Circumstantial Evidence Sufficient to Support the Jury Verdict for Premeditated Murder

In Holton v. State, 573 So. 2d 284 (Fla. 1990), a case involving circumstantial evidence, the Court held that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury verdict for premeditated murder. The victim had been found with a ligature securely tied around her neck and her house had been burned, presumably to conceal the crime. The medical examiner determined that death was caused by strangulation. Scratch marks on the defendant's chest indicated the victim had struggled during the attack. Although the defendant had claimed that he did not intend to kill the victim and that the murder was an accident, we concluded that based on the State's evidence to the contrary, the jury chose not to believe the defendant's version of events. See id. at 289-90.