Gonzalez v. State
Texas Court of Appeals
2004 WL 100517 (2004)
- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
One evening, Luis Gonzalez (defendant) and his wife, Lorenza Orozco, got into an argument. It started when Orozco found Gonzalez at a strip club after his workday ended and continued after they both drove home and entered their house. During the argument, Gonzales took a shotgun from a closet and shot Orozco with it. She died from her injuries. At his murder trial, Gonzalez testified that he thought the shotgun was empty and did not mean to kill Orozco but only wanted to scare her. He also testified that he had never loaded or used the shotgun and did not know how the safety worked, although he admitted he had owned other guns and knew how to use them. The state presented evidence that police found an empty box of shotgun ammunition in Gonzalez’s home, that the gun was functioning properly, and that in order for it to be fired, it must have been racked first. The court instructed the jury on murder, manslaughter, and criminally negligent homicide. The jury found Gonzalez guilty of manslaughter, and he appealed, arguing that if he was guilty, it was only of criminally negligent homicide, because he thought the gun was not loaded and therefore failed to perceive that death could result from his conduct.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Chew, J.)
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