¶1In the Supreme Court of Georgia
¶2 Decided: March 1, 2021
¶3 S20A1476. STRICKLAND v. THE STATE.
¶4 ELLINGTON, Justice.
¶5 A Wayne County jury found Jesse Strickland guilty of malice
¶6murder and armed robbery in connection with the death of Arthur
¶7Westberry. 1 On appeal, Strickland contends that the evidence was
¶8insufficient to support the jury’s verdicts. He also contends that the
¶9trial court erred in denying his motion for a new trial because a juror
¶10 1 Westberry was killed on or about July 6, 2016. Strickland was indicted by a Wayne County grand jury for malice murder, felony murder, and armed robbery in connection with Westberry’s death. Strickland was tried from July 31 through August 2, 2017, and the jury found him guilty of all charges. On September 7, 2017, the trial court sentenced Strickland to life in prison without parole for malice murder and to a consecutive life sentence for armed robbery. The trial court merged the felony murder count into the malice murder count, although the felony murder count was actually vacated by operation of law. See Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369, 371-372 (4) (434 SE2d 479) (1993). Strickland filed a timely motion for new trial on September 18, 2017, which he amended on April 18, 2019, and supplemented on September 11, 2019. The trial court denied Strickland’s motion for new trial on May 7, 2020. Strickland filed a timely notice of appeal, and the case was docketed to the August 2020 term of this Court and submitted for decision on the briefs. lied during voir dire about her knowledge of the parties, facts, and
¶11witnesses to the case. We affirm.
¶12 Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdicts, the evidence
¶13presented at trial showed the following. In July 2016, Westberry
¶14lived in Room 119 at the Red Carpet Inn in Jesup. Strickland and
¶15his girlfriend, Megan Hubble, lived in Room 124 on the other side of
¶16the building. Strickland had known Westberry for several years, and
¶17Hubble knew Westberry from her work. The first night Strickland
¶18and Hubble moved into the Inn, Hubble asked Westberry for money,
¶19and he gave her $100. Hubble testified that when Westberry refused
¶20Strickland’s request for money on another occasion, Strickland came
¶21back to their room and said that he should “go over there, kick in
¶22[Westberry’s] door[,] and take what he has.”
¶23 On the evening of July 2, 2016, Hubble went to Screven to visit
¶24family and watch fireworks. While Hubble was at the fireworks
¶25display, Strickland messaged her that he had “tricked” Westberry
¶26into giving him the PIN for his debit card. Strickland also stated
¶27that Westberry had agreed to let him borrow his car. He then picked
¶28 2 Hubble up in Westberry’s car. According to Hubble, Strickland had
¶29at least two of Westberry’s debit cards.
¶30 Hubble testified that, early the following morning, Westberry
¶31came to her room to get his car keys from Strickland. Following a
¶32verbal exchange that Hubble described as an “altercation,”
¶33Westberry also retrieved a bag of clothes that Strickland had taken
¶34from the car.
¶35 During the late evening of July 4, one of Westberry’s neighbors,
¶36Levada Lewis, heard his car start. Early the following morning,
¶37Lewis saw that Westberry’s car was parked on the other side of the
¶38building and later that morning she saw that Strickland was driving
¶39the car.
¶40 Shortly after midnight on July 5, Strickland attempted to pay
¶41for items at a Jesup Walmart with Westberry’s debit card. The card
¶42was declined, after which Strickland tried unsuccessfully to
¶43withdraw cash from an ATM machine located in the store. Later that
¶44day, Strickland attempted without success to withdraw money at a
¶45gas station ATM. Cynthia Kent, the head of housekeeping at the
¶46 3 Inn, encountered Westberry when he came to get his mail around
¶47noon on July 5. That was the last time anyone reported seeing
¶48Westberry alive.
¶49 After midnight on July 6, one of Westberry’s neighbors,
¶50Tumesha Jackson, saw Strickland pacing back and forth between
¶51Jackson’s room and Westberry’s room. After she woke up around
¶525:00 a.m., she looked out the window and saw Strickland starting
¶53Westberry’s car. At around 6:30 a.m. later that morning, Strickland
¶54tried to use Westberry’s debit card to buy a meal at McDonald’s, but
¶55the card was declined and he left without any food. He returned after
¶568:00 a.m. and purchased a meal with cash. Strickland returned to
¶57the Inn, woke up Hubble, and told her that he had obtained
¶58Westberry’s social security number and date of birth.
¶59 Kent testified that, between 9:15 and 9:45 a.m. on July 6,
¶60Strickland brought his laundry to housekeeping, that he “waited
¶61until he thought I wasn’t looking at him and he hurried up to the
¶62washing machine to dump the clothes in,” and that he arranged the
¶63load “until all of the black clothes were on the very top.” Later that
¶64 4 morning, Strickland called an acquaintance, Brittany Stossmeister,
¶65and asked her if she would be available to cash a check for him.
