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Saturday, April 29, 2006
Ind. Decisions - Appeals Court reverses Steuben verdict in murder try
Reporting on the Court of Appeals ruling Thursday in the case of Mark E. Collier v. State of Indiana (see ILB entry here), Angela Mapes reports today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:
The Indiana Court of Appeals has overturned the conviction of a Steuben County man accused attempting to kill his estranged wife.Mark E. Collier, 50, was convicted of attempted murder in October 2004 and sentenced to 25 years in prison by Steuben Superior Judge William Fee. * * *
Collier’s attorneys argued during the appeals case that Collier’s conduct was not “a substantial step” toward committing murder – as required by Indiana law – and was “mere preparation,” according to court documents. * * *
Collier was found by police the night of April 24, 2003, in his truck in the parking lot of the hospital while his wife was working a night shift.
He was within view of the exit his wife would have used, with an ice pick, a box cutter, binoculars and an open container of beer. He had fallen asleep or passed out, police said.
A former neighbor testified that Collier said he planned to run over his estranged wife with his pickup truck, stab her in the heart and cut her throat, according to court documents.
Even though Collier was found with the weapons, “given the distance between (Collier) and (his wife) at the time of his arrest, those items were virtually useless to Collier in terms of an attempted murder,” the court said in its ruling Thursday.
“We may have reached a different result had Collier been awake and alert, had he begun his approach toward the building, either in his pickup or on foot, or even if he had simply opened the door and taken a step out,” the Court said.
Judge Michael P. Barnes dissented, saying that Collier’s statements to his neighbor, combined with his actions that night, support Collier’s criminal purpose.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 29, 2006 09:39 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions