Ashley v. State

BELCHER, Commissioner.

Leslie Douglas Ashley and Carolyn Lima were jointly tried and convicted for the offense of murder with malice; the punishment assessed by the jury for each appellant, death.

The state’s testimony shows that when officers of the City of Houston arrived at a vacant lot to extinguish a fire on the night of February 6, 1961, they discovered a burning, almost nude male body, later identified as that of the deceased. An autopsy revealed that gasoline had been poured on the body and ignited after the deceased had been killed as a result of being shot six times with a .22 caliber…