Frezghi v. State
| Decision Date | 04 June 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. S01A0602.,S01A0602. |
| Citation | 273 Ga. 871,548 S.E.2d 296 |
| Parties | FREZGHI v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Peter M. Zeliff, Decatur, for appellant.
J. Tom Morgan, Dist. Atty., Barbara B. Conroy, Jeanne M. Canavan, Asst. Dist. Attys., Thurbert E. Baker, Atty. Gen., Paula K. Smith, Senior Asst. Atty. Gen., Wylencia H. Monroe, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
A jury found Zarai Frezghi guilty of the malice murder and felony murder of his wife. The trial court properly entered a judgment of conviction only on the malice murder verdict and sentenced Frezghi to life imprisonment. Stowe v. State, 272 Ga. 866, 536 S.E.2d 506 (2000). He filed a motion for new trial which was denied, and he appeals.1
1. Construed in the light most favorable to the State, the evidence shows that Frezghi stabbed his wife 44 times while pursuing her through their home, and that he ultimately killed her by cutting her throat with her head pulled back, severing her windpipe and the major arteries to her head. Frezghi contends that the evidence shows only that he committed voluntary manslaughter, because the State did not contradict his testimony that the victim first stabbed him during an argument and that he became angry, took the knife from her, and could not control himself.
[Cit.] ... [E]vidence of anger is not, as a matter of law, a showing of the provocation necessary to set aside a finding of malice. [Cit.]
Sutton v. State, 264 Ga. 222-223(1), 443 S.E.2d 481 (1994). We conclude that the evidence, including the numerous stab wounds and the cruel and deliberate nature of the final wound, was sufficient to authorize the jury to find Frezghi guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of malice murder. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); Lewandowski v. State, 267 Ga. 831, 832(1), 483 S.E.2d 582 (1997); Sutton v. State, supra at 222(1), 443 S.E.2d 481; Brooks v. State, 258 Ga. 20, 23(5), 365 S.E.2d 97 (1988). Because the trial court correctly entered a judgment of conviction only on the verdict finding Frezghi guilty of malice murder, we need not consider the sufficiency of the evidence as to the alternative charge of felony murder. Goforth v. State, 271 Ga. 700, 701(2), 523 S.E.2d 868 (1999).
2. Frezghi urges that the trial court violated his right to be present at all stages of trial when it conducted part of voir dire in chambers. Although one of Frezghi's trial attorneys testified on motion for new trial that Frezghi was absent during that portion of voir dire, the testimony of both prosecutors demonstrated that he was present with an interpreter. After hearing the conflicting testimony, the trial court concluded that Frezghi was...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Rodriguez-Nova v. State
...all cases shall be the judge, the killing shall be attributed to deliberate revenge and be punished as murder”); Frezghi v. State, 273 Ga. 871, 871(1), 548 S.E.2d 296 (2001) ; Goforth v. State, 271 Ga. 700, 701(1), 523 S.E.2d 868 (1999) ; Lowe v. State, 267 Ga. 410, 411(1)(a), 478 S.E.2d 76......
-
Walden v. State
...on the felony murder count, we need not consider the sufficiency of the evidence as to that alternative charge. Frezghi v. State, 273 Ga. 871–872(1), 548 S.E.2d 296 (2001); Goforth v. State, 271 Ga. 700, 701(2), 523 S.E.2d 868 (1999). Appellant also contends that the evidence was insufficie......
-
Robinson v. State
...a MARTA card did not require that Robinson be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter instead of felony murder. See Frezghi v. State, 273 Ga. 871(1), 548 S.E.2d 296 (2001). The evidence presented at trial was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find Robinson guilty of felony mur......
-
In re Bagley, S01Y0466.
... ... BAGLEY ... No. S01Y0466 ... Supreme Court of Georgia ... June 4, 2001 ... William P. Smith, III, Gen. Counsel State Bar, Jenny K. Mittelman, Asst. Gen. Counsel, State Bar, for State Bar of Georgia ... Charles E. Bagley Jr., Douglas, for appellee ... ...