S-15-0045 State v. Andrew Casterline (Appellant)
Webster County District Court, Judge Stephen Illingworth
Attorneys: Nathan A. Liss (Attorney General's Office) --- Charles D. Brewster (Anderson, Klein, Swan & Brewster) (Appellant)
Criminal: 1st degree Murder; use of deadly weapon to commit felony; burglary
Proceedings below: Following a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty on all three counts.
Issues: The district court erred by 1) finding sufficient evidence to convict Appellant of First
Degree Murder beyond a reasonable doubt, 2) finding sufficient evidence to convict Appellant of Use of a
Weapon in Commission of a Felony beyond a reasonable doubt, 3) allowing the admission of Exhibit No. 192 into evidence, which was a letter allegedly written by the Appellant without proper and sufficient foundation, 4) improperly instructing the jury concerning the elements of First Degree Murder, Second Degree Murder and Manslaughter by adding language concerning aiding that was improper, superfluous and confusing to the jury, 5) refusing Appellant's proffered instructions concerning elements of the crimes of First Degree Murder, Second Degree Murder and Manslaughter, 6) allowing the admission of Exhibit 108, a knife, into evidence that was not related or connected to the crimes charged and by overruling Appellant's relevancy objection to this Exhibit which was unduly prejudicial to the Appellant, 7) finding the Appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of First Degree Murder for acts of the Appellant that occurred after the victim had expired, and 8) finding Appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of Use of a Weapon in Commission of a Felony when there was no evidence of Appellant being in possession of the weapon used in the felony offense or of his involvement in the crime of First Degree Murder until after the victim had expired.