Hufstetler v. State

Carley, Justice.

A jury found Clyde Hufstetler guilty of murdering his estranged wife, Nancy Hufstetler, two days before their divorce was to become final. He appeals from the judgment of conviction and life sentence entered by the trial court on the guilty verdict.

1. Hufstetler did not deny that he shot and killed the victim, but claimed that he was a battered spouse who acted in self-defense. On appeal, he urges that the State failed to disprove his justification defense beyond a reasonable doubt.

The prosecution introduced evidence showing that Hufstetler was the abuser in the relationship…