State v. McCray

OPINION

BALES, Justice.

¶ 1 This mandatory appeal concerns Frank Dale McCray’s conviction and death sentence for the murder of Chestene Cummins. We have jurisdiction under Article 6, Section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution and Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”) section 13-4031 (2001).

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶ 2 On May 21, 1987, Chestene Cummins was strangled to death in her Phoenix apartment. Her boyfriend found her body on the floor with her mouth gagged, her body heavily bruised, her pants removed, and her shirt sliced open. She had been strangled with a sweatpants drawstring that…