Lawrence Robinson was convicted of murder and other crimes arising out of the stabbing death of Patricia Moore and the sexual assault of Moore’s niece, M.L. He appeals from the denial of his motion for a new trial.1
1. The evidence adduced at trial authorized the jury to find that Patricia Moore was at home with two nieces, Tiffany and 12-year-old M.L., when appellant and a friend came by to get money from the room of another niece, Octavia, whom appellant was dating. M.L. went with appellant to the room where appellant began “rubbing” on her and kissing her. After M.L. rebuffed appellant’s advances, he and his friend left and drove to the home of appellant’s brother. Appellant borrowed the friend’s car, visited another friend, and left her home around 6 a.m. M.L., who was sleeping in Octavia’s room, awoke in the early morning to find appellant in the room. He began kissing her and when the child tried to leave, appellant threw her on the bed and had sexual intercourse with her then followed her out into the hallway where he performed an act of cunnilingus on her. Afterwards, M.L. went downstairs to use the bathroom at which time she saw that Moore was asleep. M.L. returned to another sister’s room upstairs where shortly thereafter she and her sister heard Moore scream. When Moore called to them, they went downstairs and found Moore bleeding profusely from multiple stab wounds on her face and hand. The attack occurred at approximately 6:30 a.m. Moore died from respiratory and cardiac failure caused by loss of blood. Expert testimony established that she had been stabbed seven times and had a cut on her right hand probably sustained during a defensive attempt to grab the knife blade. Although she was not an eyewitness to Moore’s attack, M.L. identified appellant to police as the attacker and later revealed appellant’s sexual assault on her. Appellant contacted police to say he wanted to turn himself in; he subsequently gave an audiotaped confession in which he told police that M.L. voluntarily took his erect penis and put it in her vagina and that after Moore came at appellant with a knife, he took the weapon from her and she voluntarily and repeatedly threw herself upon the knife as appellant held it.
