Tumlin v. State

Appellant Robert Tumlin was found guilty of two counts of felony murder arising out of the death of Cindy Carroll, two counts of aggravated assault, and burglary and sentenced to life in prison.1 He appeals from the denial of his motion for a new trial. Finding sufficient evidence to support the verdict and no reversible error in the trial court’s rulings, we affirm.

1. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, the jury was authorized to find that Tumlin and Scott Holloway went to the house of Wayne Roberts to confront Roberts about a drug debt. They were both armed and attempted to gain entry by kicking in the door. Tumlin kicked the door once and Holloway kicked it a second time, causing the door to open. Tumlin, armed with a shotgun, stepped in the doorway and started shooting while Holloway shot a pistol from the porch. Roberts had heard the men approaching his home and returned gunfire. As a result, Cindy Carroll, who was at Robert’s home laying on the couch during the shooting, was struck in the head from a shotgun blast and died instantly. The shells found in her skull matched the shells from Tumlin’s gun. Holloway also died on the scene and Tumlin received injuries to his back. After the shooting, Tumlin drove his truck to the home of a friend and asked him to take him to an out-of-county hospital. Tumlin left his shotgun with the friend, who removed the shells and cleaned blood from the gun.