State v. Hatcher

Defendant Mark Hatcher appeals his conviction by jury of second-degree murder, in violation of 13 V.S.A. § 2301. He claims that the trial court: (1) erroneously denied his motion for judgment of acquittal based on double jeopardy principles and insufficient evidence; (2) improperly instructed the jury on the elements of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter; and (3) wrongly refused to instruct on mutual combat and imperfect self-defense. He also alleges prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument. We affirm.

On the morning of May 19,1992, Kelli Baer’s body was discovered in the…