¶66Stossmeister had previously helped Strickland cash checks forged
¶67with Westberry’s signature. Stossmeister agreed, and Strickland
¶68drove in Westberry’s car to meet Stossmeister and her father at the
¶69Altamaha Federal Credit Union. There, Stossmeister’s father
¶70cashed the forged check. Strickland also tried to use two of
¶71Westberry’s debit cards to withdraw money at the credit union’s
¶72ATM, but the transactions were declined. Strickland showed
¶73Stossmeister that he had Westberry’s driver’s license and social
¶74security card. After Stossmeister and Strickland left the credit
¶75union, Stossmeister received a text message from Hubble stating,
¶76“Call me now. Jesse just killed a man. Cops everywhere, 911, 911,
¶77911, 911.”
¶78 By late morning on July 6, Jackson had become worried that
¶79she had not seen Westberry in two days and that Strickland was
¶80driving Westberry’s car. She voiced her concerns to the hotel
¶81manager, Vivian Deal. When Deal opened the door to Westberry’s
¶82 5 room, she found Westberry’s dead body. Deal called the police at 1:03
¶83p.m.
¶84 Officers responding to the scene found Westberry lying face
¶85down on the floor. The back of his head was matted with blood, and
¶86his right hand appeared to have been injured. A metal rod that had
¶87been partially covered by shoes, boxes, and a bag was located near
¶88the air conditioning unit.
¶89 The room was cluttered, and articles of clothing, some
¶90spattered with blood, were strewn on the floor. A lamp had been
¶91knocked over. Westberry’s left pants pocket was gaping open, and
¶92blood stains were visible just inside and around the edges of the
¶93pocket. An investigating officer testified at trial that a prepared bowl
¶94of food at the scene appeared to be “relatively fresh.” When Inn
¶95employees were later cleaning up Westberry’s room, they found his
¶96wallet by the wall opposite the door under a clothing rack.
¶97 A DNA analysis of the blood found on Westberry’s pants
¶98pockets and on the metal rod showed that the blood came from
¶99Westberry. The medical examiner found 11 lacerations on
¶100 6 Westberry’s head as well as injuries to his right hand and
¶101determined that he died from blunt trauma to his head.
¶102 The same afternoon that Westberry’s body was discovered,
¶103Hubble spoke with Jesup police officers who were investigating the
¶104crime. She gave them Strickland’s cell phone number. When the
¶105officers called the number, Strickland answered and told them he
¶106was walking to the A-1 motel. The officers eventually found
¶107Strickland and arrested him.
¶108 The officers followed the direction from which Strickland had
¶109been walking and located Westberry’s car. They also recovered
¶110Westberry’s driver’s license, social security card, and two debit cards
¶111strewn on the ground by the side of the road. The card numbers
¶112matched those of the cards that Strickland had tried to use at the
¶113credit union’s ATM earlier that day.
¶114 Mitchell Carter, Strickland and Hubble’s friend, testified that
¶115he went to the Inn on the afternoon of July 6 because he had
¶116previously agreed to help Strickland repair Hubble’s car. By the time
¶117Carter arrived, law enforcement officers were on the scene. Carter
¶118 7 went to Strickland and Hubble’s room, where he found Hubble
¶119crying. Hubble commented to Carter that “they” suspected
¶120Strickland of killing someone, but she did not know if he did it. She
¶121also told Carter that Strickland had commented that he ought to
¶122“beat” and “rob” Westberry, but that Strickland had said that in a
¶123joking manner.
¶124 According to Carter, Hubble said that Strickland had come into
¶125their room earlier in the day and gone into the bathroom, where he
¶126stayed quite a while before coming out. Hubble also told Carter that
¶127there was a “piece of metal” in a drawer under the television. Hubble
¶128later opened the drawer for a GBI agent and showed him what the
¶129agent described as a “flat metal bar.” An agent tested stains on the
¶130bar for blood, but the results were negative. Although no blood was
¶131found on the metal bar recovered from Hubble and Strickland’s
¶132room, the medical examiner testified that it could have inflicted
¶133Westberry’s injuries.
¶134 Strickland testified at trial as follows. He had known
¶135Westberry, whom he considered “family,” for about ten years. Before
¶136 8 Strickland moved into the Inn, Westberry had given him money,
¶137paid for his hotel rooms, allowed him to borrow his car, and provided
¶138him with food and cigarettes. After Strickland moved into the Inn,
¶139Westberry allowed Strickland to borrow his car to pick up Hubble at
¶140the fireworks display on July 2. Westberry gave Strickland his car
¶141keys and debit cards on the evening of July 4 after Strickland said
¶142he needed Westberry’s car to get tools to work on Hubble’s car and
¶143that he also needed money for food. Strickland was unable to get any
¶144cash from the debit cards until the afternoon of July 5, when he
¶145transferred money from Westberry’s savings to his checking and
¶146back and was then able to withdraw $60. He tried to return the car
¶147keys and debit cards that same afternoon, and then again around
¶148noon on July 6, but Westberry did not answer his door.
