The appellant, Luther Rickman, appeals from his conviction for the murder of Judy Fetzer and the simple assault of Marilyn Dills.1 On appeal, Rickman contends that, for several reasons, he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. We conclude, however, that trial counsel either did not provide deficient performance for the reasons alleged or that Rickman has failed to prove the prejudice prong of his ineffectiveness claim. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. 1. The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, would have authorized a rational trier of fact to conclude that Rickman and Fetzer went to a friend’s house on the day of the crimes; that Fetzer and Dills left the friend’s home to return to Rickman’s home without telling Rickman; that Rickman became angry when he learned that Fetzer and Dills had left; that Rickman obtained a ride to his home from a friend; and that when he arrived at his home, he beat and strangled Fetzer to death and assaulted Dills. The evidence also would have authorized a rational trier of fact to conclude that Rickman then put Fetzer’s body in his pickup truck; that he drove to the Atlanta airport and parked his truck there; and that he fled Georgia and went to Texas. Fetzer’s body was discovered at the airport about a month after the crimes, and Rickman turned himself into the police in Texas about two months after the crimes. In addition to evidence concerning the crimes for which Rickman was on trial, the State introduced evidence of prior difficulties between Rickman and Fetzer. In this regard, Mike Hauck, a life long friend of Rickman’s, testified that he lived with Fetzer and Rickman in the fall of 1999, and that one day when Fetzer and Rickman had an argument, he saw Rickman repeatedly kick and hit Fetzer. Hauck added that Rickman threatened to kill Fetzer that day. A physician who treated Fetzer after that beating testified that she had bruises on the back of both of her ears, bruises on her skull, a large bruise on her right shoulder, bruises on her side, and a bruise in the middle of the chest.
Having reviewed the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have found Rickman guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of malice murder and simple assault.2
