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Mikell v. State

Evidence of defendant's extramarital relationship was admissible to refute his testimony that he had a good relationship with his wife.

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Joseph Perry Mikell was convicted of malice murder in the shooting death of his wife Barbara Sue Mikell.1 He contends that the trial court erred in allowing the state to introduce testimony about two extramarital affairs as bad character evidence. Because the challenged evidence was relevant to prove identity and to impeach his testimony, we conclude that the trial court did not commit reversible error in admitting it. Therefore, we affirm.

1. Mikell contends that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of murder. The evidence at trial shows that Barbara Mikell was picking up a $50 check from a friend in downtown Atlanta when her husband called to tell her that he would not be able to have lunch with her, as they had discussed. She became angry and said, “I’ll guess I’ll just go home,” then slammed the cell phone down on the table. While driving south on I-75, she talked again with her husband at 2:17 p.m. Thirty minutes later, she checked into a motel off of I-20 in DeKalb County where she had met her husband once before their marriage. The motel was located 35 miles from their home in Butts County. She paid for the room with their joint credit card, a bill that he paid. Using her cell phone, Ms. Mikell called her husband’s pager at 3:01 p.m. and 3:54 p.m., but he did not return the calls. Records show that she did not communicate that day on her cell phone with anyone besides her husband.

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