People v. Feliciano

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of 1st degree murder, home invasion, and robbery and received total 54 years. Given severity of victim's injuries, testimony as to his demeanor while the victim spoke, and the consistency of his statement that "Gilbert" (Defendant's first name) beat him, court properly found that victim's statements were admissible as spontaneous declaration exception to the hearsay rule.  Evidence of the parties' abusive relationship leading up to time of offenses was relevant for providing context as to why Defendant entered victim's residence and beat him. Jury was not required to accept the defense theory that victim suffered from dementia. There was no clear evidence that another person's actions directly caused victim's death. State's expert testified that the assault set off the deterioration of victim's health a theory sufficient to establish causation.Evidence was sufficient to find Defendant guilty of the offenses. (LAVIN and COBBS, concurring.)