Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Oct 8, 2019
STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent vs. MARTIN DEAN PRIEST, Defendant-Appellant
Martin Dean Priest was convicted of first-degree murder for the death of a fifteen-year-old victim that occurred over thirty years ago. On appeal, Priest argued there was insufficient evidence to prove the murder was committed "in the perpetration of" rape, and that the trial court erred by not granting a mistrial after a witness mentioned his presence in the Kansas Department of Corrections. The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, affirmed the conviction, finding sufficient evidence for the felony murder charge and no abuse of discretion in denying the mistrial.