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Criminal Law Keyed to Osler
United States v. Thomas
Citation:
664 F. 3d 217 (8th Cir. 2011)Facts
Defendant went his girlfriends house where he realized her home apartment vandalized. They both suspected it was the defendant’s ex-girlfriend, Dawn Starlin, who lived behind the new girlfriend’s residence. After seeing the vandalism, defendant went to his sister’s home to get a gun and hide it at his girlfriend’s home. Testimony confirms that the defendant obtained this gun that evening. Defendant and his girlfriend then went out to a bar and returned to find Ms. Starlin taunting them from a chair in her backyard. Defendant got his gun, walked towards Ms. Starlin and shot her multiple times. Ms. Starlin was found dead outside her home early the next morning.
That next day, the defendant contacted the police who entered his home at his consented to talk. The defendant’s mother was crying and the defendant told the officers “let’s go” and walked towards the door to leave together. They asked why he did “it” and the defendant responded that he was drinking and that he had gotten rid of the gun already. He was then arrested, read his rights, and made a confession. A second time he was read his rights and confessed again. Testimony of friends confirmed that the defendant confessed to shooting Ms. Starlin. Defendant was convicted of first degree murder.
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