State v. Linder

PETERSON, Justice.

In a bifurcated jury trial, defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder. He appeals from the judgment of conviction contending that (1) his motion to waive jury trial should have been granted, (2) there was insufficient evidence to support the *904jury’s finding that he was guilty of first-degree murder, and (3) the evidence mandated a verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness. We affirm.

On July 15,1979, the victim, a 68-year-old widow, was beaten in her home in Anoka, Minnesota, by defendant, an escapee from the Anoka State Hospital, and died 2 days later.…