People v. Herring CA2/3

INTRODUCTION

A jury found defendant and appellant Lyle Herring (Herring) guilty of the murder of his wife, Lesley Herring (Lesley), whose body was never found.1 On appeal, Herring contends that the trial court’s erroneous denial of his challenges for cause to three prospective jurors forced him to exhaust his peremptory challenges to excuse them, leaving him unable to challenge a biased juror. He also contends that cadaver dog evidence was improperly admitted and that the jury should have been instructed on voluntary manslaughter. We reject all contentions and affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Factual background.

A. Lesley. Lesley was born in March 1964 in Guyana. When she was four, she moved to Maryland. She attended schools in Barbados, Montreal, and Paris. Lesley’s family and friends described her as a “creature of habit,” a responsible person who paid her bills on time and gave them her itinerary if she was going away. She was “meticulous” and organized, at home and at work. Lesley married Herring in 1998, and they lived at Lesley’s condominium. Lesley’s mother, Vivian Telford, was close to the couple. They told her when they argued. One…