Commonwealth v. Pruitt

OPINION

Justice McCAFFERY.

Michael Pruitt (“Appellant”) challenges on direct appeal his conviction for first-degree murder and other offenses and his judgment of sentence of death. We affirm.

The relevant facts of the instant case are as follows. On September 28, 2002, police found the naked body of Greta Gougler, who was 69 years of age, lying on the floor of her home. Ms. Gougler’s body was severely bruised, and her mouth was covered with a towel. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was asphyxiation; in addition, the victim had been sexually assaulted. Appellant, who resided in the…