Kusmider v. State

OPINION

BRYNER, Chief Judge.

Thomas Kusmider was convicted, after a jury trial, of murder in the second degree, AS 11.41.110. He appeals, contending that Superior Court Judge Karl S. Johnstone erred in excluding evidence relating to the proximate cause of the victim’s death. We affirm.

On November 15, 1982, Kusmider’s girlfriend told Kusmider that an acquaintance, Arthur Villella, had sexually assaulted her. Kusmider went to Villella’s home in Anchorage. A confrontation ensued, and Kusmider shot Villella. The bullet entered Villella’s neck above the Adam’s apple. Although the wound did not sever…