Current:Home > ScamsMississippi court affirms conviction in the killing of a man whose body was found in a freezer-LoTradeCoin
Mississippi court affirms conviction in the killing of a man whose body was found in a freezer
View Date:2024-12-24 00:00:44
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Court of Appeals has affirmed a woman’s conviction in the death of a man whose body was found stuffed into a freezer at his home.
In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the 10-member court also affirmed the sentences received by Samantha Simmons — life in prison for conviction on the murder charge in the killing of 54-year-old Thomas Burns, plus 20 years for conviction on a charge of receiving stolen property.
A Lamar County jury convicted Simmons in August 2022.
Burns’ body was found in a freezer in his home in Purvis in May 2018. Court records show Simmons had started dating Burns early that year, and she was living with him in his home.
The state medical examiner found zip ties around Burns’ neck, wrists and ankles, a belt around his legs and a trash bag over his head. An autopsy showed Burns died from either strangulation from the zip tie around his neck or “environmental/positional asphyxia” from being put in a freezer with a bag over his head.
According to court records, investigators found that Simmons had a key to a padlock that was on the freezer where Burns’ body was discovered by neighbors and his brother who checked his house after not seeing him for months. Court records also showed that tests run by the Mississippi crime laboratory found Simmons’ DNA on the zip ties.
Simmons argued that the DNA on the zip ties did not prove she killed Burns. But an analyst testified that the amount of DNA on the zip ties would be unusual for someone who just handled the items.
“This testimony, coupled with the DNA evidence, could lead a reasonable juror to conclude that Simmons killed (Burns),” the Court of Appeals wrote.
A witness testified that Simmons had contacted his wife about trying to sell some of Burns’ belongings.
veryGood! (5289)
Related
- Pete Alonso's best free agent fits: Will Mets bring back Polar Bear?
- Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82
- New York’s state budget expected to be late as housing, education negotiations continue
- Completion of audit into Arkansas governor’s $19,000 lectern has been pushed back to April
- Why Cynthia Erivo Needed Prosthetic Ears for Wicked
- Christina Applegate says she has 30 lesions on her brain amid MS battle
- 34 Container Store Items That Will Organize Your Kitchen
- What is the 'Mob Wives' trend? Renee Graziano, more weigh in on TikTok's newest aesthetic
- College Football Playoff bracket: Complete playoff picture after latest rankings
- Schools in the path of April’s total solar eclipse prepare for a natural teaching moment
Ranking
- Congress returns to unfinished business and a new Trump era
- Media attorney warns advancing bill would create ‘giant loophole’ in Kentucky’s open records law
- Warriors’ Draymond Green is ejected less than 4 minutes into game against Magic
- Feel like a lottery loser? Powerball’s $865 million jackpot offers another chance to hit it rich
- Will the NBA Cup become a treasured tradition? League hopes so, but it’s too soon to tell
- Is there a safe way to 'make weight' as a high school wrestler? Here's what experts say
- Massachusetts man gets 40 years in prison for fatal attack on partner on a beach in Maine
- Macaulay Culkin Shares Sweet Tribute to Best Friend Brenda Song
Recommendation
-
24 more monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina lab are recovered unharmed
-
Man in custody after fatal shooting of NYPD officer during traffic stop: Reports
-
Florida bed and breakfast for sale has spring swimming with manatees: See photos
-
1 of 2 suspects in fatal shooting of New York City police officer is arrested
-
Fire crews gain greater control over destructive Southern California wildfire
-
Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95
-
The Daily Money: No more sneaking into the Costco food court?
-
Conjoined Twin Abby Hensel of Abby & Brittany Privately Married Josh Bowling