State v. Gilbert

After a trial without a jury, defendant was convicted of second degree assault and murder. Upon appeal he assigns as error the denial of his motion for separate trials on each charge.

On December 2, 1975, defendant became involved in a fight with Mike Keefauver. At one point in the fight, Keefauver was rendered senseless, and Jon Bym, a bystander, sought to aid Keefauver. When Keefauver regained his feet, he and defendant resumed the fight, which culminated in Keefauver’s death due to numerous stab wounds. Defendant then approached Bym, and stabbed him once.

The state brought only one…