Shell v. Commonwealth

Opinion

KOONTZ, C.J.

In a bench trial on June 30, 1989, Reginald Shell was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to sixty years imprisonment under Code §§ 18.2-32 and 18.2-10(b). In this appeal, Shell raises the following issues: (1) whether the trial court improperly found Shell made a knowing and voluntary waiver of his constitutional rights and thus erroneously admitted his confession into evidence; (2) whether the evidence was sufficient for the trial court to have found the element of premeditation necessary for a first-degree murder conviction. For the reasons that follow, we…