Idaho v. Thomas
Annotate this CaseA jury found defendant Joseph Thomas, Jr. guilty of first degree murder for the strangulation death of his ex-wife, Beth Irby Thomas in 2011. A friend of Defendant testified that at about 12:30 a.m. the following day, Defendant came to the friend’s home and stated that he had strangled the decedent. After Defendant left, the friend called 911. The first police officer to arrive at the decedent’s home found her with a leather belt cinched tightly around her neck. The belt was Defendant’s, and he was standing outside her house when the police arrived. After review of defendant's arguments on appeal, the Supreme Court concluded that because the district court erroneously excluded evidence that could have corroborated the defendant’s version of what had occurred and the State did not show that such error was harmless, the Court vacated the jury verdict and the judgment and remanded this case for further proceedings.
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