victim call her name did not meet the statutory definition of hearsay-evidence which does not derive its value solely from the credit of the witness, but rests mainly on the veracity and competency of other persons.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Rosemary Mathis suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head on October 8, 1999, while she was removing her belongings from the marital home she shared with appellant Laris Lovett Mathis. Appellant was convicted of the malice murder of his wife, and he appeals.1 1. Appellant first contends the evidence was insufficient to authorize the jury’s return of a guilty verdict on the charge of malice murder and authorized the jury only to find appellant guilty of voluntary manslaughter. The trial court instructed the jury on the law concerning both malice murder and voluntary manslaughter and gave the jury a verdict form that provided the jury with the opportunity to return a guilty verdict on either malice murder or voluntary manslaughter.

The State presented evidence that the gun was 3-6″ from the victim’s head when it was fired. The victim’s son and her sister testified they were in a nearby room and heard the victim ask appellant for the money he had received from the sale of her car. They then heard her tell appellant to move the gun away from her head. The victim then called her sister’s name, the door between the two rooms slammed shut, and a gunshot was fired. The victim’s son testified he saw appellant leave the scene with a gun in his hand. The couple’s adjacent neighbor, a lieutenant with the Fulton County Police Department, testified he had talked with appellant earlier in the day and described him as upset by the fact the victim was moving out. The neighbor saw appellant had a clip of ammunition, though he did not see a gun, and urged appellant not to do anything foolish. A woman who described the victim as her best friend of 32 years testified the victim had told her a month earlier that appellant had threatened to kill her if she left him.

Mathis v. State

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report