¶149 Strickland admitted “plundering” Westberry’s check book,
¶150social security card, and identification from the glove box of
¶151Westberry’s car. He said that he had previously stolen checks from
¶152Westberry’s room while Westberry was in the bathroom. Strickland
¶153acknowledged that he had forged and cashed several of Westberry’s
¶154 9 checks with the help of Stossmeister. He also admitted abandoning
¶155Westberry’s car and throwing Westberry’s debit cards, social
¶156security card, and driver’s license onto the side of the road.
¶157 1. Strickland claims that the evidence was insufficient to
¶158support his malice murder and armed robbery convictions. 2 The
¶159indictment charged that he used a blunt object to rob and ultimately
¶160murder Westberry. Strickland argues that his DNA was not found
¶161in Westberry’s room, including on the metal rod that had
¶162Westberry’s blood on it. Strickland claims that the forensic evidence
¶163was inconsistent with his having killed Westberry with a blunt
¶164object and that the remainder of the evidence was both
¶165circumstantial and consistent with his innocence.
¶166 When this Court evaluates the sufficiency of the evidence as a
¶167matter of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the
¶168 2 Strickland also contends that the evidence was insufficient as to the felony murder count predicated on armed robbery. However, the felony murder count was vacated by operation of law because Strickland was found guilty of malice murder. See Lucky v. State, 286 Ga. 478, 480 (2) (689 SE2d 825) (2010). Thus, Strickland’s claim that the evidence was insufficient as to the felony murder count is moot. See Mills v. State, 287 Ga. 828, 830 (2) (700 SE2d 544) (2010). 10 United States Constitution, the standard of review is whether a
¶169rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a
¶170reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (III)
¶171(B) (99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979). We view the evidence in the
¶172“light most favorable to the verdict, with deference to the jury’s
¶173assessment of the weight and credibility of the evidence.” Hayes v.
¶174State, 292 Ga. 506, 506 (739 SE2d 313) (2013) (citation and
¶175punctuation omitted).
¶176 As a matter of Georgia statutory law, “[t]o warrant a conviction
¶177on circumstantial evidence, the proved facts shall not only be
¶178consistent with the hypothesis of guilt, but shall exclude every other
¶179reasonable hypothesis save that of the guilt of the accused.” OCGA
¶180§ 24-14-6. Whether alternative hypotheses are reasonable, however,
¶181is principally a question for the jury, and this Court will not disturb
¶182the jury’s finding unless it is insupportable as a matter of law. See
¶183Graves v. State, 306 Ga. 485, 487 (1) (831 SE2d 747) (2019).
¶184 The evidence, as more fully discussed above, showed that
¶185Strickland had a pattern of asking for and stealing money from
¶186 11 Westberry, that Strickland became frustrated when he could not get
¶187more money, and that Strickland had suggested that he should beat
¶188and rob Westberry. Several days before Westberry’s death,
¶189Strickland told Hubble that he had “tricked” Westberry into giving
¶190him his PIN and he then attempted to use Westberry’s debit cards.
¶191Between the last time Westberry was seen alive and when he was
¶192found bludgeoned to death, Strickland was seen pacing in front of
¶193Westberry’s room, drove Westberry’s car, bragged to his girlfriend
¶194that he had Westberry’s social security number and birth date, spent
¶195a long time in the bathroom, furtively washed his clothes, tried
¶196unsuccessfully to use Westberry’s debit cards, and arranged to cash
¶197one of Westberry’s checks, which he forged. After Westberry was
¶198found dead, Strickland abandoned Westberry’s car, threw
¶199Westberry’s social security card, driver’s license, and debit cards on
¶200the side of the road, and began walking towards a motel other than
¶201the one where he was staying.
¶202 Strickland argues that the State failed to come forward with
¶203DNA or other forensic evidence connecting him to the crimes,
¶204 12 particularly his use of a blunt object, but the forensic evidence did
¶205not exclude Strickland as the perpetrator. “Although the State is
¶206required to prove its case with competent evidence, there is no
¶207requirement that it prove its case with any particular sort of
¶208evidence.” Jackson v. State, 307 Ga. 770, 772 (838 SE2d 246) (2020)
¶209(citation and punctuation omitted). Strickland also posits that he
¶210had no incentive to stop the flow of resources from Westberry by
¶211killing him. The jury was not required to conclude, however, that
¶212Strickland would not have killed Westberry even if it was not in his
¶213financial interest to do so. The evidence was sufficient to exclude
¶214every reasonable hypothesis other than Strickland’s guilt, see
¶215OCGA § 24-14-6, and for a rational trier of fact to find beyond a
¶216reasonable doubt that Strickland was guilty of the crimes for which
¶217he was convicted. See Jackson, 443 U. S. at 319 (III).
