Reedy v. State

In Reedy v. State, 214 S.W.3d 567 (Tex. App.--Austin 2006, pet. ref'd), a forensic anthropologist testified that blunt head trauma was very consistent with what is seen "when bone has been impacted by a blunt instrument." Id. at 578. Additionally, the county medical examiner testified that the victim's death was due to "a fracture due to blunt trauma to the head." Id. at 573. The medical examiner further testified that the blunt trauma could have been caused by a hatchet, small axe, or anything similar. Id. While the Austin Court of Appeals acknowledged the evidence that the defendant caused the victim's injury was incriminating, the Court pointed to several problems with the conclusion that the defendant murdered the victim based on the strength of the evidence before the jury. These evidentiary problems included that there were no eyewitnesses to the murder, no direct evidence of the killing, an unknown date of death, a campsite accessible by others, and the circumstantial nature of the defendant's connection to the offense. Id. at 580-581. According to the Austin Court of Appeals, the circumstantial evidence in Reedy was not supported by facts which, by logical inference, could establish each of the essential elements of the offense. Reedy, 214 S.W.3d at 582.