Dinning v. State

Appellant was charged with first degree murder. Trial by jury resulted in a verdict of guilty as charged, after which the appellant was sentenced to the Indiana State Prison for life.

The record discloses the following facts:

In early September, 1969, the appellant had told his stepdaughter that he was going to kill her mother (the decedent in this case). He also stated that he was going to burn the house down. On numerous occasions the appellant had made threats against his wife and had inflicted physical harm. The decedent owned a pistol which she kept at her daughter’s house. However, on…