State v. Newell

TERNUS, Justice.

The appellant, Jerry Newell, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his live-in girlfriend, Kathy Gillen. See Iowa Code § 707.2 (2001) (defining murder in the first degree). His counsel on appeal specifies several errors in the district court’s rulings and asserts a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. The defendant has filed a pro se brief raising ad-ditionál claims. Finding no basis for reversal, we affirm.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

The following unchallenged evidence was admitted at the defendant’s trial. At the time of the victim’s death, the…