McDowell v. State

DICKSON, Justice.

Dawn Elizabeth McDowell appeals her conviction and sentence for Voluntary Manslaughter, a class A felony 1 for the death of Christopher Crume. The Court of Appeals affirmed. McDowell v. State, 872 N.E.2d 689 (Ind.Ct.App.2007). We granted transfer and find that State’s tendered instruction should not have been given because it authorized the jury to infer an intent to kill simply because a death resulted from a deadly weapon in the hands of the defendant.

McDowell and Crume had been living together at a campground for several months. Early on the morning of June 25, 2003, after…