State v. Bird

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Prager, J.:

This is a direct appeal by the defendant, Thomas Bird, from a jury conviction of first-degree premeditated murder (K.S.A. 21-3401). The charge arose out of the death of the defendant’s wife, Sandra Bird, whose body was found on July 17, 1983, lying face down in a river in front of her overturned car. The death occurred below the Rocky Ford Bridge which is located south of the city of Emporia on a gravel road. Directly south of the Rocky Ford Bridge there is an S-curve consisting of two 90-degree angle turns.

Sandra Bird’s body was examined by…