Rao v. State

Brendan Rao appeals his conviction for first degree murder. He raises three issues on appeal, arguing that (1) the court erred in allowing a witness to testify that he was engaged in satanic worship in high school, where the evidence was inadmissible as showing only bad character; (2) the court erred by admitting gruesome pictures of the victim’s burned body which were highly prejudicial; and (3) fundamental error occurred in closing argument when the prosecutor commented on his right of silence. We affirm on all issues, finding that in context the court did not abuse its discretion in…