State v. Tatum

KENNEDY, Judge.

Defendant Tatum appeals a jury conviction of murder in the first degree, § 565.-003, RSMo 1978. In accordance with the jury’s verdict, the trial court sentenced Tatum to life imprisonment.

We find no reversible error and we affirm the judgment.

The facts are as follows:

On May 21, 1981, at approximately 7:00 a.m., an apartment manager discovered Marcile Cunningham dead in the victim’s Kansas City, Missouri apartment with a bloody rag stuffed in her mouth. The victim was last seen alive the previous evening.

The police arrived soon thereafter and collected evidence. An autopsy…