Grimes

I. FACTS

A. Guilt phase

1. The offenses In October of 1995, defendant, then 33 years old, was staying with a friend, Sheila Abbott (Sheila), in her trailer. Also staying in the trailer were Sheila‘s son, Shane Fernalld, her daughter, Misty Abbott (Misty), and Misty‘s boyfriend, Patrick James Wilson, then 19 years old. On the morning of October 18, John Morris, a 20-year-old friend of the family, arrived at Sheila‘s trailer. At approximately noon, Morris, Wilson, and defendant obtained some medical gloves and bandanas from the trailer. They tried on the bandanas, placing them over their mouths, before putting them in their pockets. The three left in Morris‘s red sports car. They drove to the house shared by Betty Bone, who was then 98 years old, and her daughter. They ransacked the house and took property, including a .38- caliber handgun, a ―boom box,‖ some jewelry, a rifle, a telephone in a Styrofoam box, and a brown truck. Bone was killed. Her body showed evidence of blunt force trauma to the head, ligature strangulation, and stab wounds. There was a telephone cord and a bandana around her neck. There was bruising on her tongue and lip that was likely caused by a gag. Her…