State v. Cate

OPINION

JAMES C. BEASLEY, Special Judge.

The appellant, Billy Cate, has appealed as of right from his conviction for murder in the second degree and arson of personal property. Six issues are presented for our review including one which challenges the sufficiency of the convicting- evidence.

The victim of this homicide was a young man named Jackie Proffit whose charred body was found in his burning automobile shortly after 9:00 p.m. on February 23, 1982. Medical testimony established that the cause of death was repeated blows to the head and that death occurred prior to the burning of the…