Fielding v. State

Evidence of a previous murder and robbery was admissible to show the defendant's specific course and conduct and pattern of behavior in which he robbed and killed unarmed persons late at night who were alone in their place of business.

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Appellant Robert Eugene Fielding appeals his convictions for murder and robbery,1 resulting in a life sentence, claiming that trial counsel was ineffective and that the trial court erred in admitting prior transaction evidence. We have considered the record and conclude these enumerations are without merit. Having found the evidence sufficient to support appellant’s convictions, we affirm. The evidence of record shows that one night in May 1994, the victim, Mary Stewart, disappeared while working late at the Richmond County Department of Family and Children Services DFACS. Her body was later found buried in a nearby landfill facility. Appellant supervised the night cleaning crew assigned to the DFACS office where the victim worked. Prior to the victim’s disappearance, appellant had made efforts to determine the location of security cameras inside DFACS’s office. Appellant’s job duties included collecting trash from other workers and taking it to a dumpster in a trash cart. After the victim disappeared, blood stains were discovered on the trash cart. The stains were later determined to have been caused by both appellant’s and the victim’s blood. Fibers from the victim’s clothing were also found on the trash cart. Only appellant had access to this trash cart, and he admitted to having control of it on the night of the victim’s disappearance.

Appellant’s duties also included activating the building’s alarm system when his crew was finished cleaning. Appellant normally did not work past 9 p.m. On the night the victim disappeared, security records show that appellant’s cleaning crew left the DFACS building at 9:15 p.m., but he did not activate the DFACS alarm system until 10:39 p.m. The following night, appellant failed to report for work.

Fielding v. State

Evidence of a previous murder and robbery was admissible to show the defendant's specific course and conduct and pattern of behavior in which he robbed and killed unarmed persons late at night who were alone in their place of business.

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