Hales v. State

Smith, Justice.

Robert Hales appeals from his convictions for murder and aggravated assault. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment for the shooting death of his wife Annie Hales, as well as to two concurrent ten-year terms for gunshot wounds he inflicted on his twelve-year-old stepson Galvin Smith and his sister-in-law Helen Roberts.

On April 17, 1981, Robert and Annie Hales drove from their home in Wrens to Helen Roberts’ Louisville residence in order to visit with Helen, her child, and Annie’s five children. The couple left Wrens on the afternoon of April 17 and stopped briefly at a…