State v. Lumbrera

The opinion of the court was delivered by

McFarland, J.:

Diana Lumbrera appeals her jury trial conviction of first-degree murder (K.S.A. 1989 Supp. 21-3401). Defendant had been previously convicted of the same offense, but that conviction was reversed by this court on the basis of cumulative trial errors having deprived defendant of a fair trial (State v. Lumbrera, 252 Kan. 54, 845 P.2d 609 [1992]).

The victim herein was defendant’s four-year-old son, Jose. It was the State’s theory that defendant had intentionally smothered the child in order to benefit from his life insurance policy. The child…