¶218 2. After the hearing on his amended motion for new trial,
¶219Strickland filed a supplement to that motion to which he attached
¶22016 text messages that were exchanged after the trial between juror
¶221 13 E. H. and Strickland’s girlfriend, Hubble.3 Strickland argued to the
¶222trial court that the text messages showed that E. H. had failed to
¶223acknowledge during voir dire that she knew Strickland and that she
¶224knew about the case. Strickland did not provide affidavits from
¶225Hubble or E. H., nor was any testimony later obtained from them.
¶226In its response, the State did not contest the authenticity of the text
¶227messages but contended that they failed to support the grant of a
¶228new trial.
¶229 The trial court subsequently denied Strickland’s amended
¶230motion for a new trial, as supplemented with the text messages. The
¶231trial court concluded that the text messages suggested that E. H.
¶232was acquainted with Strickland, Hubble, and witness Carter. The
¶233trial court also found, however, that the record failed to show that
¶234E. H. acted improperly in her service as a juror, that she held any
¶235preconception of Strickland’s innocence or guilt, or that she showed
¶236any bias towards Strickland. On appeal, Strickland claims that the
¶237 3 The trial court found that the text messages, which indicate the month but not the year that they were sent, were exchanged in either March 2018 or March 2019. Strickland’s trial ended in August 2017. 14 trial court erred in denying his motion because during voir dire juror
¶238E. H. intentionally lied about her knowledge of the parties, facts,
¶239and witnesses to the case.
¶240 The record shows that during voir dire, the judge asked the
¶241potential jurors to raise their hands if any of them had formed an
¶242opinion about the guilt or innocence of the accused, if any of them
¶243were prejudiced or biased for or against the accused, and if any of
¶244them had read or heard about the case. E. H. did not raise her hand
¶245in response. The prosecutor then asked, among other questions, if
¶246any of the potential jurors “know [Strickland], know who he is, know
¶247of him, know his family . . . from any source.” E. H. did not respond
¶248to the question.
¶249 In the text messages later provided to the trial court, E. H.
¶250expressed surprise to Hubble that Strickland was not given a lie
¶251detector test. Hubble responded that Strickland had passed a lie
¶252detector test and that Carter had made false statements during the
¶253investigation and “changed [his statements] every time[.]” Hubble
¶254also referenced “300 pages” that were never included in evidence,
¶255 15 among other things. E. H. questioned why the police did not go after
¶256Carter instead of Strickland. In one text, Hubble stated that E. H.
¶257had “been in” Hubble’s Facebook “since it’s happened,” and “that’s
¶258already a mistrial [be]cause [you] had knowledge of the case
¶259already,” but there is no response by E. H. in the materials
¶260submitted by Strickland.
¶261 Strickland is not entitled to a new trial solely because a juror
¶262gave an incorrect response during voir dire; rather, “to secure a new
¶263trial . . . , the defendant must show that the juror failed to answer
¶264the question truthfully and that a correct response would have been
¶265a valid basis for a challenge for cause.” Sears v. State, 270 Ga. 834,
¶266840 (2) (514 SE2d 426) (1999) (citations omitted). See Gardiner v.
¶267State, 264 Ga. 329, 333 (3) (444 SE2d 300) (1994) (same). “The
¶268determinative question is whether there exists bias on the part of
¶269the juror which results in prejudice to the defendant.” Green v. State,
¶270295 Ga. 108, 110 (2) (757 SE2d 856) (2014) (citation omitted).
¶271 Assuming that E. H. had been familiar with Strickland,
¶272Hubble, and Carter, or any of them, at the time of trial, Strickland
¶273 16 has not shown that if she had responded truthfully during voir dire,
¶274such familiarity would have required her dismissal for cause. “A
¶275juror’s knowledge of, or non-familial relationship with, a witness,
¶276attorney, or party provides a basis for disqualification only if it is
¶277shown that it has resulted in the juror having a fixed opinion of the
¶278accused’s guilt or innocence or a bias for or against the accused.”
¶279Green, 295 Ga. at 111 (2) (citation omitted). As the trial court found,
¶280Strickland has not shown that E. H. had such a fixed opinion or bias
¶281for or against Strickland. To the contrary, E. H.’s texts are consistent
¶282with her having voted to convict on the basis of the evidence
¶283presented at trial, despite any familiarity with Strickland or the
¶284witnesses, and Strickland presented no other evidence that E. H.
¶285was biased against him at the time of trial. Accordingly, we see no
¶286error.
¶287 Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.
¶288 17