Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Date unavailable
STATE OF MISSOURI, Respondent v. PAVEL SAMSINAK, Appellant
Pavel Samsinak was convicted of second-degree murder, second-degree arson, armed criminal action, and felony tampering with physical evidence after bludgeoning Victim to death and setting her house on fire. On appeal, Samsinak challenged two evidentiary rulings, the refusal of a jury instruction, and the sufficiency of the evidence for his tampering conviction. The appellate court affirmed all convictions, finding sufficient evidence for tampering, no error in refusing the sudden passion jury instruction, and no abuse of discretion in admitting a surveillance video or refusing the criminalist's report and testimony.